18th dec 09 - evening

After Mark had a rest we walked down the road in search of dinner. We found a small restaurant in a row of restaurants near the tram stop and Jo's bar (Restaurant U Kostela). We walked in and we could hear Coldplay. Good music so I thought we would probably get good food. The place was nice and the staff quite friendly. We had a tomato and vegetable soup for starter. It was nice but I bet I could re-create it using a combination of Heinz tins! Then mark had potato gratin and I ordered a Czech dish which consisted of duck breast, pork rib and ham. It came with Czech dumplings and two types of cabbage. The cabbage was like boiled pickled onions! I ate the meat and dumplings but couldn't quite manage to finish the cabbage. We were so full up that we decided to give dessert a miss. halfway through our meal Coldplay was turned off and a Woman started playing the piano. She was playing Christmas songs and what we thought were film theme tunes. Very surreal as we were the only ones in the restaurant.

Observations about Czech dining: MEAT!!! Czechs love meat. It is quite usual to have more than one meat in a dish. Lots of restaurants advertise -'Mixed Grill - three types of meat!' Luckily they accept that there are non meat eaters so most places have a vegetarian menu. The Devil restaurant didn't but after ascertaining that Mark did NOT eat meat or fish they cooked him up a pasta thingy. The Music in all the places we've eaten in so far is either film themes played on a piano or 80's pop music. We find ourselves playing 'name that tune' as we eat! Bread - with every meal you are given bread. Lots of bread of varying shapes colours and sizes. I have never seen so much bread on a table.

19th Dec 09

We went to Prague castle today ( Prazsky Hrad). It was really cold and the walk up the hill was a nightmare. Well, the castle is just above our hotel so it about a 10 min walk but the slippery, icy road made it a chore. The castle is breath taking. I'm not into architecture but even a philistine like me could see the beauty in the buildings. We walked through a a couple of courtyards and then bought tickets for St George's Basilica, Golden lane and the old Palace. We went back to the entrance of the castle to watch the changing of the guard. It was very camp and casual. President Havel changed the ceremony after years of communistic ritual, giving the guards uniforms designed by an Oscar winning costume designer and a fanfare composed by a Czech rock musician.

St. Vitus's cathedral was free so we went in there first. It was stunning! The exterior was stunning enough with it's Gothic spires but the interior was even more stunning. We spent a bit of time in there looking around and taking pictures. The other places were nice but I wished we'd seen them first as they paled in comparison to the Cathedral. Half way through our tour we went to a cafe for some hot wine so we could thaw out a bit. After we had seen everything we wanted to see we made our way back to the hotel. By now it felt like it was minus thirty not minus ten! We went into the Arcadia cafe in the hotel for hot chocolate and strudel as a treat.

We spent a bit of time in the hotel thawing out, Mark having his regular nap and me listening to him snore! We then decided to go to an Italian restaurant we'd passed just a little way up the hill. I ordered pasta and mark ordered pizza. After we ordered they bought us the regulation two ton of bread to have with our soup. We felt we deserved a desert after braving sub zero temperatures all day so I had tiramisu and Mark had strudel. We had a good nights sleep as we planned to visit the Jewish quarter the next day.

17th - First full day in Prague.

We decided to go out and explore today. We went across The Charles Bridge and towards Old Town Square. The bridge was beautiful with lots of statues adorning it (25). There were lots of stalls and artists selling paintings of offering to sketch you. The view from the bridge was stunning. The Old Town square is so pretty. That's where the Christmas market is held and the stalls sell a variety of Chrismassy goods and food. The square has a lovely tree that is decorated with brightly coloured baubles and lights. We hung around in the square for a while drinking hot wine and trying to avoid being accosted by men trying to exchange currency with us! The views from the square were lovely. The town hall houses the Astronomical clock which shows you the state of the universe etc as time passes. Every hour a man stands right at the top and plays a fanfare. He does this from all four sides of the tower and then waves at the crowd - quite a few of them wave back too!

