Seoul {Day 1}

For our second adventure this year, we decided to visit Seoul, South Korea.  We heard from a lot of people what a fun city it was and that it was totally a place our almost two-year old would be able to enjoy.  Our friends were right: we had a blast and saw a lot!  We were crazy busy for the almost four days we were there, so I'm going to break our trip down into two posts.  We didn't land in Seoul until the late afternoon, so our first day only consisted of getting settled into our Air B&B and finding dinner.  The place we stayed was so cute and just a few blocks away from the Metro.  I can't recommend getting an Air B&B over a hotel enough!

 Seriously, how cute is this place?!

Our first full day in the city was great.  My husband is a master navigator and he did an amazing job getting us around.  We walked and used the subway to get around the city.  Our first stop in the morning was the Seoul Children's Museum and the Seoul Children's Grand Park.  The Children's Museum was adorable and Nora was able to interact with a lot of the activities.  Her favorite part was the water tables (duh, this child is a water baby through and through).

After the Children's Museum we headed out to the Children's Grand Park.  They use the word Grand in the name for a reason - it truly is grand!  In the park there are hiking trails, playgrounds, a zoo, an amusement park and more.  By the time we got to the park our sweet toddler was becoming a grumpy toddler, so we didn't stay as long as we hoped.  But we did get up close and personal with a leopard, so we'll call it a win.

Sculpture garden made with recycled materials 

When we travel, we try to make it back to where we're staying by nap time so Nora can get a good nap.  Normally I don't have an issue with her taking a nap, but this day she wasn't having it.  We tried for awhile and then decided to head out again.  Here's what happened a few blocks down the road: 

We made it to Deoksugung Palace and Jonathan held Nora while I checked out the palace grounds.  I just loved all the Korean architecture - the details and intricacies are amazing!

Love the dichotomy of the old palace and the new modern city.

While I was cruising around the grounds, I heard drums beating and saw men in different uniforms marching towards the front gate.  I wasn't sure what they were doing, but clearly I had to follow.  When we got to the front gates, they began an elaborate Changing of the Guard ceremony.  It was so neat to witness (and a plus, they narrated the ceremony in English, Korean and Japanese).

The rest of the day we spent at Cheonggyecheon - a stream running through downtown Seoul.  There was once a raised highway over the stream, but the city undertook a massive revitalization and removed the highway and made walking paths by the stream.  It was beautiful and we had a great time walking along the paths and putting our feet in the water.

The perfect way to end our first day!