BrickPop

BrickPop is a delightful fresh treat to beat the summer heat.  A little on the pricey side (3,000-5,000 won a popsicle) but, all ingredients are fresh and natural. Worth it!

I got the watermelon one, which had chunks of kiwi, pineapple, and more!

So many beautiful flavors to choose from!

Directions to BrickPop

Exit at Centum City station. BrickPop is located on the basement level of Shinsegae in the middle of the food court area.

Butter and stuff

At Shinsaegae they have a 'World Market'. It's one of the very few places where I've seen selling organic products. But check out these prices:

Organic Maple Syrup = 23 USD

Single serving of Organic Milk = 5 USD

4 sticks of organic butter = 25 USD

Berkeley Bowl, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods...

CALIFORNIA I MISS YOU!

Atlanta Burger

Another burger place in PNU. Atlanta Burger also has other western sandwiches and burgers on their menu.  Pretty decent food, but what's really awesome is that they have a patio in the back that joins the neighboring cafe. That would make for a pleasant afternoon!

blank paper on the walls for patrons to doddle on while waiting for their burgers...

Directions to Atlanta Burger

From PNU Station, take Exit 3. Turn right to the next main intersection and take a left.  Walk to the next big intersection and then take a right. Atlanta Burger should be on the left side of the street, right across from The Basement.

Crazy Witch Clothing

Seomyeon underground shopping is packed with tons of cute stores that sell everything from clothing, to bags, to shoes, and more.  It has entire stores devoted to jewelry, cosmetics, and phone accessories. The stores range from about the size of "college dorm room" to "walk-in closet". The prices range from "pretty fancy" to "what a steal", but basically you can find things here for a much lower cost than the department stores.  

Pictures below is my absolute favorite shop in Seomyeon.  Something about this store is really unique compared with all the others.  I think I'm really drawn to the fabric designs, the layering of lace, and the warm earthy colors. The store is aptly called Crazy Witch. Haha.

Pretty >.<

Renee's Last Brunch

These pictures are from Renee's last day in Korea. In the morning we had brunch together at Anne's apartment.

Anne's beautiful apartment!

Homemade brunch. Hildebrand's specialty: Candy-cap Mushroom Pancakes!

The spread

Miss you, Renee!

Beer Bar

This is a neat place in Dongnae. This lounge bar had several coolers stocked with beers from all over the world. Although, not quite like the selection at Beer Revolution (I hella miss California), it is nice to find a spot where you can enjoy a nice beer, a comfy seat, and conversation without having to talk over loud music. I'm getting old. Haha. I think maybe this place is called Volua... not 100% sure.

This isn't even a beer. HA.

Directions

From Dongnae Station, take Exit 2. Walk down the street and this bar should be on the right side on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Look up for the signs. If you cross the next main intersection you've gone too far.

Cupcake Decorating

When I first heard of decorating cupcakes from this blog, I knew I had to go! And when I mentioned the idea to Renee, she was IN at the word "cupcake". So Renee and I went to Dan Hana Cake in Seomyeon to get our cupcake decorating on.  

Dan Hana Cake is a cake/cupcake decorating shop equip with different varieties of frosting and cakes-- all sorts of flavors, colors, and shapes.  Not to mention a boat load of cute decorations! SO FUN. First, you choose the flavors of cakes and frosting. Renee and I decided to go for a variety pack of cupcakes with chocolate and strawberry frosting.

Step 1: Frost the cakes.

My first time piping frosting!

Step 2: Choose the decorations.

Keeping it simple and classy.

Step 3: Create masterpieces.

Renee made an AMAZING cat cupcake!

Who knew cupcake decorating could be so intricate? We were FOCUSED.

Step 4: Take a bigillion pictures of your creations because very soon you will eat them.

Renee made the Cat and Smokey the Bear. I made the fox/mouse? looking guy.

More fun creations!

Our complete set of six. Boxed up and ready to go. And yea, they were pretty tasty!

Directions to Dan Hana Cake:

From Seomyeon, take Exit 2. Walk directly out of the exit for about 2 blocks.  Dan Hana is right after the Paris Baguette. See link above for a map.

Krispy Kreme

With flavours I had never even heard of, Krispy Kreme in Korea is a real level up.

This is the NY Cheescake Donut

Inside was cream cheese goodness! YUM.

Boryeong Mudfest

I recently went to Mudfest, a yearly festival held in Boryeong. Mudfest was originally conceived as a way to promote cosmetic products from the Boryeong mud flats. The mud cosmetics are said to be full of healthy naturally occurring minerals. Mudfest has become a popular yearly event for both Korean and Western tourist.

This mud is not your ordinary dirt + water! Mud is taken from the Boryeong mud flats and brought to Daecheon beach for the "Mud Experience Land." The area is turned into a huge playground with mud pools, mud slides, mud obstacle courses, and more. Aside from the "Mud Land", there is colored mud for body painting, a large music stage on the beach, and markets selling different products/crafts from the area. This year there was also an airshow and a spectacular firework display in the evening.

I didn't dare take my camera with me, so all these pictures are stolen from others or taken outside the park area the next day.

Festive city decor.

I got to see Korea's West coast!

A kid with some mud body paint.

Slides! Picture taken from outside the park.

My favorite part! The obstacle course!
This man is getting ready to drench participants in mud before they go in.

My friend Callie, making some new mud friends.

Group shot... and then this lady. Haha.
Some aspects of this reminded me of wandering and people watching at music festivals.

After the festival was over, I taught a mud yoga class on the beach with my yoga teacher friends Callie and Andrea. I had so much fun hanging out with them! And it was awesome getting to geek out on yoga stuff with them throughout the weekend.

Callie, Andrea, and me.

After the mud festivities were over we made our way to the music stage. We were sprayed (sometimes aggresively, haha) with water as we danced to K-Pop and Psy. Gangnam Style has a very special place in my memory and heart.

Finally, we cleaned up and had a BBQ dinner on the roof.  We then made our way back to the beach for the firework show. I love fireworks. They also hold a special memory and place in my heart.

Again, so thankful for this experience.