We decided to move on so we tackled the map. Eventually we found the way to Wenceslas Square. Not impressed. There was half a dozen market stalls and loads of nightclubs. It is a shopping area. We went to Marks and Spencer's for a coffee then had a look around C&A's. That was a blast from the past. We eventually wandered back to the old town square and had some more hot wine - the way to ward of the cold apparently, and then back across the Charles bridge. On the bridge we got talking to a young Malaysian boy who studies in England. He was in Prague with his Mum and Dad as part of a European tour he was taking them on. They were a really nice family and we said goodbye after he took our photo with his parents. We went back to the hotel and had a rest then went for dinner at a restaurant just down the road. The theme of the restaurant was devils. There were pictures and models of devils everywhere. We had a fairly nice meal but instead of going for a walk we went straight back to the hotel as it was too cold. Mark had booked a trip to Terezin for early the next morning. Terezin is a fortified town that the Nazis turned into a Jewish concentration camp/ghetto. Given Marks interest in history I'm not surprised he wanted to visit there. I didn't want to go as I thought it would be sad and I don't have the same interest in history as Mark does. We had a fairly early night after eating all the snacks in our room.

Today - 18th

Mark went of on his excursion after breakfast and after stocking up on fruit and snacks I spent an hour in the room staring despondently out of the window at the the snow :( After seeing the status's on fb saying that the UK was suffering from snow I didn't feel too bad. It's very cold here (minus four today) and it is snowing but we are by no means snowed in , so I decided to go out to the Old Town to look in the shops. Before I left I went to the hotel roof garden to have a little look. It's really pretty and will be lovely in the summer when you can sit out there for longer than two minutes without being turned into an icicle!

I walked to the old town being accosted numerous times by people handing out leaflets advertising various carol concerts. The bridge was busier today...loads of tourists and artists - even an organ grinder with his monkey (a toy one unfortunately). I had a look around the shops, going inside whenever I could to defrost. One thing Czech Rep is famous for is it's crystal and glass. There is a crystal or glass shop every few feet! Some of the stuff reminds me of bits and pieces my mum owned in the 70's. Some of it is really nice though albeit a bit pricey. There are lots of jewellery shops too. Garnets and Amber seems to be the stones of choice here...lots and lots of Amber, not my favourite as it looks like nicotine stained glass to me. I was once again accosted by a man trying to by sterling! After a wander around I decided it was time to get some lunch I walked back over the bridge. It's much colder on the bridge as the cold air sweeps in from the river. Half way across I wanted to cry. I couldn't feel my face it was so cold! Even with two pairs of gloves my hands were freezing. I decided to go in Jo's bar - with a name like that it was bound to be great! I was right. I had a hot wine and a chicken sandwich that was actually a huge chicken filled baguette that came with masses of chips and salad. I hurried back to the hotel so I was there when Mark came back. He was meant to be back around threeish but came back at about four thirty. He enjoyed his trip and found it very interesting. We had a chat about our day and decided we'll go out for dinner a bit later. As I write this he is snoring his head off on the bed. HELP! At least at home I can escape from his snoring. Here I'm trapped with it in a hotel room!!!!!

Oh and the young man on the desk said that this winter is much colder than normal and they don't always have snow!

Prague day one.

I was looking forward to this trip and then I realised it would be cold. Even though I knew that nothing could prepare me for how cold it would be.

But first. The journey. Quite a convoluted journey as we could only get a flight with a stop over. I don't mind but Mr. W doesn't fly well - it's the take of and landing that freaks him out. Mmmm...so thats 2 take offs and 2 landings each way - ooops! So there's my big 6ft 1" husband sitting there squeezing my hand with his eyes tightly closed on take off. I looked at the young boy - well kid really - across the aisle and he looked back at me and we burst out laughing!! Poor Mark.

When we got to Prague it had been snowing and I felt a bit traumatised as I don't like snow. We spoke to a lady from Chicago on our flight who was going to stay with her daughter. She bought her daughter over to say hello at the airport. She said that today was the first day of snow. We decided to get a cab to the hotel. The ride was interesting. We went through some pretty grotty areas before we got to the pretty part. It was such a relief to get to our hotel. The hotel is beautiful. We are well pleased with our room. After unpacking and freshening up we decided to go out to eat. We went to a grocery store across the road first. We bought snacks and drinks for the room.

