A slightly more lazy start to the day with a lazy breakfast before heading out for a morning of palace visiting. First up was Changdeokgung Palace, a modest Palace but blessed with an immense ‘secret garden’ which luckily we managed to get tour tickets for. The Palace, once home to one of the Korean kings was a delight, but the secret garden was amazing. Our witty tour guide snaked us through over 400 acres of wonderful buildings and lakes all used purely to let the king get some peace and privacy.
Taking a side gate out of this palace we entered the adjacent ‘additional’ palace, Changgyeongung. This again was a delight, but we mainly visited just to see the white Victorian-like glass house pointed out by our guide while we were on the secret garden tour the other side of the wall. Sitting by the lake enjoying the sunshine was a delight.
Then on to Jongmyo Park to once again see the old guys playing Go and see them all sat around discussing goodness knows what. Lots of raised voices though.
Taking a quick brew from a stall we spotted people up on the Sewoon Market building, finding a lift we managed to join them, getting a good view of the neighbourhood and shrine in the park.
After some time out enjoying the sunshine on the roof terrace it was time to rejoin the rat race down below, cutting through the Kwangjang market on the browse for dinner.
Following a swift visit to the nearby Culture & Design Centre – which was architecturally beautiful but rather incongruous – we decided to return to the food market for possibly the tastiest and cheapest bibimbap (¥5000) ever. Deciding that trekking 10 miles needed rewarding with a break we picked up a bubble tea and custard desert locally before returning to our hanok for a break.
After packing our cases ready to end this part of our adventure we returned to Insadong for tea in another little tea house – Shins Old Tea House. This time we opted for a Chinese quince tea and a green plum tea with a plate of delicious rice sweets. Tea shops are not cheap in Korea but they are so relaxing and a great way to bid farewell to Seoul.
And then, on the way back to our guesthouse, we manged to squeeze in a final treat, a beer in Goose Island pop-up store.
mrandmrsyoung 