Homeward Bound

1 year and 2 weeks. 379 days. Sounds like a long time, doesn't it? When Luke and I arrive home on Saturday March 14th, we will have been away from Australia for 379 days! And yes, it feels like a long time too!

Last Tuesday, March 3rd 2009, we left our little box in South Korea and jetted off to Japan to spend a week skiing the slopes of Niseko with 5 friends. It was to be our hard-earned reward for making it through a tough year in a foreign country, and what a reward it was! We spent the week in a fantastic apartment with a great bunch of people, skiing by day and partying by night and it was exactly the break we needed. And, just when I thought things couldn't get any better, Luke proposed to me one afternoon in a gondola on the way up the mountain for the last run of the day!! Of course I said yes immediately and to top it all off we even had friends there to celebrate with straight away! 

Luke and I just after getting engaged. 

I didn't put my beautiful ring on until we got home 

and I got out of the ski gear!

The gang on the mountain. 

L to R: Clem, Paul, Millie, Luke, Luke, Dave and me

After our fantastic week in the snow, Luke, Dave and I headed south to spend a few days in and around Kyoto. We spent a day cruising around the city on clapped out old bicycles (Dave's was the worst by far) which was great fun, we visited a temple and a shrine, we spent another day checking out Osaka, we ate plenty of sushi and I even bought a kimono. 

Setting out on our hi-tech bicycles

Dave's bike struggled with the downhilling...

Japan has been the most wonderful end to our big adventure. Any stress we were feeling by the end of our time in Korea is miles away now and we are heading home feeling mentally refreshed, happy and more than a bit excited. (As for physically refreshed, well, there will be time for that soon!) My experiences in Korea taught me a great deal and in a way I'm only discovering what those lessons were since we've left. Being with other people and putting just a little bit of distance between myself and the experience is steadily providing perspective and clarity. I just can't wait to get out there and put the things I've learnt to good use!

So, I suppose this puts an end to my blogging for now. I promise I'll write about any great stories that come back to me as time goes by but this is good bye for the time being. I hope you have enjoyed reading my stories as much as I have enjoyed writing them and I look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Lucy

Seoul: The Last Dance

In some ways it was easy to decide what to do with our last weekend in Korea, there was one place we just had to visit one last time, and that was Seoul. I have loved Seoul since the first time we went there. Rain, snow, sunshine... it's beautiful, exciting and energetic in any weather. A trip to Seoul on our last weekend in Korea was a given, and of course, if we had to choose one area to make that last time special, it had to be Jongno-gu. 

We set out nice and early (for a change) to make sure we had all day to take in as much of the city as we could. We started with a chai latte in Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and although I'm looking forward to returning to Cibo chai lattes, the ones from "The Bean" are pretty darn good. 

After that, we took a stroll down Cheongyecheon and reminisced about all the times we had done so previously. I have fond memories of walking along that stream on our way to buy supplies for the "foster" dog we were bringing home the next day, just as I loved dangling my bare feet in the water on a sizzling hot summer's afternoon. 

Next on the agenda was one last walk through Insadong en route to Jongno. We took our time choosing where we wanted to go for lunch, just enjoying being out and about in the ever fashionable Jongno. We ended up settling on an Italian place for pasta and risotto for lunch, after which we continued wandering towards a park we wanted to explore. Once in the park we discovered that we could take a short hike up to a look-out point, and as it was a beautiful day, we did just that. We sat for a while at the top of the look-out and took in the view of Seoul that lay before us. It is a city that spreads far and wide in all directions but I'll never forget the mountains that surround it, they afford many a spectacular view of the city and I've got a feeling they're going to make Adelaide feel incredibly flat! 

After our walk up to the look-out, naturally it was time to eat again! We didn't really need them but waffles in this country are just so damn delicious, we just had to have them one more time.... 

So, our last trip to Seoul was over before we knew it. On our bus trip home we both commented that it hadn't felt like a last time and I think that for me, it won't be. It's a goodbye, but just for now. I will return one day to walk the streets of Jongno once more and to feel the energy around me as I lose myself in the bustling crowds. Seoul and I will dance again but for now we will part ways with fond and precious memories and I will feel satisfied to know that Luke and I had some fantastic times there. So, farewell Seoul, I will think of you often until we meet again.

Lucy