mutelife

Before this trip Lena and I promised each other that we’d have regular chill days for the kids’ sake. And by “promised each other” I mostly mean Lena made me promise to her that I would be more relaxed than usual. Remember when on day 2 I was out the door as soon as I woke up? Yeah, that happens…

But this time we’d be traveling for the longest time we’ve ever tried before, so it was imperative that we took it slow. This third day was a perfect example of that, where we wanted to visit the famous Starfield Library but didn’t plan for more than that.

So off we went to the giant Starfield COEX Mall. The library itself was…well, what you see in pictures. Don’t get me wrong, it’s impressive and beautiful, but also one of those places that Instagram ruined for most of us. Felt like we’d seen it before and wasn’t that thrilling.

While walking through the mall we spotted an aquarium, so in the spirit of chilling and making the kids happy, we bought tickets and went in. It was partially themed with Octonauts ‘ stuff (if you don’t know, you’re not a parent) so the girls were immediately in their world.

Our stunning Lisbon Oceanário has ruined aquariums in general for us, but Coex Aquarium was surprisingly diverse, well organized, and featured some incredible creatures not even Oceanário has. Oh, and they had a mermaid show where actual people would dance and interpret a small story underwater!

Heading out the mall, we passed by the statue of Gangnam style (where Leo had a little dance), and the K-POP Square, which has a big open area with neat a mix of conventional office buildings, big OLED screens, and a few interesting art pieces.

There was not much to see though, so we got on the subway and headed towards the Hongdae area, which was a lot more our vibe. Narrow little streets, interesting shops, lively restaurants and bars. Reminded me a lot of Jingumae or Sendagaya in Tokyo. Electric but cozy.

Yanghwa-ro was also a very active and beautiful street, even though I don’t have many pictures to prove it. If you ever visit, I highly recommend Bultteok Club for a meal. Fried and spicy delicious things in a diner-like ambiance.

Strolled around a bunch, exploring this exciting new area we would come back to multiple times, until we found a self-photo studio (which are everywhere). The kids wanted to go in, but the adults wanted even more.

Took a handful of pictures and headed home soon after. The next day would be a full one…