Out and About: World Cup - 홍대 - 팔각정 - 인사동

Have made my mark in Seoul over the weekend!  Meeting up with friends and family, and shopping up a mini storm.  Quite large by my Australian standards, but I'm on holiday, so its ok!

So, on Saturday I had arranged to meet my friends in 홍대 Hongdae.  Which is all good for Koreans, and those in the know.  However, I was also catching up with a couple of friends in Seoul for a holiday and they had no idea what I was on about.  For future reference, it is Hong-ik University Station.  I started off my afternoon by going to the World Cup Stadium, which is no longer just a football ground.

There's a wedding hall, gym, shopping, cinemas, food... Needless to say, its not just sitting there, waiting for the next sports event.  Had a quick looksie, and bought some lens solution and nivea lotion at Daiso.  Didn't want to be weighed down for later.  Only the essentials.

I still don't get what they mean by 'twosome'

The busy Hongdae streets.  Actually, its not that busy in the photo.  I didn't take many photos, because we were talking so much!  We did a little light shopping, had 불고기 (Korean BBQ) for dinner, moved on to a bar place for more food and drinks, 노래방 karaoke, and finished off with a stroll down the streets of Hongdae... where there was a Hello Kitty Cafe!  Couldn't stay though, because my friend was sitting his TOEIC exam the next morning, and I had to catch the last train home.  Also, the reluctance from the male members of our party.   Next time.  

On Sunday, I caught up with my cousins.  We don't have extended family in Perth, so it was really nice seeing them all.  We went to 팔각정, which is basically an octagon building, where you can have a nice view of Seoul.

A tiny portion of the city.  Below is the beginning of Hyundai.  Modest it is.

We had tea and dinner in Insa-dong.  I have developed a thing for green tea latte.  Yummy.  I was a bit concerned that the tea house we went to was selling English breakfast at 8000원.  Then again, it was a fancy tea house.  I will never think of tea as black and green again.

Ended the night at this 호프...basically a bar.  I've never had drinks with my cousins before, so it was nice.  Received a lot of advice from the oppas ~ it was nice to be the youngest for a change.  In short, the weekend was lots of food and lots of drinks, and lots of fun.