If we are friends in Facebook and you've been clicking on the albums I feature, I'm sure you must have read about this in my FB posts although this is the first time I'm featuring it in my blog.
Uhhh... I'm sure my kids (that is, if they get to read this) would say, "this is just one of her late posts..."! Okay, okay, yeah, yeah, so it's almost a year late! It's now or never... lest I don't get to finish this on time.
This is a special post of our travel to Seoul, South Korea which I'm writing now for a special occasion. Since tomorrow, hubby and I are celebrating our 29th year together, for this post I'm just featuring selected photos of the two of us taken from places we visited. Of course, credits and thanks to our daughters, Ayana Grace and Ana Cristina, for capturing all these poses! Mwaaaahhh!
Sharing our memories of autumn in SKR.
Touchdown at Incheon Airport documented.
Day 1. Hubby and me in one of the streets of Bukchon Hanok Village, an area of traditional houses where every alley has distinct atmosphere, characteristics and views.
Next itinerary: The Changdeokgung Palace
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| Welcome to the Changdeokgung Palace! |
Below, Billy, my husband, posing for a jumpshot before proceeding near the palace.
Changdeokgung Palace was recognized as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO.
Taken at the grounds of Changdeokgung Palace, the very first palace we visited, one of the most historically significant attractions that represent the beauty of Korea. Built in 1405 as a secondary palace of the Joseon Dynasty, this palace was destroyed during the Japanese invasion, but was rebuilt in 1610, and henceforth served as the main palace for 270 years.
One couldn't help posing with the beautiful colors of the autumn leaves behind us.
How do you like these photos of us together?
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| Oooopppsss... somebody's deliberately photo bombing! |
Just beside Changdeokgung Palace, is Changgyeonggung Palace, another secondary palace.
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| Panoramic view of the side of Changgyeonggung Palace with the Seoul skyline at the background |
Both Changdeokgung Palace and Changgyeonggung Palace, together, were known as the East Palace and shared a garden called the Secret Garden. On Day 1, we came late for a guided tour inside the Secret Garden, so we just explored the Changgeonggung Palace area.
Had a feel of stepping on fallen leaves of autumn.
And walking on them, too!
Did you hear that? I love the crunch of stepping on dried leaves!
We enjoyed the view while taking more photos of us and the surroundings.
Couldn't remember who took these photos anymore. Ayana Grace or Ana Cristina?
I simply love them!
Within Changgyeonggung Palace grounds we saw the beauty of the Daechundangji Pond. We fell in love with this pond, we could hardly move to leave the place. We had to drag our feet away from the place after taking photos and videos again and again. We had to wait for the best angle of the pond with the least number of tourists blocking our view.
Look at this---
I just realized that we had no photos of us together here 😞😭
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| Saying hi! |
To take this shot, my daughter had to signal for me to move fast while the view was clear.
This was the highlight of the day. But we had to go back another day to take a guided tour inside the Secret Garden, also known as the Forbidden Garden because even high officials were not allowed to enter without the King's permission. This is the palace garden where kings and queens strolled.
Before the tour started, we took time to roam around Changdeokgung Palace once again while there were still few tourists.
Wow, we got the whole area all by ourselves!
Another pose please... this time a little bit closer...
Nice background eh! I loved looking at the design of the rooftops of most structures here.
And just look at the colors of the trees! Beautiful!
Inside the Secret Garden, we were all amazed with what we saw that we seemed to forget to take photos of ourselves together. We were so immensely beholden by all these---
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| The Buyongji Pond and Juhamnu Pavilion at Huwon (Secret Garden) |
The Juhamnu Pavilion was used as a library and royal archive and is located adjacent to a lotus pond. This pond is square to represent the earth and contains a round island for the sky.
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| That's me with the Buyongji Pond at the background |
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| The Aeryeonji Pond |
The Aeryeonji Pond is as beautiful as Buyongji Pond. The name of the pond means "a pond where lotus flowers blossom."
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| Gwanramjeong Pavilion and Bandoji Pond |
This is where the king goes fishing. The shape of this pond resembles that of the Korean Peninsula.
My scarf blended perfectly with the yellow fallen leaves at the Gwallamji Pond. No other time to see the beauty of the Secret Garden than autumn when the autumn foliage is at its peak and the leaves have just started to fall. It was like looking at a wide floor of fallen yellow leaves.
