The past few weeks....wait. Let's be honest. The past few MONTHS have been super busy for Joseph and I and the great people we usually hang out with.
Almost every weekend since January has been full of multiple activities and destinations. It's been great. It's been fun. It's been super tiring. We need a break now.
This past Saturday Giselle, Debbie and I went to Seoul for a relaxing girl's day of getting our nails done and Giselle getting her hair highlighted. That sounds relaxing and not very involved, right? Yeah...no.
Giselle, Debbie and I met up at 9am to head to the bus terminal. We ate Mc Donald's breakfast which we inhaled because we have been eating Korean food for so long. We are not ashamed to say it was delicious but I am ashamed to say I wanted another one as we boarded the bus. The buses in Korea are fabulous. They are roomier than airplanes and your seats recline so you are almost laying down and there is also a cushy foot rest that lifts up your legs. Apparently in the very back of the bus is not as cushy as the rest however because this is where we were for this particular trip. The seats didn't recline as much and the foot rests didn't rise as high. Eh...for less than $12 we're okay with that.
We arrive in Seoul about 12:30 and we needed to have breakfast first! Our appointments were at 2pm so we needed to hurry.
We arrive to Itaewon about 1pm and to the Wolfhound Irish Pub about 1:10 and by 1:40 we were finished with our d e l i c i o u s breakfasts of 2 eggs, real bacon, hash brown, baked beans, toast, sausages and a coke. Don't deny us two breakfasts. Korea doesn't do breakfast like we know it so when we can get it, we get it. This is the second time since we have been here we've had it and every bite was fabulous.
We head to the Green Turtle Salon and Debbie and I proceed to get our nails done and Giselle sits waiting for her turn in the chair. Debbie and I finish drying our lovely summer nails and are paying to leave and Giselle is still waiting for her turn in the chair.
Debbie and I leave to have a pint of cider at Scrooges and Giselle is still waiting for her turn. Can you see how our day is not as relaxing any longer?
The Green Turtle is a foreign salon that specializes in foreign hair.
In Korea, you have to be careful when you want your hair dyed or
highlighted. The same dyes and chemicals used on Korean hair will kill
foreign hair. They are much stronger and if you dye your hair using
those products you will probably end up with orange hair or a bald
spot. It's happened. So you take the trip to Seoul to the Green Turtle
or you find a salon that uses Australian products in your own city. The stylist,
Michele (boy), is the only colorist in Seoul that is proficient in
coloring foreign hair (so says girls who have been to him). Apparently the Green Turtle overbooks people and
even if you have an appointment for 2pm you probably won't get seen
until almost 5pm. No thanks. It's maybe great if you live in Seoul but
we don't so it isn't okay waiting over 2 hours. It's stupid. Family
or friends can send you a touch up box from home and that will get you
through the year. Giselle learned her lesson but he did do a great job on her hair.
Giselle texts and says she is just now getting to her turn and will be about an hour so Debbie and I wander to find a few shops we read about in a magazine. We come across a World Market (this is not the USA version) which sells foreign foods. We are directly across the street from the US Army Base so it is not a surprise that this store only accepts cash for their "probably fell off the back of a truck but we're really glad it did" merchandise. Debbie and I think this is the best World Market store we have seen thus far in Korea as they have everything from real Quaker Oatmeal, GRITS, Sam Adams, lamb (as rare as a rose in winter), Doritos (didn't realize how much I missed those until I saw them) and real deodorant. We bought a few things and then walked around eating them: Root bear, ginger ale, Doritos and twix. The foreign items are very expensive so we only bought a few small things.
We meet up with Giselle and we tried to enjoy a glass of red wine but it was disgusting so we wandered around some more just looking and ended up back at Scrooges for a bite to eat because they specialize in British Pub Food. Yummy...We happen to run into a guy we know named Reese who is in the US Army and stationed at the base. His wife is visiting for a month so we all sit down to talk and eat. Good thing big rugby or soccer games were not going on or I'm sure Scrooges wouldn't have been as quiet as it was when we were there!
We had such a great time talking and catching up that we don't realize it's past 11pm and we have missed the last bus and the last train back to Daejeon. Super.
Debbie, Giselle and I end up at a Love Hotel which is almost exactly what it sounds like (post is up and coming about these hotels). They are good, clean (the most important), cheap places. We sleep and wake up the next day to another yummy breakfast of Starbucks and a tiny bit of shopping at our Turkish Bakery and finally we are on our way home. We are exhausted and sleep on the train home and are happy to arrive home in Daejeon.
Everyone rests for a few hours and then comes to our apartment for a dinner of homemade chicken soup and toasted butter bread.
We had a great time and wouldn't trade it but next time can we please have a boring outing?
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