Bootylicious Kimchee

Actually there are two separate recent events combined into this one entry, our trip to Korea, and the night Beyonce came to Shanghai.

We spent a beautiful weekend in Seoul, Korea, wandering around the streets, visiting palaces, and finding non-Korean foods to eat. I actually had a business dinner one night and ate possibly the worst dish I've ever tasted. Even the Koreans admitted it was pretty horrible, but said it was one of those "acquired tastes". I noticed not even they were eating it, though! Basically it was a cold fish dish that smelled and tasted like ammonia, bitter and sour, like it had been left out to rot for a few weeks before serving. Anyway, all the Koreans had a good laugh watching my eyes tear up as I struggled not to throw up on myself.

Suffice to say, Tiff and I stuck to more pedestrian fare the rest of the time. Luckily, it turned out that Seoul did have great French and Italian food readily available. And even better for Tiffany, they had Dunkin' Donuts, where we binged like Homer Simpson.

It was a perfect fall weekend and we were able to walk around a nearby mountain to enjoy the changing colors of foliage. The air was crisp and clean, and the trails remarkably quiet. A very nice change of pace from Shanghai for sure!





We toured the last Korean palace grounds, which included this "secret garden" area where the royalty could retreat to for some peace and relaxation.




Here I am in front of the main palace receiving hall, still feeling slightly hung over from the post-Dunkin Donuts sugar crash.






Tiffany found a friend in one of the local guards!

A day after returning from Seoul, we saw Beyonce in her first Shanghai concert ever. I don't know what it is, but seeing concerts in Shanghai is remarkably hassle-free. I guess it's because we can take the subway there, the concerts are exactly two hours long, there are no opening acts and the shows always start and end right on time, but we've seen way more concerts than we normally do in the US. And it's fun to watch all the Chinese singing along to "Bootylicious"...