Our third trip to Korea! We love it there, but with apologies to the Ringwoods and Heather Morgan, Tokyo is better!
What are these (top and bottom photos)? Any guesses? We saw a lot of them at Nandaemon, an old but huge marketplace in Seoul. Top are pigs hands, knuckles and meaty parts, they look frightening to me and were almost enough to make me go vegetarian. There was a pig head somehow preserved right next to these, but the woman running the stall wouldn't let me photograph. Bottom, I just don't know, probably some kind of roots suspended in fluid. Looks Harry Potterish, don't you think?
We were in Seoul for a Mission President's Training Seminar. And although I can neither read Korean nor Russian, apparently these banners were celebrating the arrival and meeting of Vladimir Putin to have talks with South Korean officials. I don't know if he was staying at our hotel or if the "talks" were there, but we were out doing other important things when he came. Don't believe he was there? "Look it up, its in the thing." Google it or ask the NSA--certainly they know. We did see him arriving at the hotel later on that night on the news, he is really, really short.
See these dear people? They (other than Adam in the center) work at the Korean office for the Asia North area. They are incredibly hard-working, detail oriented and dedicated people (include Adam in that definition).
Here are the mission presidents for the area (plus a few) after making makizushi for the missionaries to hand out. Incredible men, each one. Later that evening, we walked a lantern festival in downtown Seoul along a canal. It depicted different scenes from Korean history.
Does this not look like a pig Mona Lisa? For all you hiragana and katakana readers who might doubt this was actually in Seoul, look again. I guarantee it was in Korea.
Hawaii friends…remember hosting Japanese students and taking them to Ala Moana for an outing? Remember waiting outside Louis Vuitton and Channel shops while they put down $400 for wallets? Maybe you will remember them turning up their noses when they saw "Made in Korea" on labels of scarves? Maybe there was a reason. I saw a scarf and should have opened it, but was satisfied with its pretty colors all folded up. Upon unfolding it in our home in Tokyo, Emma suddenly fell in love. It is actually a British flag with a crowned skull and the words "God Save McQueen". It now hangs in her room. Fail for me, one man's trash is another's treasure.
On an unrelated note, nothing to do with Korea or Yokohama, we went out for pizza last night and swear we sat next to an Asian Charles Barkley.
The rest of the photos are from a park we visited in Yokohama called Sankeien Garden. It was assembled by a successful silk businessman over 100 years ago. He had ancient buildings brought to this park which faces Tokyo Bay. Many of these structures are over 500 years old. This is a 500+ year old door! Isn't it gorgeous?!
We saw two brides and their grooms in the garden.
I have seen too many brand new, made-of-cement Japanese garden lanterns in the city lately, these just struck me for some reason. They truly are hand made and, well, ancient.
Not sure which was more impressive, nature or the old tea houses, bridges and gates--maybe the combination of the two.
Emma loved it as well. So glad she decided to come with us today. She was supposed to leave on a school trip, but stayed with the parentals instead. So lucky to have her with us here during her last year. So glad she loves Japan.
Scott and Emma are always in search for the perfect dango--mochi rice balls grilled in soy sauce. Although Scott introduced them to her in Asakusa (see previous post), they swear the ones in Nikko (another post) are the best. Today's weren't so bad. I snap chatted a picture to Kate of a mochi maker and she snap chatted back a picture of herself labeled "mochi eater". Wish she was here.
This was one of the most ancient buildings, built during the Edo period.
So much more to show, so much more to see. So much more work to be done here!
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