A little bit of home
3/6/05 Sunday
We woke up early (all of us), finished packing up everything, headed down for our last breakfast at the hotel. Oh, by the way, the hotel we stayed at is the M Chereville. It was quite nice. And it was located in a popular part of the city, with a Coffee Bean just a block away, a McDonald's a little further down and lots of things to see. But it was so cold the week we stayed there that we really didn't venture out too much.
Anyway, one of the best things about the hotel was the free breakfasts each morning. It was a continental buffet-style breakfast. And we were able to bring some extra food back up to the room for snacks for the girls later in the day. Things like Yoplait yogurt and cherry tomatoes and bananas. Thankfully, Maya and Nadia both love all three of those things! Especially the tomatoes - I couldn't bring enough back to the room for them throughout the day.
So, we had breakfast and headed back up to the room. Erik came to pick us up to get us to our apartment around 10am. We loaded everything into the back of the van. Chris, Maya and Erik's MIL took a taxi to the apartment while Erik, his wife Kai-wen, his son Kyle, Nadia and I rode in the van. Then, poor Erik and Chris had to lug the majority of our stuff up the 5 flights of stairs to the apartment. We made Kai-wen stay up in the apartment to watch the kids (she's pregnant) and her mom and I did a few trips up and down with the smaller things. But after carrying our suitcases up those stairs, the guys collapsed on our floor. And with good reason!!
Kai-wen and her mom took me out to do a little bit of shopping and to get out without the kids (Erik and Chris watched the children for the afternoon). We went to Dongdaemun, an area of the city with lots of shopping and a huge flea market-type area. I could have gone nuts there, but I had to remember that we were traveling by subway and had to carry everything ourselves all the way back to the apartment. Mainly, I got things for the kids, of course. What else is new? Looking back, I should have shopped for myself, but didn't. Anyway, I got a dress for Maya, some pants for both of the kids, some hair accessories. I wanted to pick up some bedding, but again, carrying it all back would have been a problem. Things aren't necessarily cheaper here than in the US, but the styles are different. And you can find good deals, if you know where to look and can bargain. Which I can't because I can't speak Korean! *sigh*
We had lunch in Dongdaemun as well. I got some Japanese fried rice, which was pretty good. It is surprising how you can actually get bad Japanese and Chinese food here! I suppose it makes sense that everywhere you can find good and bad food, but it just seems funny to me that you can find bad Japanese and Chinese food in Korea! Anyway............
We got back to the apartment to find our furniture had been delivered. We now had beds, wardrobe closets and a couch! YAY!
Around 6pm, we all took off for a visit to our local Costco! We bought sheets for the beds, pillows, a couple of blankets and comforters, diapers for Nadia, and chicken nuggets! LOL We didn't have a fridge/freezer, but it was cold enough on our balcony to store frozen foods, so we picked up those nuggets and ketchup for the kids. Gotta love Costco. We also picked up our dinner for the night - Costco pizza and hotdogs. Ah, a taste of home!
We woke up early (all of us), finished packing up everything, headed down for our last breakfast at the hotel. Oh, by the way, the hotel we stayed at is the M Chereville. It was quite nice. And it was located in a popular part of the city, with a Coffee Bean just a block away, a McDonald's a little further down and lots of things to see. But it was so cold the week we stayed there that we really didn't venture out too much.
Anyway, one of the best things about the hotel was the free breakfasts each morning. It was a continental buffet-style breakfast. And we were able to bring some extra food back up to the room for snacks for the girls later in the day. Things like Yoplait yogurt and cherry tomatoes and bananas. Thankfully, Maya and Nadia both love all three of those things! Especially the tomatoes - I couldn't bring enough back to the room for them throughout the day.
So, we had breakfast and headed back up to the room. Erik came to pick us up to get us to our apartment around 10am. We loaded everything into the back of the van. Chris, Maya and Erik's MIL took a taxi to the apartment while Erik, his wife Kai-wen, his son Kyle, Nadia and I rode in the van. Then, poor Erik and Chris had to lug the majority of our stuff up the 5 flights of stairs to the apartment. We made Kai-wen stay up in the apartment to watch the kids (she's pregnant) and her mom and I did a few trips up and down with the smaller things. But after carrying our suitcases up those stairs, the guys collapsed on our floor. And with good reason!!
Kai-wen and her mom took me out to do a little bit of shopping and to get out without the kids (Erik and Chris watched the children for the afternoon). We went to Dongdaemun, an area of the city with lots of shopping and a huge flea market-type area. I could have gone nuts there, but I had to remember that we were traveling by subway and had to carry everything ourselves all the way back to the apartment. Mainly, I got things for the kids, of course. What else is new? Looking back, I should have shopped for myself, but didn't. Anyway, I got a dress for Maya, some pants for both of the kids, some hair accessories. I wanted to pick up some bedding, but again, carrying it all back would have been a problem. Things aren't necessarily cheaper here than in the US, but the styles are different. And you can find good deals, if you know where to look and can bargain. Which I can't because I can't speak Korean! *sigh*
We had lunch in Dongdaemun as well. I got some Japanese fried rice, which was pretty good. It is surprising how you can actually get bad Japanese and Chinese food here! I suppose it makes sense that everywhere you can find good and bad food, but it just seems funny to me that you can find bad Japanese and Chinese food in Korea! Anyway............
We got back to the apartment to find our furniture had been delivered. We now had beds, wardrobe closets and a couch! YAY!
Around 6pm, we all took off for a visit to our local Costco! We bought sheets for the beds, pillows, a couple of blankets and comforters, diapers for Nadia, and chicken nuggets! LOL We didn't have a fridge/freezer, but it was cold enough on our balcony to store frozen foods, so we picked up those nuggets and ketchup for the kids. Gotta love Costco. We also picked up our dinner for the night - Costco pizza and hotdogs. Ah, a taste of home!