Long day today. Had breakfast in hotel cafe with the others. I wisely chose the "American" breakfast of ham, eggs, etc. They didn't get it completely right, but it was okay. A couple of the other gringos got a beef soup that was very spicy. Not my idea of a morning meal.
We then drove to Changdeok Palace and walked around a good part of it. The drive itself was as interesting, if not more, than the palace. Seoul is HUGE. The palace is near what could be considered the equivalent of Wash DC without all the museums. We walked a ways down a large mall with statuary, flowers, water features, etc. The US embassy was across the street. When one of us tried to take a photo of it, the large # of Korean nat'l police in front shouted at us, blew whistles and waved their fingers. No photos allowed, apparently.
We then drove a short way to an area with lots of touristy shops and some nicer galleries and such. Also had lunch there. Ate family style. As always, good food.
After lunch we drove across town (and it's a looong way across this town) to some nat'l govt. buildings where we met with about 6 transportation officials and were given a presentation about the national road and rail system.
We got out of there earlier than expected and, to kill time, our hosts took us to a "virtual" golf course. Peter and I begged off and sat in an adjacent room to shoot the breeze.
Dinner was at a traditional bbq beef restaurant where hi-quality cuts of beef are cut into bite-size pieces and grilled over very hot hardwood coals at your table. The meat is dipped into a variety of sauces and such. Very good. Our hosts wanted to go out drinking afterwards, but we begged off. Too tired. Had beer with dinner anyway.
All for now. Getting up early tomorrow for the long drive to Sangju. Big day there, meeting with VIPs, attending festival and such.
No comments:
Post a Comment