A week of hiking!

After talking about healthy recipes with Jess and Carlos last weekend, and having an uber fit and healthy best friend back home, I've been inspired to kick it up a gear and start exercising more often and putting healthier food in my body!  No more sugary cereal for breakfast, 2nd helpings of fried chicken at lunch, and Italian food for dinner!  I'm 31 afterall!  I realize I have to be a bit more careful if I want to keep (get back) that girlish figure!

So, as of last Sunday (8 days ago), I've completely cut out everything with added sugar, all bread, all pasta, and all forms of dairy from my diet... and I'm actually happy, full, and content with my new menu!  Plus, I went hiking 4 times last week!  I'm on a mission, people!  I never thought I liked hiking, but as it turns out, I've developed a bit of a love for it!  I actually found myself staring out my classroom window today, dreaming of what I might see in my next adventure up Bongrae Mountain (on the island).

On my first hike (last Tuesday), I headed up the mountain on the island, which happens to be right outside my school, so it's quite convenient.  The bottom 1/5 of the mountain is covered with apartments, homes, and tiny shops all piled on top of each other with sketchy looking narrow cement pathways leading through them like a maze.  I LOVED the quaintness of it.  I went up and down, right and left, through any and every pathway that looked interesting and at one point, I found this really cool, old temple, hidden at the end of one of the pathways!   (FYI: The next 4 photos were taken with my iphone.) 

As it turns out, the mountain is actually littered with old temples like these, just waiting to be discovered! :)  On Thursday, I went back out for another hike, after work, and after hiking up through the neighborhood area of the mountain, I finally made it to the forest and found the most charming path, with these beautiful tall and skinny trees!  I called it "the fairy path!"  

After 30 minutes on the fairy path, and another 30 up a steeper part of the mountain, I found this lovely temple, hidden up a long, very steep street!  As I was walking around, enjoying the view from there and taking in the beauty of the temple structure, I was met by a monk who ask me, in Korean, if I wanted to come inside for some Green Tea. 

Hey, I'm always up for an interesting opportunity to experience something cultural, so I said, "Nay!" (yes) and there I was, sitting with him, and a young woman who volunteers and lives there at the temple as well.  It's actually just the two of them living there (not together, of course.  Monk's are actually celibate.)  I'm sure they both probably get pretty lonely living up there, so far away from anyone and anything, which is probably why he was so eager to invite me in for tea!  It was actually the Monk's 39th birthday, so I broke into a spontaneous Korean birthday song for him, which he loved! :)  We chatted for a long time (Him in Korean, me in broken Korean, and the young woman helping to translate when she could.)  We talked about life in Korea, his life as a monk, what the hardest monk rules are to follow, my job, Aaron, food, etc... and he made the most lovely green tea, which we all sipped together as we chatted.  I loved it! 

I went out again after work on Friday and decided I was going to try really hard MAKE IT TO THE TOP!  I was determined!  After about an hour or so, hiking up, I knew I was pretty close (within 30 minutes of the top), but the sun was setting, so I reluctantly turned around and hiked back down... a little sad that I didn't make it to the top!  But, I was not about to attempt to hike down a mountain in the dark!  But, can I really complain?  Look at this view!

As if 3 times wasn't enough, I went back out on Saturday afternoon!   I only had 2 1/2 hours to make it to the top and back, before Aaron and I had to meet for something later that night, so Aaron rode me, on the scooter, up to the beginning of the forest area of the mountain (about 1/5th up) so I could make it up and back in time!  It was a gorgeous sunny day, with a light breeze to help cool me off!

Once in a while, there's a break in the trees, opening up to a stunning view of the city below... 

I... MADE... IT... TO... THE... TOP!!

It was a lovely 180 degree view from the top.  I could see from Da Daepo Beach all the way to Haeundae! 

It was worth EVERY SINGLE step!

Tomorrow, after work, the hiking will start again!  I took a break from it tonight to do some wedding stuff... since I happen to be getting married NEXT MONTH!  

Haeundae!

I spent the afternoon today with great friends, on Haeundae Beach, at the Sand Festival! 

