Both sets of parentals (Stave and Lavender) flew in to visit on different trips. We studied for and took the GRE to get into graduate school. And we also celebrated our 1st anniversary by going to Malaysia during Chuseok (more on that trip in a later post).
Claytons parents came to visit at the end of August and mine came in October. We took both sets of parents to see some of the sights in Seoul : Insadong, Namdaemun Market, places we have written about already. But we also went on different excursions outside of Seoul with them.
When Claytons parents visited, we went to Gyeongju. Gyeongju is sometimes referred to as the 'museum without walls.' It was the capital of an ancient kingdom in Korea and there are many grassy tombs throughout the city. The tombs were massive and the city was built around them. A love hotel or apartment building would sit right next to this incredibly old piece of history. There are also many temples and palaces. We visited for only a few days, so we could not see the entirety of the city. But we did get to see quite a bit. We also visited the beach nearby. And, as we have discovered several times, the bus ride through the countryside was just as beautiful as the destination. Here are some photos from their trip:
An old astronomy tower.
Tombs. Dead kings inside.
Most amazing buns... ever.
Gotta love it when you go to the beach and make friends with a bunch of Sri Lankan monks!
Ssambap. Not the best meal we have ever had, but it shows a Korean style dinner table.
Ajumma visors. You're just jealous you don't have one.
We also went to see Seoul Tower for the first time with Jeff and Yvonne. Perhaps my favorite part of Seoul Tower was the locks that lined the fence around the tower. They were covered in locks on which people had written their names, dedications, and inside jokes. It was a lovely day, so we had a great view of Seoul from atop the tower.
It was really wonderful of Claytons parents to come visit. We definitely didn't expect that all four of our parents would be able to visit us in our year here in Korea. We miss everyone and it was really good to get hugs from our family.
More on my parents visit to follow.
