Wine Adventures, Take 2...

I feel like hunting for wine should be listed on my CV now, I'm getting so good at it. Finding a good bottle, however, I am miserable at.

Cadena and I went in search of some goodies-pressed-from-a-grape last night. I think we'll make a weekly habit of it. I hope to NOT have too many adventures to document in these pages, because that would mean that we found Mecca. We thought we had found it last night. Their board in front showed wine bottles, the stairway leading down into the restaurant was lined with empty wine bottles, the decor screamed "come drink win here!!"

Multiple bottles of wine in decor does not equal availability...perhaps it shows how many people/bottles came before you, ridiculing you, laughing at you for wanting what you just missed!

I mean, look at this menu! 

Doesn't it look like it might have something to offer two thirsty girls? We even poured over it, debating which would be best, which level of dryness (they were ranked, 1-5!) we preferred, etc....only to have the waiter come over and shake his head, making the cross sign with his arms - the Korean way of saying "No!". He pointed to two options, and we chose. It ended up being a good bottle. But still, to only have TWO bottles out of that vast menu...I'm starting to think this is some big joke played on wine-drinking tourists.

Cadena, clearly chagrined at the menu offerings

Besides the fact that, what was clearly advertised as an "ethnic" menu, and decorated as an Indian restaurant, complete with bedazzled elephant, low and veiled tables, turned out to be EXACTLY an ethnic restaurant - ribs, German potatoes and steak, sausage plates, some random pan-Asian dishes, and pizza. NOTHING Indian.

We picked the cheese plate. And when Cadena eventually writes her blog post about the experience, I'll link it here. Let's just say it was an interesting cheese plate. Offset by the ors d'oeuvres of thin Ritz crackers dipped in Prego.

Let's just say Daegu is not a Foodie town...

Daegu in the Rain

Just the view from one of my windows at a rainy, stormy Daegu...can't wait for monsoon reason :p

First Solid Purchase

So, I have a few shopping goals for my time here in Asia - and knowing me, I'll totally achieve them, and probably in record time (shopping = hobby)!


Pictured here is my first acquisition - an engraved chest of drawers. Check! Next on the list: pottery...

My First Visitor...the Pope!

Well, he's come and gone, but a visit from the Pope always leaves a lasting impression...

My brother-in-law (the Pope, for short...ridiculous family joke) was in Korea this past week/weekend! Anyone who knows Jim knows there's a little trouble that always follows him, and considering all the misadventures I've had in this country, it wasn't likely we'd go through a 4-day visit unscathed. I received messages from family back home along the following lines:

"I'm not close enough to post bail, so be careful!"
 and

"No getting involved in an international incident please! I don't want to see you two on the news!"

 Ha ha...Well, it was inevitable that we'd be involved in SOMETHING, and we WILL show up on TV, but more the classroom variety than the national broadcast. Mostly Jim was attacked by little kids - seriously! - for his autograph. But we were both surrounded by a few high school students wondering if we'd agree to be videotaped for interviews on our Korea experience. And I lost count of the numbers of kids that came up to us saying "HELLO!" and "Where are you from??" It was great, really, but also a little disconcerting...I've never been a walking oddity before:)

We certainly hoofed it around tho! Here's the litany of our adventures:
1. Hotel beds=boards
2. Shopping and sleeping in Insadong
3. King's candy!
4. Gyeongbuk Palace
5. National Museum of Korean Culture
6. National Museum of Korea


7. Random cheap Korean trinkets
8. Really amazing artwork

9. Jeju-like jackets for both of us!  
10. Not letting the rain (or the cold) get in our way
11. KTX to Express Train to KTX (and again!)
12. Getting kicked out of a Japanese Karaoke bar

13. Fantastic Korean (and French) meals
14. Harassment and finger printing at base gates
15. Sort of sleepless nights for a good reason (Jim could not stop waking up [and waking me up] at 5a!!!)
16. Clubbing in Itaewon  (after wandering in search of a good one)
17. Watching hockey in a Canadian bar
18. Attempting a massage/spa outing - twice!
19. Pizza, beer and movies

20. Feeling more lost in a cab (who didn't understand English and definitely needed glasses) than walking
21. Souvenirs for everyone:)
22. Planning how we're going to win The Amazing Race some day
23. Really good company

(Jim, anything to add???)

