KOREA: WINTER SONATA

For some of you guys who didn't know, I went to Korea for 2 weeks last winter. This will be part of my blog post for the things I did there for days. Hope you guys will enjoy reading it! :D

We stayed at a serviced residence called Somerset Palace Seoul. It has the best service and there's nothing I can complain to a 5 star hotel franchise from The Ascott Limited. Korea was also very cold and it was at least -8°c to -16°c.

I had to wear layers of sweaters and jackets just so I could "survive" the cold. But anyway, we went to a lot of places and we went out almost everyday. (Just imagine how unprepared I am to be "fashionable" in this trip. =__=)

If your thinking, "What the hell are you talking about, you look great!" then try to Google "Korea's Winter 

Fashion". Haha. Speaking of unfashionable, I wasn't also emotionally ready for how my skin care routine should be during the winter. The weather made my skin very dry. So I might share how I dealt with it on a separate post. 

Breakfast at Somerset. I don't really eat breakfast very much but their selection of food makes you want to eat breakfast every.single.day.

First off, we went to Insadong and ate lunch.

We went to separate places to eat when we were there but these are some of the food we ate in Insadong. I'm guessing these are fried and steamed dumplings and they were actually super good. I like anything fried so the fried dumplings were the best.

Insadong is "well known as a traditional street to both locals and foreigners" and represents the "culture of the past and the present". It contains 40 percent of the nation's antique shops and art galleries as well as 90 percent of the traditional stationery shops. So basically, what you can see in Insadong are old antique, souvenir shops and mini malls. You can also see Korean cosmetic retail stores which I always spazz whenever I see one. 

Now, Korea won't be complete without doing some shopping! We had to go out everyday so that we won't waste any damn thing when we were there. First we went thrift shopping. Since my dad stayed here for almost 6 months and my mom stayed there for almost 2 months maybe, so they knew where to go around.

And look at all these bags. o_o

And this has to be...the biggest aloe vera I have ever seen. 

I will do a haul maybe on a separate post. I'm actually really excited for that but I'm going to show you guys how I we celebrated our Christmas. There are a lot of Filipinos in Korea and some of them gather at a mini church. This church is located somewhere in Jongno-gu via Anguk Station. So we celebrated our Christmas in this church with other Filipino's as well. And Christmas is not complete without a....

Yes, Noche Buena! XD

I had such an amazing time chatting with other Filipinos and ofcourse, my time with my family. Before we started eating, we actually had a mass to celebrate the time of the year. So much blessings. 

When were about to go home to our apartment, it was snowing! Yes, white Christmas baby!

If you could just imagine. It was our first time to experience snow ever. Since white Christmas only comes around like 4-5 years after in Korea so we felt very lucky to experience it. 

Next stop is Gwanghwamun Square. We didn't went to Gyeongbokgung Palace on the first week. So we hang around in Gwanghwamun Square for a while before we visit Dongdaemon.

I also saw this campaign running in and around the streets of Jongno-gu which I strongly believe in.

We also saw this beautiful reporter and we took some photos of her. See guys? My fashion is nothing compared to THIS.

We wanted to try the public skating rink but I just don't know how to skate in a -8° open air weather. And the people lining up was just too loooooooong.  

Korea may not be a Catholic country but they have their own way of celebrating Christmas. 

And look! Free hugs...and chocolates! :D

Bram. Don't kill me. I'm just being friendly. >__< 

Then we went to Namdaemun Market. I didn't really get to take a lot of pictures there but Namdaemun Market is one of the oldest continually running traditional markets in the country, and one of the largest retail markets in Seoul. The streets in which the market is located were built in a time when cars were not prevalent, so the market itself is not accessible by car.

We wanted to have something for dinner so this is what we bought. I honestly don't remember what these are but by the looks of it, I think it's pork. 

After looking around Namdaemun Market, we went to..guess where? 

You guess it! The biggest, main shopping district in Seoul, Myeong-dong!!

And look at all those makeup shops!! Etude House, Holika Holika and The Face Shop!

 Nature Republic, a very famous Korean cosmetic brand. Bought stuff from there too! Nature Republic is also available in SM stores in Manila. Please don't mind the horrible face. xD

Aritaum store in Myeong-dong offers an array of items of all different price ranges. Laneige and Iope brands are particularly popular among tourists like me! :D 

Too Cool for School is an interesting cosmetic brand name. They offer range of organic products from facial cleansers, body scrubs, cosmetics to even foot scrubs! Too Cool for School is also available in some SM stores in Manila. I think I saw one in SM Mall of Asia or SM Megamall. 

Annnnnnd the cosmetics outside their store. If only I could get them for free. : ))

The pink bag is our shopping bag. We could not survive without them. 

So far I think that's about it. xD I might do a separate post for my fave places in Korea. I changed my laptop so I don't have all the photos with me! *Cries in corner*

xoxo, eun