The weather was soooo nice, and perfect for a little stroll along the shore!  

We stopped in at a little outdoor restaurant, on the boardwalk, for a late afternoon lunch and a bottle of wine!  Jinho, Anne, and Crystal

Me and Shyrl (Pronounced Sheryl, but spelled without the "E")  She's also recently engaged, like me, so we had lots of fun wedding talking to do! 

My sweet girlfriends, enjoying a beautiful, sunny day in Busan!

Kitty Fetching!

Maverick and I were playing fetch last night, and I threw his toy into the bathroom.  He didn't come back with it, so I got up to check what was going on. When I saw him hanging, motionless, over the side of the toilet, I realized that this had happened...

How could I not laugh just a little?!  He was soooo sad.

Yoga photos!

Aaron didn't have ANY classes yesterday (LUCKY), which gave him plenty of time to choose some photos from the weekend to edit!  I love how they turned out!  He hasn't finished editing some of my favorites: the blurred bicyclists in front of Dawn and Jess, and the roof shot of Dawn, but here's some eye candy for ya to enjoy for now!

....and the crew that made it all happen! :)

Monday in Seoul!

When I told Jess that I wanted to have a breakfast date with Aaron somewhere special, she recommended a darling little french restaurant called The Flying Pan for breakfast...

She said their french toast with grilled bananas and ricotta cheese was amazing. I may or may not have been a little hesitant!  Cheese on french toast?  Hardly my cup of tea... or so I thought!  I went with her recommendation, and WOW!  It was a heart attack on a plate... but a delicious one at that!  While my thighs weren't happy about my order, my mouth definitely was!  OMG!   

Aaron's came out equally as decadent and calorie filled!  :)

This was THE LAST unhealthy thing we ate (will eat) for a long while!

We decided to work off the calories by walking back to SPACE instead of taking a taxi or bus!  We spotted this cute little dog, laying in a box, on a scooter along the road in Insadong.  Not sure why it was like that, but kinda cute none the less. 

As we were walking back, we found an awesome, artsy style cafe, and stopped in for some coffee and magazine reading! (I had just bought In Touch and Women's Health at an English bookstore down the street!)

Jess and Carlos walked over and met us there for some tea on the 2nd floor!  We got on the tangent of healthy cooking, which is Jess's passion, and ended up getting a bunch of great ideas from her!  She's gonna be working on putting together some healthy recipes, catered to the things that we love to eat!  I'm really excited about it!  Man, it's great to have friends like her!  If you're interested in trying some of her recipes, check out her cookbook, HERE, on etsy.

Even Kristen and Alicia stopped in to see us one last time before we headed back to Busan! 

Aaron and I have been talking a lot lately about starting a photography business when we get back to the US... maybe doing weddings, engagements, couple shots, family, graduation, you get the idea!  Jess and Mayo graciously allowed me to take their photos with my new camera!  I actually took these inside the cafe, since Korea doesn't exactly have the types of backgrounds that I would actually love to shoot in.  I think they turned out beautiful, regardless!   

 

 

I think this one is my fav! 

One final group shot outside the cafe before Kristen and Alicia jumped on their scooter and headed for a temple in the hills to relax at!  Alicia said we look like an add for a new TV sitcom!

Jess and I did a little shopping in the local market on our way back to SPACE, and bought tons of fresh ingredients for her to give me a little cooking class before we had to leave to catch the train!  We kept it classy by eating out of tupperware on a table held up with paint cans!  hahaha!

Jess picked up these beautiful peonies in the local market for the equivalent of $2!  I've been looking for peonies for the wedding and they're about $5.00 a stem in N. Carolina!  Wish I could ship them from Korea!!!

After a delicious home cooked dinner, and a quick taxi ride to Seoul station, Aaron and I were on the KTX, headed back to Busan!

I speak for both of us when I say that we wish we never had to leave!! It's funny what spending 3 1/2 days with good friends will do to you!  I feel like a brand new woman with an added sense of excitement, creativity, passion, and drive... not to mention, I think my English may have even improved a tad! haha  :)