Paul Potts, Metapolis mall, & the Suwon Cultural Festival

'Twas a busy week indeed. On Monday evening we saw Paul Potts in concert. It was a free outdoor event held at the Suwon Outdoor Concert Hall. We met up with our friends Casey and Young Ha and their little girl, Ivy, for dinner beforehand. Unfortunately, Logan and Ivy proved not to be fans of Mr. Potts, and we ended up leaving after listening to just two songs. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. We were too far away for much of a view (or sound experience, for that matter), but I did manage to snap this photo of the big screen.^^

So the work week started out with a bang and ended with an even bigger bang; fireworks, that is. The Suwon Cultural Festival began on Friday at Hwaseong Palace and, despite being a couple of kilometers away, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had a perfect view of the opening ceremony fireworks from our living room window. And if that wasn't enough, on Saturday afternoon, the festival parade marched down the street right in front of our apartment!

Logan was curious about the parade.

And soon decided he wanted in on the action.

Which turned out to be a good thing because he got a balloon from one of the Harajuku girls :D

Here's testament to Korea's love affair with squid and octopus.

Hyundai pleased the crowd with this larger than life Morning complete with racing girls (the Morning is one of the smallest compact cars in Korea for those who don't know).

And Samsung pleased me with this performance, reminiscent of the Mos Eisley Cantina bar scene in Star Wars.

A fun-filled afternoon to be sure, and the fun continued when I went for a girls night out of dinner and shopping with my friend Jill. We went to Metapolis mall in the nearby "new" city of Dongtan. Indoor shopping malls are few and far between in Korea, so having Metapolis nearby is pretty much like striking gold. Four floors of fun, complete with a skating rink on the bottom level.

At Metapolis, even the mannequins are happy :D

Isn't it purdy?

To cap off the week, we went to the cultural festival on Sunday afternoon with a group of expat families, where we enjoyed dee-licious food, a variety of sights, great company, and terrific weather!

Here we (minus me^^) are starting out the day.

There were lots of crafts for children, like pottery and traditional paper making.

Ahhh, the food tents...

My first (but most certainly not last) time eating Chinese sweet corn balls. Yum-yum!

Bubby got in on the action and devoured an entire 진방 jjin bang (stuffed, steamed bread) himself^^

All in all, 'twas a great week!