We went to a restaurant a few doors away called the Three Violins (named so because it used to be a violin workshop) The place was beautiful. It was only about 5ish so we were the only ones in there. I decided I would eat Czech style as much as possible. I ordered Czech boiled ham with horseradish - yum yum! Mark had onion soup - Yum yum! I then had sirloin steak and dumplings (Czech style) while Mark had risotto. We finished with Czech pancakes with fruit for Mark and Chocolate ice cream for me. I have never had such a lovely meal before. It was great and we really enjoyed it.

Having eaten like pigs and feeling really full I suggested we go for a long walk. OMG am I mad?? It is so cold here. After 5 mins I realised my hat wasn't adequate and I should have put my leggings on under my jeans. I even jogged for a bit to stop myself from freezing to the spot. All this while Mark was strolling along with his jacket undone and hat off saying "Whats wrong with you? It's not that cold" (Well he is from Leeds!)

I ended up dragging him into a shop to buy a 'deputy dog' hat - you know, the ones with the ears. Snug fit and so much warmer as it covers my ears. Alright, I look like a dick but who cares - the need to avoid frostbite outweighs my vanity! So now I'm in the hotel, already posted my pics, writing this with Mark snoring away in the background! Just watched the weather forecast on CNN and it's snow all around I'm afraid. They reckon London will get it bad on Saturday. It's meant to be -10 here tonight and we are going to get bad snow over the next few days. Think I'll have a shower a go to bed so we can make an early start in the morning.

This will probably be my last post from South korea, I might try to do one more later on tonight.

Jenn and I went out about lunchtime to LaFesta. We had as good look around the shops and bought a few bits and pieces. We went to the record shop so Jenn could buy some music and I found 'Frozen Flower'!!! Even thought I'd promised myself not to buy any more stuff for myself I had to have it.

Oh, I forgot - Jenn and Jaron went to an outlet shopping park yesterday and saw Kim Bum and Joo Jin Mo he's in frozen flower) filming dream! Jenn managed to sneak a picture of Kim Bum But alas couldn't get one of Jin Mo!

Anyway, after acouple of hours shopping we made our way to "Coffee and Dogs-I love Puppy".

We walked in and as the dogs spotted us they all came running to the door, it was pandemonium. We were shown in by a nice young man and we ordered our drinks. Immediatly the dogs were on us. We bought some food and fed them. I've never had so much fun! There were a few people in there and a few children that seemed to be there with the express purpose of playing with the dogs. We ended up buying more food for the children to give to the dogs. We had a chat with one of the men there, he said his name was Joe (we initially named him number one). His English wasn't great but he managed to say that he loved London. We had a bit of a laugh with him. He and the other two men looked at my tats and admired them. We were there nearly 2 hours but the time went quickly because we were having so much fun. The dogs were great, they were all really friendly and there were no dog fights. I think a doggie creche is a great idea but I dion't think it would work in London because of health and safety issues. Jarons friends Josh and Kito leave their dog there and they said he always comes home really tired. I'm not surprised because the dog are free to roam and there are people to play with. The three men there also play with the dogs. One of them was playing with them with a laser beam on the floor! The dogs seem active the whole time. It's better than leaving them on their own while you're at work all day.

Oh well my case is 99.9% packed. We've been cleaning the flat up too. We are going to be at the airport at lunchtime tomorrow so we'll leave here about 11ish. I have very mixed feelings. I'm looking forward to getting home and seeing everyone but I also feel very upset. I've had such a positive experience here. I've seen and done some wonderful things. I've made some firm friends and met some great people. I know when I walk away from here with my suitcase tomorrow I'm going to be crying like a baby! I know I'll be leaving a little bit of my heart here :(

Just a few more observations:

The trains: People sell things on the trains. I don't know if it's for charitible or commercial purposes, but it's quite usual to see people pulling small carts through the carriages and to see people stop in the middle of a carriage and deliver a sales blurb. So far I have seen CD's, slippers, handkerchiefs and big fluffy gloves for polishing! In fact the man gave a demonstration by cleaning the train doors and windows!

Quite often in the evening people are asleep on the trains.

I've got used to seeing groups of young men sitting with their arms around each other or leaning against each other, I've even seen young men holding hands.

It's quite common to see people preening themselves in their mirrors or in their reflection in the windows. The stations often have full length mirrors where people preen themselves before leaving the station. (Claire you would so be at home here girl!)