An all-out no-holds-barred fantastic travel and exploration weekend. And so, so good to see family again!

Springtime in Daegu

Just a few shots of Daegu in the springtime...come visit in April!

Lilacs abound here in April, and they make me so happy to pass by and smell the familiar scent. The bush pictured above reminds me of home; specifically, the late early Summer night my mom and I decided to sneak over to our neighbor's house and clip branches off their lilac bush! It was so beautiful, and they were going to pull it up in a few days anyway...totally reason enough for a dusk covert op:) And well worth it!

If the lilac bush here in Korea wasn't already fading, I may have had to find a step stool and a sharp pair of clippers....

BULLFIGHTING!

This should really be in the "Let's Fighting Love" section!

 It's not just for Spaniards! They have bullfighting in Korea, too, and a trip to Cheongdo for the annual bullfighting festival was on my docket this weekend. First, please don't feel bad if you were not aware of the tradition of bullfighting steeped in ancient lore of Korea...no one else is aware either! That is why every single person I told about this little trip (with the exception of my road buddy, Michell) looked at me askance, and said, "Bullfighting?!?" as if it were the most ridiculous thing they'd ever heard. But this post is total non-fiction, I swear! 

Second, bullfighting in Korea IS definitely different than Spanish/Hispanic/Latin bullfighting; specifically, it's completely bull-on-bull action. And there is no fight-to-the-death about this fighting - the battles are decided, much like sumo wrestling, when one bull gets the other bull to a) flip over or b) turn around and run away. Yes, they get scratches on their heads from the horns, but rarely is there goring or scratching out of eyes, etc. Thankfully, as Chell and I had a pact to leave the MINUTE eyes popped out...

For all my european and europhile friends - I am not flipping off the
camera! The peace sign is a universal thing to do in pics here:) 

Now, Chell and I were serious about this bullfighting trip, since the tour actually was cancelled just yesterday due to "lack of interest"...silly. So we looked up the driving directions and decided to road trip it ourselves. Great choice, as I have no idea if I'll ever see this kind of thing again:) 

Unbelievably, I got quite into the fights. Toward the end of the day, we somehow ended up seated in the "VIP" section, and we were cheering with all the locals. There is definitely a strategy to the bulls, as well as the cheering on of "Sushida!" when it looks like a fight is going to end. 

All in all, another incredible adventure:) 

You can't tell, but these bulls are huge!
Our nice view from the VIP section...at least that's what we called it:) 

Gmail - Groupon 오늘의 딜 - kristinapecora@gmail.com

Ok, so it's even better translated into English!!! :)

Look what I found!

They have Groupon in Korea!

Now, if I can only translate it...

Dear Friends...

I miss you.

Each and every one of you.

Thank you for the letters, the cards, and the packages. Thank you for the heartfelt wishes. Thank you for thinking of me as you go on with your lives and I live mine so far away. I think of you, too.

Fondly.

Often.

I am well, and I hope you come visit soon:)

Hugs,
Kristina

Perhaps this is why I shouldn't go out...

Picture it: Saturday night, beautiful weather, neon lights make it look like daytime, and my friend's birthday...a good night to go out.

Not really having a plan, we head to dinner looking for wine - a rare commodity around here (more blogging on that later...). We find a fusion restaurant (which means, basically, Italian with some hot Korean spices thrown in) with a short but interesting wine list, and order a Malbec...yes, you CAN get south american wines here, hoorah...just at twice the price. But whatever, we both like Malbec. Sadly, our waiter (who is proficient in English-to-Korean sign language), says they're out. Ok, we try to order a different bottle...no, they're OUT, meaning out of ALL wine. What?? This can happen??! Yes, it can.

During dinner, they actually play the song "I Just Had Sex" from SNL. I almost spit out my seafood risotto.