And now, showcasing another historical place, the Gyeongbokgung Palace. This is the main royal palace and the largest of the 5 Grand Palaces built during the Joseon Dynasty. Gyeongbokgung served as the home of Kings and of the Kings' households.
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| Panoramic view of Gwanghwamun Gate |
The Gwanghwamun Gate is the main and largest entrance to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. At the background is Mount Bugak. I loved staring at Mt. Bugak and I was so happy having captured this view. My efforts (after several attempts at taking a clean and smooth panorama) were not in vain at all.
We were able to find a Hanbok Rental Shop strategically located in a corner outside the palace. GungNadri was the name of the shop. Wearing the hanbok allowed us free entrance to the palace. It was cold even with our warmers underneath the hanbok.
The kind and hospitable lady at the shop suggested we take hanboks designed for the King, Queen and princesses. And so we did! She also allowed us to use hair accessories such as headbands and handbags to match the hanbok--- at KRW 30,000 for each one of us. What a fortune! But we had no regrets. Our photos simply say it all.
Here we are--- on our way to the palace, clad in hanbok, ready to tour the palace grounds.
We arrived at the palace just in time to witness the changing of the palace guards. The tour wouldn't have been complete without a pose with the palace guards at the entrance.
Inside the palace gate, I had to remember behaving properly like a Queen. See, I had to maintain the position of my hands all the time to maintain a queenly image (hahaha, for photo ops, of course!)
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| The Geunjeiongjeon (Throne Hall) of Gyeongbokgung (the Main Palace) Corners of rooftops in palace buildings really fascinate me. I loved staring at them. |
The King and Queen wearing hanbok resting in between walks within the vast area of Gyeongbokgung Palace.
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| Rest-rest din pag may time. |
Imagining myself to be the lead character of
Jewel in the Palace.
Jewel in the Palace.
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| One last pose with the palace guards before leaving the palace |
We took a cable car that brought us to the N Seoul Tower (YTN Seoul Tower), commonly known as Namsan Tower. It is a communication and observation tower located at Namsan Mountain in Central Seoul, South Korea. With a height of 236 meters, it marks the second highest point in Seoul.
The lead characters for the new Korean telenovela, Lovers at Namsan Park.
It was feezing cold up there!
It was feezing cold up there!
Look closely. Do you see the lovelocks behind us? Those are padlocks of different colors, different designs and different sizes. This place is a popular date spot for couples who head to the tower to lock their "padlock of love" onto the railing and to dream that their love will last forever. Part of the famous Korean telenovela drama entitled, Lovers in Paris, was filmed at Namsan Park and fountain.
Guess what... we locked our padlove in Namsan, too!
And now... for the next highlight of our travel--- Nami, here we come! It is said that in autumn Nami Island is poetry. I would like to believe so. It was so inspiring to be there!
Nami Island was named after Gen. Nami, who was known to fight in battles and died at a young age of 25. Declared as Naminara Republic, Nami Island today has become a place for rest and relaxation. Certainly, we did just that--- rest and relax while enjoying the picturesque view of any corner we laid our eyes on.
Beholding the beautiful colors of autumn in Nami Island. Notice that I am wearing the crocheted scarf I made before the trip. It blended well with the leaves of the trees.
In autumn, everything turns gold and red in Nami.
In spring, flowers cover the island. In summer, winds from the river blow through the woods. In autumn, leaves fall and carpet the earth. In winter, the island becomes a world of icicles and snow.
I loved how the foliage glitters with the light of the sun peeping through the trees.
Fallen Ginkgo leaves carpet the ground at the Ginkgo Tree Lane.
In Nami, one couldn't help falling in love and communing with nature.
Hubby and I walking along the Bungalow Row Riverside Path...
... drawing in the air the future...
(may forever ba?)!
Not so cheesy, eh?!
(may forever ba?)!
Not so cheesy, eh?!
No candlelight. No soft music. No dancing. Just 30-minus-one years to treasure for now. Just like the autumn leaves, our colors change. We may not be the same persons this year anymore as we had been in the past. Yet it is amazing how we continue to live with and love the person who is also changing along with us every single year.
"Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people together through the years," says Simone Signoret. So I pray that God would bless us with more and more of tiny threads for us to sew faithfully and happily together.
Happy anniv to us! Lab❤️, lab💕, lab💖. Mwaaaahhh!💋💋💋
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