Other things:

So many people wear glasses here. The streets are full of glasses shops, shoe shops, mobile phone shops and donut shops!

People wear health masks if they have a cold and it's very rude to sneeze at the dinner table (but the ajushi's spit in the street!).

Seoul if full of apartments - everyone seems to live in an apartment (Arirang reckons it's 40%)

People really do bundle up their good in pieces of cloth in order to carry them around (just like they do in the drama's)

Students study all the time. At the weekend in starbucks there are many youngster sitting there with a coffee and their books open.

Ajummas wear the most amazing visors! And yes - I have seen them wearing shell suites.

I also saw a group of ajummas fixing the paving slabs in the street!

It seems normal to wear small flesh coloured plasters on you face to cover up spots. Ive seen beautifully made up girls with a plaster on their face!

I found a shop selling couples clothes! I though they only existed in dramas.

I saw a t- shirt in a shop window with the logo "Love is what you thing off during the sad songs" Why oh why don't they check their spelling or grammar with an English speaking person. I've seen signs such as "food do not bring in" and " dog is not allowed" on shop windows. Actually I do think It's quite sweet.

Home plus (Tesco) is madness! It's a cross between a market and a supermarket inside. There are small tv screens on the shelves selling the products and the place is as noisy as hell - I love

it!!

I've just got used to the money, the roads, the metro, the people etc. and I have to leave!!!

Oh well I'm off to finish cleaning the flat now. Having our farewell dinner with Josh and Jenn at the restaurant downstairs later.

Got up early today and made my way over to the other side of Seoul to Jamsil. I was heading for Lotte World so I could visit StarAvenue http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=770125
I paid my 10,000 thoufand and was let in by a young lady. she asked if I spooke English and when i said 'yes' she said 'Good I will guide you'. She took me around all of the sections and explained them to me. We had a nice chat when we finished. She told me she had been to London and cambridge and she really liked England. She also said that most of the visitors they get are Japanese amd as she can't speak Japanese she gets bored. I left there and had a quick look around Lotte world. The place is amazing! Ice rink, amusements, shops etc. I could have spent hours there just wandering about. I left there and got back on the metro to Anguk so i could visit Insadong and shopfor souveniers. OMG I bought some really corney stuff! I won't say here what I bought because some of it is pressies, but lets just say I have more DBSK stuff now.
after I had shopped I made my way back to the station. It was geting on for 5pm and the metro is really crowded in the rush hour. I managed to get myself and my goodies home in one piece. When I got back Jenn had arrived. She's a friend that is staying for a couple of nights. We went to JDPP (Junsu'd dad's pizza parlour)
After a bit of discussion about what and how many pizzas to have we finally ordered. Thank god because I thought I was going to die of starvation!
Our Pizza arrived and as we ate amd chatted I noticed there were a lot of older women in the place, probably Japanese. We finished our food and as we were sitting and chilling a man walked in. Jaron was like 'do you think that's his dad?' This man then started greeting everyone.
OMG It was Junsu's dad. We had our pics taken with him and sort of had a chat, His English was bad but when I said in his ear 'Beat SM!' He gave me a big smile and handshake so I think he understood that. When we left he walked with us to the door and shook our hands and thanked us. He was so lovely! I feel really honoured that I actually touched Junsu's daddy!!! I mean it's a bit like touching Junsu cos they are the same flesh and blood!!! Oh well fangirling over now....
After dinner we went home and Jaron went out to meet a friend. Jenn and I have been sitting here watching DBSK, we've watched a surreal Korean film and just generally chatting. I can't believe tomorrows my last day. I'm going to finally have coffee with the doggies, Jenn's coming with me. then we are going to look around the shops. Jenns going to help me clean the apartment too - bless her! I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends again but I feel really sad at leaving Korea, I love it here!

