COEX Mall

First stop on a rainy Saturday morning: COEX Aquarium. I love the place and have visited several times in the past, but Logan was less than impressed; mostly crying and moaning his way through. Anyways, here are a few pictures for your enjoyment...

Logan liked hanging out in the playroom, but feigned little interest in the fish or other creatures; even the penguins didn't strike his fancy. Oh well, guess we'll just have to try again when he's a little older.

Some kind of lizardy-fish thing with it's own boa^^

After the aquarium, we did some shopping and stopped for lunch at On the Border. I hadn't eaten there in a LONG time (since before Logan was born) and had forgotten how good the food tastes!

Yummy yummy yummy fried enchiladas :D

Clark found a small bone in his quesadilla, so we got a 복분자 bokbunja 'korean wildberry' margarita on the house. He ended up with a complimentary meal, too, when he later found another bone :D Yay for bones!

Logan thought it'd be fun to copy mommy and learn how to use a straw. He figured it out within just a minute or two ~ time to switch from sippy to straw cups!

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!

Paldal Market (팔달시장)

It was recently reported in the news that Korean consumer prices rose 5.3% this month to the highest level in 3 years. There are a lot of inexpensive products and services in Korea; unfortunately the staples (food and housing) are not among them. So Clark and I decided that instead of our regular weekly trip to Homeplus, now was as good a time as any to go to Paldal Market (팔달시장); the largest traditional market in Suwon, and only a 5-minute bus ride from home.

I wondered how much, if any, money we could really save by taking the traditional route. The atmosphere (sights, sounds, smells) of the market make it well worth the experience, but in my estimation we didn't really save all that much. Most of the prices were comparable to what we pay at Homeplus. The only thing for which I noticed a marked savings was the banchan 반찬 'sidedishes'; particularly kimchi. In one or two cases (shrimp, for example) I found the market prices more expensive, in fact. Regardless, we bought a fair amount and had a good time this evening ~ a time made even better by the fact that Logan decided to nap for over an hour in his stroller.

Here are the highlights of our market adventure...

I thought these little guys were cute!^^ Don't they look so smiley?

Definitely cheaper and oh-so delicious (I taste-tested almost everything^^). We bought a whack of  ggeotjeori 걷절이 'new kimchi'.

Lots and lots of songpyeong 송편 'sesame seed or chestnut paste filled rice cakes' in preparation for next week's Thanksgiving holiday.

Fall is never complete without dried red chili's.

Clark and I share an affinity for all things dried. He is particulary fond of fish jerky (yick!).

Seeing this made me giggle.

And this made me laugh out loud! (Most certainly not a Korean expression and just sounds so wrong in English).