Visitors...

Having friends visit always makes time fly by, so the last week or so did just that.  Last Saturday my friend Anna and her friend Sibel came to visit for the weekend.  They both work for the airlines, so visiting Asia for the weekend is doable for them.  I already had plans to visit the DMZ, so they spent the first day here just get oriented with Seoul.  They stayed at an awesome hotel right downtown named Hotel PJ.  It was really nice, great location, and priced really reasonably, in case anyone reading this decided to check out Seoul.  Saturday and Sunday were both rainy, so I was a bit worried that Anna and Sibel would not enjoy Seoul as much as they could on a nice weekend...but I didn't have to worry.  Anna has traveled all over Europe, and Sibel is from Turkey, so their ability to adjust to the weather was amazing.  All I wanted to do was curl up in my bed, but they were troopers, especially considering the jet lag.


On Sunday I met up with them and we went to a Korean Village, and then to Insa-dong.  The Korean village was really interesting - and I am so glad we went.  It basically is a village that was created from original Korean houses.  We took an English tour, which was free, and I gained a greater appreciation for what I previously thought was just aesthetic design.


After the folk village, we headed to Insa-dong, which is pretty much a must for anyone visiting Korea.  It is such a cute area, and has tons of great tourist shopping, restaurants, and tea houses.  I have been to Insa-dong several times now, but each time I love it just as much as the time before.


On Tuesday, my friend Elena arrived to stay with me for 2 nights.  I met Elena and her boyfriend Jason in China, and we became great friends.  They also taught in Korea, but had been traveling through Southeast Asia for 3 months.  Elena had a 3 day layover in Seoul on her way back to the States.  You can check out her blog here http://elenaworldtravels.blogspot.com/.  It was so nice to see her again, to hear her stories from her travels, and just to hang out with someone for a few days.  I miss having people over to my place and just hanging out - that doesn't happen much here.


Having visitors here is wonderful, but it is hard because I can't take any time off, and my work schedule during the week makes it difficult to do a whole lot.  So, if you didn't visit me in Korea, come visit in CO - much easier to entertain there!  :)