Hey Hive!
If you missed the last few posts, I've been sharing about our first trip to Seoul back in Nov 2022! We were waiting post-covid for everyone to go on their holidays before taking a big one and we finally decided to go on our honeymoon! It's also our first time experiencing Fall so we were double excited!
Last week, we finally finished our first day ending it off by checking into our nice cozy hotel room and taking a nap since we barely got sleep on the plane and were tired from walking around all morning. We had a late dinner before getting some snacks at the night market in Myeongdong!
This croffle (waffle+croissant) was definitely the best snack of the day! It was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and it tasted amazing!
After an interesting first day, there's a lot more to see though so let's go!
10 Nov 2022. Thursday.
It was a beautiful morning and it was a little cold when we headed out to get some breakfast.
I really wanted something warm so we headed to the nearest cafe which was this place called A Twosome Place! I think it's a coffee shop chain in Seoul but we thought the name was funny.
The cafe itself was pretty huge on the inside, with plenty of seats by the huge floor to ceiling windows. It also had a lot of modern furnishings with a natural look. Overall, it was very inviting atmosphere.
The counter was surrounded by displays of cakes and pastries. It was quite a lot to take in.
Beside the counter was a cold cake display but we didn't want any cold snacks and they definitely looked too sweet for me.
For drinks they had various coffee and teas, along with fruit teas, oat drinks and other seasonal stuff as well.
We each chose a pastry and shared a hot chocolate drink. Of the savoury ones there were only a few options left. I guess because it was slightly after morning rush hour so they might have been running low on stock. But the whole shop smelled of coffee and pastries so the bakery must have been busy with making more. I think there were also some that were freshly made that weren't displayed.
After we placed our order we went to find a nice seat to settle in.
There were more tables in the back with some leather couches so we went there instead away from the bustle of the street.
We had a nice corner to ourselves here and I was admiring the matching colours of the furnishings with the walls. I thought the coaster was fitting for the start of our honeymoon. <3
Once our order was ready we went to collect our tray and didn't expect it to be so much! The pastries turned out to be a lot bigger than we thought. What a huge breakfast!
This was a good start to the day but it was definitely one of the bigger breakfasts we've had in recent times.
Even the mug of hot chocolate was pretty big too, and it was a little thick so we made sure to stir it well.
It was a nice warm start though, just what I needed while still getting used to the cold outside.
Sean chose the croissant which iirc was a coconut cream croissant or something similar. It was quite sweet but it did taste like kaya jam like what we would have in Singapore. We just didn't expect to see it in a Korean cafe.
I wanted to get something savoury and I chose this Olive Cheese bread because it was huge for the price we paid and probably the most worth it of all the other pastries.
It was pretty good! The cheese was baked into the loaf though and I think was lacking in most of the slices as a result. I would've liked it better as a cheese spread of sorts but it was still alright.
After finishing our big breakfast we were very satisfied and ready to take on the day! Since the weather was quite promising today we had a special thing planned for the morning and our big breakfast was going to prove helpful.
We headed to the train station for a short trip just a few stations away. The good thing about staying in Myeongdong was that we were right in the center of Seoul and most of the famous sights were only a few stations away.
While on the train we saw this really cute doggo in a little carrying case! He didn't make a sound and I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't look down but he was so cute!
We alighted at an interchange station to take another train and I saw some goofy wall art at the station.
It wasn't very far away but we still had to change lines.
There was a map of the whole Seoul Metro line at this station showing how spread out it is, but we were just staying in the center.
Soon enough we arrived at our station!
We were heading to one of the palaces today and it was right near Anguk Station, where a few other sights were located as well, like Bukchon Village.
We made our way to street level and enjoyed the cool morning air where there were some bright yellow trees!
It was nice to see the less busy sides of Seoul and enjoy a leisurely walk in the Fall weather. It was still pretty early in the morning so most of the shops weren't open yet.