After dinner, we start the hunt for wine - anywhere? anywhere?!? We do find a couple of places that SAY they have wine, but they, too, are OUT. (How is that possible??). Even a place called a "bistro" only served beer (with lemon?!?). The hunt takes us to several different restaurants, pubs, bars all over downtown, which is, thankfully, not too big (think all of Mag Mile). And here's where we come to my favorite part of the evening:

So, I'm the Army Substance Abuse Program counselor in the region. That means that any soldier caught drinking under age, DUI, late to formation and smelling of alcohol, getting rowdy and alcohol involved, etc etc, sees me. I have signed an ethical code here not to be seen crazy drunk or high ANYWHERE in Area IV (my region). It doesn't prohibit me from going to a bar, however...but maybe it should. Because, at the third bar on the hunt for a decent drink, I spotted a soldier whom I just graduated from the program...for underage drinking. So he's not even supposed to be IN the bar, right? Right. So I casually walk past him, avoiding eye contact of course, and take a place at the bar, my back turned to him. And not 10 minutes later, this soldier just comes over to say hello. Our conversation goes a little like this:

Soldier: "Hey, didn't I see you at [name of some other bar]?"
Me: "Um, no, not there..."
My friend: "Oh, no...."
Soldier: "No, no, I know I've met you somewhere before..."
Me: "Uh, yes, you definitely have. But you don't want to remember me right now?"
Soldier: "No, come on, just tell me. I know I remember you from somewhere."
Me: [to my friend] "Should I tell him?"
Friend: "Hmmmm...."
Soldier: [something unintelligable]
Me: "Oh, PVT [name], I'm your ASAP counselor."
Soldier: "Oh! I'm totally sober!"

And you can imagine how it went from there. It wasn't a long conversation, and of course I didn't admonish him for drinking or anything lame like that, but he did leave the bar with his friends pretty quickly. I mean, what else can I really say about that.

We did eventually find the last restaurant in all of Daegu that had ONE bottle of red wine left. It was delicious. 

The Silliness of Sherbet

Koreans like their ice cream. Back in January when I arrived, I was surprised to see those large cooler containers with pictures of different ice pops, fudgecicles, and ice cream bars on the outside at almost every restaurant, near the cashier counter.I frequently see people outside with ice cream cones, even in the rain or cold weather. And every menu has something ice cream related to offer, even at the most traditional Korean restaurants.

My first foray into this culture occurred last night, as pictured above. When I ordered the "green tea sherbet", I pictured a small glass dish with a pallet-cleansing dollop of green tastiness.  This is what was served:

Let me break it down for you: First, it comes in a 2 cup Pyrex measuring glass. Layer by layer, it gets better: actual green tea at the bottom, water/powder mix, chilled
ice chips (shavings, they call it)
Frosted Flakes (so not kidding)
fruit cocktail, with extra maraschino cherries, I believe
vanilla ice cream, garnished with green tea powder
one half apple, sliced prettily
mandarin oranges

I mean, seriously, it's a work of art.

Did we finish it all? Not possible, but we made a serious attempt. I mean, each layer was a surprise, and it was more adventure than dessert. This may be my only attempt, however, at "sherbet" in Korea:)

Hmmm: rethinking the wisdom of working for the federal government...

Q & A: What could happen during a government shutdown - USATODAY.com

Just had to post this little tid-bit

Follow this link to the latest fashion trend in Asia!!!
http://www.wholesale-dress.net/radiation-proof-c2241

and, redic...

Cherry Blossoms (well, sort of) in Chinae

This weekend, I tripped with some friends to Chinae, a small seaside town with the largest cherry blossom  festival in Korea! The cherry blossoms weren't busting out when we got there, but we still had fun at the fair, and saw some sites...even super secret Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy ships!  
                        

Cherry Blossoms

Part of the 16th century Korean fleet - The Turtle Ship

ROK War Memorial

We are truly ridiculous... 

A Lovely Veil

Ok, so you just scoop the slimy thing, pour it into the bowl, and wait for it to swim into a cubby so it can "tell" you your prize...ingenious as well as gross

Um, is that legal? 

Chinae town square

And again...weird food...we did not eat this

The entire day was exactly what I needed...to get out on a beautiful Spring day (happy April!!), enjoy some countryside and see some real Korea.








And even though I was confronted with this interesting piece of porcelain ware on the drive home...

I did not use this...

...it was  a truly lovely day.