Buddhist temple food

At Baru restaurant we experienced a 10 course vegan meal in the tradition of Korean Buddhism. This restaurant is run by the monks of the Joygesa Temple, which we visited on our walking tour.  Although the tradition is vegan, we understand from speaking with one of the monks, some followers of Korean Buddhism have incorporated meat into their diets because it is so central to the modern Korean diet.  You can see from the photo that we ate at the low table, sitting on the floor, which is also a traditional dining seating.  In many Korean restaurants you will have the choice of eating in the traditional way or at tables and chairs.  Often the traditional dining tables are in separate rooms, as this one was.

Insadong historical arts districit

Though a bit touristy, Insadong is a great spot to find unique, hand-crafted gifts and souvineers.

Watching the guys make dragon's beard candy, a fun performance with a tasty result.

Seoul Walking Tour

A lot of walking today...whew. But the tour was well worth it as we got to see the city from the ground up. You never know what you might come across while walking from stop to stop instead of riding the subway.

On Gwanghwamun Square learning about King Sejong the Great, the fourth and most respected king of the Joseon Dynasty and creator of Hangeul, Korea's alphabet. 

Model of the square and palace as it was centuries ago at the Natural History Museum. It's unfortunate how much of historical Korea has been destroyed by various conflicts and occupations.

Yellow ribbons of prayer to honor those lost in the recent tragic ferry accident. Displays of ribbons can be found throughout the city.

Crossing Cheonggyecheon stream, a personal favorite of mine, a respite from the city hustle and bustle.

Outside of Jogyesa Temple, the center of Zen Buddhism in Korea. Looking good in all that purple!

Not sure what this is

But I love the blues brothers

Planting flower boxes this morning along Soedaemun

On my morning walk I saw that the workers are planting flowers on the street near our hotel

My breakfast donut

Sorry just too cute to pass up

Nighttime shopping in Dongdaemun

This popular area of the city is open until the wee hours of the night. Some of the popular department stores, like Doota, unlike our American equivalent of say a Macy's, contain hundreds of individual designers and merchants.  So each area of the store is operated separately.  Here you can buy fashionable clothes, accessories like hats and jewelry, shoes, eyeglasses that are made in an hour from your prescription, souvenirs. As the evening goes along, it becomes more crowded as people flock to this popular area.