We weren't just heading to the palace first, but had to make a detour since we were going there dressed up in hanbok (i.e. traditional Korean wear)! Just like in Japan where you can rent kimonos, you can also rent hanbok in Korea and if you do you can head into the palaces for free!
While following the map, we found the hanbok rental shop! We booked a package for two of us on the KLOOK app at 10am so we made sure to get there ahead of time since we weren't sure how to find it. Thankfully it didn't take long and we found it alright.
The shop was on the second floor and it was a pretty small place. But the lady boss was very friendly and we could communicate well despite her limited use of English.
The shop was pretty small but it was packed with loads of hanbok choices for all ages! There were so many colours and patterns to choose from. Since this was our first time, we didn't know what to do but the lady was very helpful and guided us through the process.
After we chose the colours we wanted, she led us to the changing rooms and taught us how to wear them. Or in my case, assisted me into the hanbok. The good thing about this is we didn't have to change out of our clothes and would just be wearing the hanbok over it. Everything was elastic so you could adjust it to your desired fit which was a huge relief after the kimono which is very tight.
It was my first time ever wearing a petticoat so it was quite a unique experience. After the petticoat was the main skirt and bodice which thankfully wasn't a corset. On top was just the outer jacket-like layer that you'd tie around yourself. It was actually surprisingly light and comfortable.
For the guys it was even simpler, just pants that were initially very baggy that you'd tighten around the waist, and an overshirt of sorts. She also gave Sean the hat to complete the look. We initially chose a dark blue pants for Sean but I think it got mixed up with the lady's picks for us and he ended up wearing a gray one instead, unfortunately.
For the girls, there's also accessories for you to put on your hair and she gave me a few options to choose from and fitted it into my hair. She was very gentle and helpful the whole way and we were so grateful! She made me look so pretty and I felt like a princess!
There were little purses you could borrow so the girls could carry their stuff since the dresses obviously don't come with pockets.
She also gave me some shoes to wear that were unfortunately heels, and I thought I had to wear them since my shoes weren't high enough and I didn't want the dress to get dirty. So I changed out of my comfy shoes which turned out to be a mistake, but we'll get to that.
Once we were all done up, it was time to head out!
The heels were not the most comfortable so I had to walk slowly and carefully. I'm also not used to wearing heels normally so it was going to be rough. But we tried to make the most of it anyway.
We had to walk a few streets down to go to Changdeokgung palace which is a large Joseon dynasty palace and the biggest one that was close by.
I felt really pretty but I also felt a little self-conscious walking next to regular folks but I tried not to let it get to me.
Soon enough, we arrived at the entrance to the palace and we took our time to take lots of photos! It was also hard for me to take photos in the dress and heels so Sean took most of these.
I did get some goofy shots of him though.
We also saw a few other people in hanbok here at the palace so I felt more at ease here. At the entrance, we were waved right in for being in hanbok and were free to roam about the palace.
Thankfully it wasn't very crowded although there were a few tourists here and there. The area was very spacious though so we didn't have to worry too much.
There were also plenty of beautiful fall trees here like this really red one! We were so fascinated by all the colours and felt like this was the best day to come here.
I'm glad I chose a nice light colour for my hanbok to contrast the red!
There were information plaques detailing the history of certain landmarks in the palace like the Donhwamun Gate which is the main entrance to the palace and was used for ceremonial occasions like when the king went on procession.
The paths were very wide and we imagined it was for certain vehicles to pass through. It was nice to be able to walk on such wide pathways though.
There were some other folks walking through the palace as well, but we were surprised that there weren't many other people in hanbok.
After turning a corner we arrived in the main square of the palace!
We tried to take a few nice shots here and thankfully we brought our selfie stick!
The morning sun did get a little warm when there wasn't a breeze but the weather was thankfully still quite lovely.
But I think that's going to be it for today! Tune in next week when we explore the palace and take lots of photos in our hanbok!
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Check out my previous post in this series!
TacoCat’s Travels #229 (Seoul): Checking into Myeongdong's Tasty Snacks