I haven't written a anything for a couple of day so I have a bit to catch up on.
On Friday I went to meet my lovely friend Sang Kyun. I was very excited because I haven't seen him for a long time. I wanted to see the river so he took me to Seonyudo park by the the river. The park was beautiful but the river was even moreso. We sat by the river for a while and chatted. As we talked I realised that my friend was not a boy but a man, he is so confident and clever. He told me he hadn't spoken English since we last met but his English was great. It was so hot in the park! We then went into Sinchon and ate chicken. After our meal we went to Starbucks for Iced coffee! He had to leave at seven and I had to go and meet Jaron so we parted company on the train when it reached my stop, I felt sad to say goodbye to him as it will be some time before I see him again. It was an absolute pleasure being with him as he is one of the nicest young men I have ever met.
Jaron and I wandered around Myong Dong for a while, Jaron bought some clothes. He then went to meet David for a drink and I went straight home as the heat had drained all of my energy. It was an interesting journey. I sat next to an old man (Mr. park) and he started talking to me. his English wasn't great but it was much better than my korean. We spoke about all the usual stuff - why was I here and what did I think etc. We also discussed the political and economical situation in Korea! He was a lovely man and before we parted he gave me his card and said I was to email him so he could keep in touch with me.

The next day we planned to go to Itaewan but I decided to go to the Worl Cup Stadium in the afternoon. It was about 40 minutes away on the metro. When I arrived at the station I was very impressed with the decor. I came out of the station and had a look around and then I decided to walk towards the Museum. It cost me 1000 to get in and I was shown in by an ajushi. After I'd looked around for a while he came up to me and said he would show me the stadium. He took me through a door and we walked right into the stadium! It was spectacular! He took me to the pitch and took photos of me. Then to the dug out where Man U sat a couple of weeks ago, the Seoul dugout, the away team changing room and I sat on Rooneys seat, the warm up room, the coaches room, the reception room and then we walked the path the teams walk when they come out onto the pitch. All the time he was taking my picture. I'm grinning like an idiot in them because he was very funny and kept making me laugh! I watched a short film on the history of South Korea in the world cup and had a chat with another man who had immpecable English. He said it was a shame that none of the Seoul players were there because he would have introduced me to them. On my out I visited the shop and was able to pick up some souveniers.
I walked back towards the station and went into the stadium to find starbucks. The stadium has a huge cinema in it as well as ashopping centre and a banqueting suite. I walked throught the cinema's huge lobby to get to starbucks and I noticed an area where there were handprints of Korean actors. I spotted Kang Song Ho's hand print and picture - I was well happy!! I went into a convienience store to get some water before I went to the station. I saw a young man in an Arsenal shirt. Of course I had to smile at him. He and his girlfriend came up to me and asked me if I liked Arsenal. We chatted about the team for a while and how I was a supporter etc. He said his dream was to go to London one day to see them play live and go to see the stadium. I gave him my Arsenal keyring telling him it came fom the shop at the stadium. I thought he was going to cry! He was so grateful and wouldn't stop thanking me. I told him it was my pleasure and that he must be a good man as he has good taste in football teams.
I eventually got on the train home and something funny happened. A Christian lady got on and was handing out leaflets. Three young boys sitting opposite me refused her leaflets and she started lecturing them. I coulddn't understand what she was saying but it soundedd like they were getting a good telling off. I was trying my hardest not to laugh but one of the boys looked at me and that was it! We both burst out laughing and the ajuma just carried on scolding!
On the way back from Jeongbalsan station I had a little look around La festa and bought a couple of bits. I decided to go the the record shop and there was AADBSK season 3!!!!! I just had to buy it. It cost me 23 pounds, on Yesasia it costs 88 pounds! I also bought the latest live album which cost me about 8 -yesasia 13, so I got some bargains!
When i got home it was shower change and out the door to Itaewan. We met Jaron,s friends and had BBQ. Then we went to a Noraebang. No alcohol was allowed so we sneaked in Soju and beer. Unfortunatly the ajoshi caught us and had a moan. I couldn't understand so I didn't care. he only found one bottle of beer so we still had beer and soju hidden. Everyone had a sing and David sung Hug for me. Jaron Sang Mirotic for me! It was really cool.
After that we went to the bar and started drinking and dancing. I got chatted up by some French man and a very young looking Korean boy tried to cozy up to me but he looked about 15!
As I was dancing on the stage a man came up to me and shouted JoJo! I thought he looked familar. He said "OMG I met you in Ku bar in London a few months ago and now you are in Korea!" It was surreal - I remember meeting him and his friend at Ku and telling them I wanted to visit Korea and chatting with them all night.
It was a great night and I ended up getting the train home this morning.
Another ajushi spoke to me on my train journey. His name was Kim Dong Ho and he was learning english. We had a reallty enjoyavble chat aboout all sorts of things. and when he left he gave me email adress with a request to keep in touch!
Today I'm just chilling out! Tomorrow and Tuesday I have things planned - hopefully Star Avenue and the big lake, oh and coffee with the doggies!!!

