Another Canavan in Korea

on arrival - already on the pictures

first dinner - chicken galbi... mmmmhhhh 

first "sisterly" korean beer - cass/hite

gwangbok palace - the girls

my sister shannon

sandy, myself, stephen

my sister and i

knock, knock?

peek a boo!

Anguk! Insadong!

Kim-bop-cheong-gu

Shannon and Alana got to meet some girls doing a university survey...

and dance with the koreans!

SO..... Here it goes:

i did it. i convinced family members into an asian country. i'm not proud of it. i don't know if they liked it, but they were here, and it was a great time to have them. you know how it can get with family though. especially when you're on your vacation and with them nearly all the time. it really took some getting used to and even at that i can't say i was used to it. it's been nearly two years since i had been even remotely close to my family members, okay okay.. i know for some of you that's a crime in and of itself, but honestly... it was okay for us. really. i'm being honest. we do better with a bit of distance.
anywho, distance aside. my aunt, her daughter and my sister came. i made two massive mistakes. 1) getting my aunt and her daughter a korean business hotel room. you know like those mini apartments you can rent out? yep. they didn't like that much. my second mistake 2) was not having a back-up plan. they really didn't like the korean version of showering (over the toilet, whole bathroom wet, foggy mirror... those things i've become incredibly accustomed to!) and they didn't really like the space.. maybe that was the biggest thing cause they ended up going to the park hyatt over by coex. hey, whatever, they loved it. put a damper on my dreams of taking them outside the city cause they expenditure was a bit over the top, but hey it made them a bit more comfortable. i was put on edge though. i felt like i was put on the spotlight of entertainer, and trust me... if there's something i'm probably not good at, it's playing tour guide for a city i do mostly free and cheap things in. hmmmm... well. i was incredibly happy to see them. close to tears in fact... can't let them see that though, then they'd know how important it was for them to come! ugh i can be such and idiot sometimes. but, ya know, i took them around. showed them my favorite places. we got out to suwon and over into the northern parts of seoul... and low and behold!!!! I made it into Gwangbok Palace!! I know can you believe it? honestly I'm not quite sure how it happened because Stephen actually made it as well?! I'd have to say it was mostly my sister's doing.. I give her the credit of alarm clock. this girl did not want to miss a thing! she was all over that bulgogi and bibimbop! haha!

Hwasong Fortress

best tea shop ever!

sisters on the way to seoul tower

say hello to russia!

the bungalow long islands!

spider arms

a visit to echo point... the local pub

korean boys... awwwww

June!

war memorial

the morning of the sister's trip to haiensa

temple

really old tree

up the mountain in inclement weather?

doesn't look any better higher up...

no worries, we'll make it

chelsea... we're in the middle of really thick rain clouds. i think we should go now.

anyways, heart to hearts with shannon, drinking fun with my aunt and all over good sightseeing EVEN though it rained... and rained... and thundered.. and rained. they toughed out the summer vaca here and we got on each others nerves for 10days, but it was well worth it to see those that i love and care about.
so Shannon, Sandy, and Alana... thank you for coming... and here are some of the best photos.

Inter - Suwon Champions Deux

Stephen A Murphy and Inter-Suwon Football Club have had the immense pleasure of becoming Reigning Champions for the Second time here on the Sunday League in Seoul. Congratulations Boyos Enjoy the pictures!

CONGRATULATIONS BOYS!!!! JOB WELL DONE!!!!

6-11 a Good Day for Reflection: Seoul Palaces Plaza

just a general musing that i had never been to any of the palaces yet in seoul! how long had i been here? what in the world have i been doing... crap!
here's the problem. it's the weekend. and by the time of this being my second year, weekends now are pretty sacred. and if i don't feel like doing much, well... let's be honest there's not much that's going to get me out of the space-time warp call our apartment! now. i'll  be completely honest. we looked at the weather and braced ourselves for waking up and not being lazy.
it's just lack of discipline? i'm not sure. but 10am the alarm went off and somehow we weren't traveling to "gwangbok" - "seoul plaza" area until 4pm? that's the epitome of laziness there. honestly how that happens, clearly you're asking the wrong person.

so after clearly failing to see the palaces (which close at 5) we still made the effort to be in that area of seoul and we hung out contemplating our lazy selves and just all around enjoying some green grass as we watched busy-ness go about.

moral of the story - shape up! don't be so lazy. i can't let the work week drag me down so much. because, truth be told i'm getting tired of day-in day-out children.

however, i do actually plan on going and whence i do, there will be a full and properly titled report!

the go to...

seokcho seems to be a go to place for mr. murphy and myself. this'll be our third time going, and nothing was lost on this trip. the weather was fantastic enough for some beach sleeping, sunburning and pizza consuming.

it's quite hilarious to see the differences in which fireworks are treated here in this country as compared to home. quite literally there's no regulation and nearly everything is legally found off the street during celebratory holidays, haha.

there was a small family on the beach near us in the sand lighting off fireworks, and the parent's oblivion as to where their child was seemed so reckless. he was just wandering about.. the mother throwing her jacket, purse scarf quite near to where things were exploding... taking pictures instead of paying attention to where the fireworks are shooting (ie straight up and nearly lighting blankets on fire). allowing your 6 year old child to light them! aye yi yi! needless to say as distressing as it was, it did provide ample entertainment, as did the group of young drunk fathers and uncles who came to our other side doing something very similar, yet maintaining some level of composer telling them women to take the children away while they behaved like children themselves.

as always and forever shall be.. it was good to get away from seoul. I can't say how much I enjoy getting out of the city. as nice as it is to be in it. the extra effort it takes to go away means a lot more as the day goes out.

late arrival due to lazyness

hahaha... bad joke

watching irresponsible parenting, but good fireworks

dawn breaks... 

beach sleeping

afternoon sun

no mountains this time, just beach... japan in the far distant horizon. you can see it can't you?

so maybe after this rainy season/summer fit thing whatever korea is going through is over a new go to will be established. this one might have run its course... not sure yet. it was lovely as ever 

seoul forest picnic

an adventure with the kiddies from lily class and psa
we ventured out into the sun on a fine spring day
into the forest we went with games
in single file we sang the names
of that which we saw and counted while we walked
with idle chatter we talked and talked
our blankets spread, our toys strewn about
the day was merry without a doubt
we had food, balloons, wind toys and bubbles
so much to do we forgot our troubles

running, laughing, singing and playing,
we didn't care and the absurdities we were displaying.

till it was time to go home
back to the school and the drone
but that day was ours and the rest of the troop
we went just north of the river and picnic'd in 서울숲!