travel

A Seoul diary – and a quick itinerary in itaewon

| mseo

Hi friends,

It’s been a while since I last post. I’ve been spending half my time in New York, and the other half in Boston more or less. Since I’ve started watching Romance is a Bonus Book, my heart’s been longing to go back to Seoul.

Hence, this post – a quick travel guide to the updated Seoul. Seoul’s been in much of a transition period – it’s turning more than ever into an ever-changing environment, with corner cafes and museum-like retail shops. I wanted to share a quick sample itinerary with you here:

A day in Itaewon / Hannamdong – known for its “foreign” atmosphere, you’ll find some of the hippest things here.

brunch at SUMMER LANE: 43 Haenamu-ro 26-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
It’s a small, hole in the wall Aussie brunch spot, with a cozy aesthetic. They have an English menu as needed; get the Bacon Waffle Eggs Benedict & the lamington.

Walk around the neighborhood for a good hike – Itaewon has a lot of hilly areas and some nice non-traditional houses(!), and you’ll be able to gain back your appetite soon after. A couple of places you could visit:

  • Beaker – has a unique collection of brands and products from all over the world. They also have free yogurt for sampling 🙂
  • One in a Million – a pink-vibe of cafe. Would recommend for an Instagram photo, more so than the coffee
  • Roof AND – more of a walk, since it’s located on the outskirts of Itaewon – but would recommend for its incredible hot chocolate latte and its lamp-vibe aesthetic
  • B.come cafe – less of a walk and tucked away in the middle of a street. Has a nice minimal vibe and usually not too busy unlike the other cafes in which you can’t find a seat.
  • Boutique stores along Hannamdong – there’s a lot of fun shops here – some higher and some on the lower end, but still very chill to visit

dinner at DOTZ: 6 Itaewon-ro 55na-gil, Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Such a good vibe here with a diverse sampling of Asian dishes: from katsu-sandos, to the kimchi fried rice and the HK style toast. During the Christmastime, they had this amazing iced Americano – it was like a regular Americano with a chocolatey twist at the end. Unfortunately, it was a Christmas special, but I have no doubt that their regular Americanos are just as good.

dessert at SAYOO: 5 Itaewon-ro 54-gil, Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
A pseudo chocolate/movie/coffee shop. It’s a 4 story building, and has a theme on each floor. Walk through the back to get to the stairs, and go up during late afternoon to catch a nice sunset. They also play an old film on the 4th floor – so if you’re in a low-key mood, you can chill out there.

Next up: Garosugil/Sinsadong – a fun vibe all around w/ more cafes and features more famous brands ALAND, Gentle Monster, 8 seconds, etc.

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NOLA

| mseo

An interesting city.

You can see my personal city guide here.

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New York, oh

| mseo

@ChristyLeung — I want to go to NY with you.

I miss that time where we felt so carefree, just a little bit cold at times. I feel at lost for words in light of that nostalgia. It seems that I collide into the best & funkiest of places with you.

& the ratchet / chill photos with you —

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I feel this, if I were to translate it into tunes:

Walking

| mseo

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I remember you. I was alone that time, and frantic. That was my Paris in a day moment, where I rushed to the crooks and corners of the city. It was the day I found out a little bit more about my destiny.

Here, I stopped to rest. Do you recognize this room? It’s the one next to the room with the Mona Lisa. I personally found this room one of the most beautiful rooms I’ve ever stepped into. It’s calming. It invites a sort of magnificent sigh, asks you to pause for a bit to marvel at the long stretch of paintings. Also, I’ve never been down that hallway. I’ve only stood right here, resting.

 

And,

I’d never thought I’d enter that realm with you. To take this picture, in part. To get lost in the wonders of ancient geniuses, in another. To understand the ever silencing rest this room breaks into your mind.

We stood here for rest too. After a circular day of exploring. It was too real in the highlight of the moment. I remember.

 

I realize my memories are too a hallway full of ancient dreams and moments. Only sitting here, writing, I wished I got up to the other end of the hallway to realize more wonders.

 

I was only too tired, too faded by the wonders of the city, to marvel at whatever could be more present and wonderful at the end of a short walk.

 

I’ll find you again. We’ll find you.

 

VLOG | NYC again

| mseo

Yet another New York vlog…

Went down to NYC last weekend for a short getaway from stress of finals – ended up with inspiration for a new aesthetic and memories full of too many sweet desserts.

remnants of cereal in france

| mseo

I might post another part to these photos because I have a couple hundred, but we’ll see. This is my short but sweet trip to France. Despite how unexpectedly quickly it had to end, I had a really cool time and within the short time frame, and I realized that sharing the experience with someone is worth much more than going through it alone.

Fuzzy cereal-style
Palais de Tokyo
Le tigre
Le smack
This photo has been one of my favourites since my last trip. I thought I’d keep with the tradition and take the same photo.
I wanted to seem super French touristy
Discovery
Only in France could you really do this. Or maybe some other European places too, but still.
I love love love carousels. I always have since I was a child. It’s such a magical moment just to sit on the carousel and listen to the childish music, and hope the ride never stops.
Typical
One of those intellectual cafes that someone like me obsesses over sitting in. So strange thinking Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre sat in here.
Amazing coffee
Best Crepe
Darcy
Lyon
Brioche de praline
Man holding himself.
I didn’t really think these were just sausages.
Converted cheese lover. I hated cheese before, but now not only can I stand it, but I crave it.
Lyon is quite vibrant and colorful. I enjoyed this city a lot more in particular because it felt calmer.
LOL
❤
Honestly the best dessert I’ve ever eaten. I dislike fruit fillings, but the orange was perfectly balanced out by the chocolate mousse. Just a dream.
Had to post another
The first time I was in Paris, the ornate Christmas display at Galleries Lafayette struck me. I thought it was so amazing, and then I saw this one – different, but the same. It struck me that I was back again.
Palais de Tokyo was one of the coolest museums I’ve ever been to. It reflected an uncomfortable modernity that had surfaced all around. The sudden whiteness contrasted with the black and white photos. I thought it was all fitting for the present moment – beautiful and horrific at times.

I’ve had this post ready for a while now, but it felt unsettling have the first post of 2016 be something happened the year before, and I just couldn’t really quite bring myself to accept that. Honestly, I’m not really into posting a new years post, so I’ll start it off with these photos. They’re pretty cool, anyhow.