Changdeok Palace

While Carin was here, on the Friday, October 26, Chris happened to have the day off, so we all went down to Seoul for the day. (This was a huge blessing since Saturday it was pouring all day and Cay had to head back to the airport.) It was a gorgeous, perfect day! Since Cay wanted to see something old, and she loves fall, we thought it would be perfect to go see one of the ancient palaces. We went to the Changdeok Palace which was attached to an ancient secret garden. While the Gyeongbok Palace was the largest of the ancient palaces, Changdeokgung, originally built in 1405, is especially known for the beautiful grounds on which it is housed. Many of the kings favored this palace of the five palaces from the Joseon Dynasty. "Changdeokgung" literally means, "the palace of prospering virtue."

This gate, originally built in 1412, is the oldest gate in Korea.

Aren't the mythical creatures who protect the palace cool?

A HUGE beautiful tree right as you enter the gate.

The main palace (Injeongjeon Hall) was where the seat of the royal throne was built in 1405.

Claire LOVED hanging out with her Aunt Cay.

Those stones to the side have writing engraved in it and officials would stand in front of them according to their rank. Unlike Gyeongbokgung Palace, you could actually enter this palace, though you had to take off your shoes and weren't allowed to take pictures.

This picture just made me laugh. We were saying, "where the heck did Chris go?" I guess he was taking our picture. Haha.

More of the cool, smaller buildings on the grounds. I love that tree.

The kids had a good time too. Claire ran around quite a bit, and had fun playing on the grounds. 

I love this mid-jump/run picture - piggy tails a flailin'.

Cay carried Maddie around quite a bit. Her arms got a rest here, and Maddie loved the freedom of being in the stroller, but not buckled in.

After we wandered around the palace grounds, we went to the entrance of the secret garden. It is a beautiful wooded area, with nice paths, ponds, and pavilions. It was a perfect location to soak in the beauty of the fall leaves and enjoy a leisurely stroll, enjoying the sights and smells. Though the pictures don't quite do it justice, Chris did get a lot of great shots. Here are some of my favorite.

The trees above us right as we entered the secret garden.

Right after going over a hill , we came to this beautiful resting spot.

While I fed Maddie, Claire played. Claire had fun playing with the leaves, dirt, and sticks while running around the area. She said she was chasing a bird in this picture.

She even found a little friend, though she wasn't happy he messed up her stick designs in the dirt.

Maddie and Aunt Cay sure love each other. :)

After our afternoon at the palace, we hopped on a subway, and headed toward Dongdaemun - a HUGE shopping market. It is named for this large gate as Dongdaemun means "great east gate."

It is Korea's largest wholesale and retail shopping district and has 26 shopping malls, 30,000 specialty shops, and 50,000 manufacturers. Within the ten blocks of the market area, you can find silks, clothes, shoes, sporting goods, plumbing and electrical supplies, electronics, office supplies, toys, and just about everything else you can imagine. It was getting late, and we were really hungry, so we mostly focused on finding food. We did go down an alley with a TON of shoes though. Some were really cute (and this is coming from a person who doesn't care much about shoes.) Chris actually bought a pair. There were also some, uh, interesting shoes like these.

Bowling anyone?

Claire and I also each got a pair of really soft, warm, and comfy pajama pants. We also found souvenir shops (which were run by Chinese people, Ha!) where we bought things for our family. We didn't stay there a really long time because it was getting late, but we had a lot of fun and will go back. It was a wonderful, fun day with Cay and our little family. :)

The view crossing the bridge going to more of the vendors lining the streets.