I recently traveled to South Korea to visit my sister Carrie (who was due with her second baby), brother-in-law Joe, and almost 5 year old niece Carlie. Traveling to South Korea is about a 10-12 hour flight from the west coast. I flew out of San Francisco on United, but there was no little TV's which made the journey feel longer than it should have. But I spent most the time reading and got in a few naps. I arrived late Sunday night to Seoul and traveled by bus to Yongsan Army Post where the Bemi were staying. Luckily Carlie stayed up and was able to give me a HUGE hug upon my arrival. Carrie looked cute as ever with her big belly. So wonderful actually touching my sister and niece instead of looking through Skype. On Monday Carrie, Carlie and I went to a flower market. We actually walked into the auction side of it and saw people bidding on beautiful carts of orchids. We finally found our way to the actual market. At first we walked around flowers still in the dirt, then found a warehouse full of freshly cut flowers. There were rows and rows of colorful flowers from roses, to tulips, to daisies, to sunflowers, to lilies, to almost every flower you could imagine. It smelled wonderful in there (surprisingly, I note this because most of the smells I encountered were gross). Carlie got some pink roses to take back to the hotel with us. This was my first encounter with Korean driving and traffic. It is insane there! Cars and buses squeeze into tiny places and turn wherever they want to. Of course, this made me nauseated, but really, what doesn't:) Here are a few pictures from our flower market adventure:
Reading about Korean Agriculture.
Amazing orchids.
Part of the warehouse:
Flowers piled up:
Flower Market sign:
Moving on to our next adventure, we decided to take a bus tour of the city. It was a bus that you can hop on and off while it drives throughout the sights in Seoul. Again, not such a great idea for a jet lagged, nauseated person like me, but I survived without puking! I did have to make a quick exit a few times, but no vomitator for me. Anyway, the bus drove to Seoul Tower which is communication and observation tower on top of a mountain surrounded by beautiful trees and land. Carrie and Carlie had already been there, but we got off anyway, and enjoyed the amazing views and gorgeous fall trees. The colors where changing, leaves were falling, a breeze was in the air and it seemed to be the perfect fall day in Korea.
Sisters!
Carlie and I with Seoul in the background.
Tree Pose.
The view...
Carlie and me with Seoul Tower.
Next stop: Changdeok and Changgyeong Palaces. Both of these Palaces had a few acres of property with buildings, lakes, trees, and a lot of history. It was amazing to see these Palaces that were built in the 1300's still standing, well preserved but with high rises surrounding the outside of the grounds. Again, we all enjoyed a wonderful fall day touring these two properties and thoroughly enjoyed the sights.
In front of the Throne Room.
Beautiful structures.
Brilliant coloring.
A sneak peek through the old and into the new.
Prego Carrie and Carlie Jean
More structures.
What a juxtaposition of the old and new in South Korea.
Seoul Tower can be seen in the background.
Maps of the Palaces:
Map of our bus tour:
Next stop on our tour of the city: Namdaemun Market. It is located in the center of Seoul and is the largest traditional Korean market. That means that there are tons of people, tons of crap (oh, I mean, tons of clothing, shoes, toys, scarves, food...), and did I mention, tons of people? Koreans go there to get knock off goods at a wholesale price. It was crazy, all I could do was watch and make sure that I got out with my pregnant sister and my almost 5 year old niece. It was fun to walk around and I saw plenty of interesting food as well. Like dried squid, some flat fish on a stick and of course there was kimchi for all.
I got to hang out with Joe! His schedule opened up just after I got there and it was great to spend some time with him. One activity that Carlie and I did with him was flying little motorized airplanes. It was a blast and Carlie loved BigBlue:) Joe and I also played tag with Carlie at the park and we were able to give Carrie some time to herself.
Carlie posing with BigBlue
Carlie and I
Another adventure we went on was shopping in Myeongdong. There are lots of high end stores as well as Forever21 and H&M. We found a yummy Italian restaurant for lunch. Funny, eating Italian food in Korea:)
A few nights before Halloween, the base we were staying on had an early Trick-or-Treating event for the children. This was Carlie's first year of actual trick-or-treating and she dressed up as an angel. At this point Carrie had not popped and she was a real trooper with all the walking. Carlie did a great job and was very polite. It was a great evening and I am thankful I was able to spend this time with the Bemis Family. Here is a sweet picture of the angel:
While in Korea, I celebrated my 27th birthday. THe day consisted of decorating a haunted ginger bread house and playing outside in the beautiful weather. We went to the park, flew planes and enjoyed the sunshine. For dinner, the Bemi treated me to an incredible Italian dinner in Itaewon. While walking to the restaurant we encountered a Korean music festival and a fire. There was an entire building on fire and we could not believe the amount of people taking pictures and trying to get closer to the action. It was quite a sight to see. The food we ate was amazing and it was topped off with gelato!
Carlie and I with the finished product.
Carrie and Joe:
The drinkers:)
Gelato off the belly.
The biggest news of all, at 4:45am on Halloween morning, Tessa Jolie Bemis was born. Baby Tessa weighed 9 lbs 2oz. No joke! Once Carlie woke up, I got to tell her the big news and we headed over to the hospital. She was SOOOOO excited! Needless to say, Tessa was beautiful and quite the chunk-ster. It was a beautiful moment to watch as the Bemis Family of four experienced their first moments together.
The Big Sister outside of the hospital.
A very happy Big Sis!
Carrie and her girls:
A little lady bug and a big pumpkin for Halloween.
The day after Tessa's birth, Carrie and Joe checked out of the hospital and we all headed back home. Home being Osan, which is about 1.5 hours away from Seoul. We had to pack up the hotel and catch the bus, with a newborn! It was quite the adventure getting all the Bemi bags together and packing into a bus. But, it was so wonderful to get to their home! Although being in Seoul was fun and I got to see a lot of sights, it felt good to be in Carrie and Joe's home. They live in an apartment on the 14th floor. It is a really nice apartment. Joe cooked yummy nutella and strawberry french toast for dinner while Carrie settled in with Tessa. Carlie and I played with her dollhouse and enjoyed my last evening together.
New niece!
First car seat ride!
The morning of November 3rd, I had to say my good byes to the Bemis Bunch. I got in some last minute snuggles with Carlie and Tessa. I had a fantastic trip and I am so thankful I had the time to come out to Korea. Carlie has such a wonderful spirit. She is full of joy and loves life. Carrie and Joe set a great example of a couple still loving each other after 10 years of marriage and the love they have for their family. I feel blessed and grateful to have been a pseudo-Bemis for a few weeks!