I woke up yesterday and it was raining. It rained all day and throughout the night. It rained for half the day today. When I say raining I mean torrential rain! I've not seen rain like it before! Jaron made me go out to get dinner with him and even though we had umbrella's I still got wet.

It must have been bad because it was featured on the news and seemingly it caused a lot of road accidents (no surprise there then!) In fact it was reported that Daesung from Big Bang was in a car accident that caused him to break his nose and his coordie that was in the car with him is in a bad way. I hope they recover soon.

The rain stopped mid afternoon today so I clamberd to get out. I was going stir crazy!!

i decided that as my plans to explore Lake Park were ruined I'd visit the mall on my doorstep, then if the rain started again I would be close to home.

Last night I was introduced to the delights of Korean Toast. this is a sandwich made from 2 pieces of bread toasted with butter on a hotplate then stuffed with tasty things. I had egg (i think that's standard) ham, cheese, and veggies. There is a thin layer of syrupy stuff to add sweetness. OMG delish!!! I promised myself that if I completed my missin to find a DVD shop I could have one of these for dinner. I looked around for ages, just browsing the amazing shops selling anything from Hello Kitty socks to giant teddy bears! Then I found Synnara Records. Not a record in sight but lots of CD's and DVD's. Lots of Korean stuff but quite abit of western stuff too. Then BINGO!!! There on the shelf in front of me was Tohoshinki's 1st Asian tour DVD. This is the one that yesasia won't ship to Europe so it has eluded me! It was soon nestled in my grubby little mits as it was the last one! And it only cost 12 quid!!!n i also bought their latest single. i was looking for MC Mong and FT Isalnd's singles but couldn't find them. I must say that the artist with the biggest range of merchandise was the boys (of course!)

I walked out of the shop with the biggest smile and made my way to the Toast stall. The kind Ajumma remembered me from the night before and helped me with my selection. One of these sandwiches costs about 90p. I popped in the shop on the way back for a bag of crisps (yes I am officially addicted to these particular crisps) and an ice cream. I'm eating a lot of ice cream as it is one way to keep cool.

All of a sudden people around here are being very friendly. Everytime I go out someone is interested in speaking to me. Either to ask where I'm from or to remark on my tattoo. A lot of people still ignore, but that's the Korean way. I went out ot look at the rain at about 3am because I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. People were still outside the small food places eating and drinking. People were still walking around. It could have been evening if I didn't know better. I had a little walk aroung to see if I could tire myself out and some funny man came up and started talking to me in English. He was interested in where I was from, how long was I here for and did I like it. I think he was a bit drunk but he was friendly and polite. if someone at home approached you in the street at 3am, a bit drunk and asking you questions you'd run a mile but it so different here. Even at that time people are still coming and going and some shops are still open. I don't suppose it's like that everywhere in Korea but it's certainly been like it wherever I've been.

Just a couple of observations: Our front door is metal, I think this is common here. Feels much safer. The doors can be opened by key or by a code - such a good idea!

The apartment block is so clean! there is doorman/caretaker 24 hrs and there are public toilets on the ground floor. Oh, there is no ground floor - what we call ground floor is 1st floor here. Also 4th floor is called F not 4 because the word for 4 (sa) sounds like the word for death.

The lifts don't smell of pee!!! there is 2 floors of underground parking and a large recycling area in the outside car park.

packaging: So many things are over packaged! I bought some biscuits in a packet inside a box. A cup noodle in it's sealed cup and then wrapped in a clear film. Kit Kats come in a packet like at home but then inside a box. Other chocolate comes like that too etc etc....

Thank goodness they're hot on recycling!!!

Looking forward to the weekend. Seeing Sang Kyun, Christophe and Sooyoung and then Itaewan on Satrday - here I come Homo hill!!!!