This morning started with a nice breakfast at the hotel. It felt more like a lunch or a dinner, but was still amazing. One of my plates was some pieces of chicken with fried rice and curry, which was amazing. It was probably one of the most filling breakfasts I’ve had in my life. They also had some dumplings which I didn’t get to try until the very end. They went fast, which made sense because they were probably my favorite from breakfast.

Soon after, it was time to get on the subway. After walking underground, things got a little hectic with such a big group, especially when it was time to swipe our cards through the turnstile. The train cars themselves were sometimes extremely packed with all of us standing in the middle holding onto the handles, other times they weren’t as packed. It was interesting to see how almost every seat would be taken, whereas in the US it feels like people will avoid having to sit right next to someone on the bus or train. Here, it is a different story.

Finally after getting off the train, we walked along the Cheonggyecheon stream, and were actually able to walk along the paths on the side of the stream. It was a rainy day, so the whole time I was scared about slipping and falling in. Especially when Dr. Yun told us all to get on some rocks in the middle of the stream to take pictures.

Afterwards, we went to see the changing of the guards ceremony at Gyeongbuk Palace. This was probably my favorite thing of the whole day. Despite the rain and cloudy day, the views with the big palace in front and the mountain in the back slightly clouded over was awesome.

Throughout the rest of the day, there was a lot of walking. We explored the rest of the palace and then went on to see the Bluehouse. My feet were definitely killing me, but the sights and learning about the history of Korea was definitely worth it. We also had lunch between the Bluehouse and seeing the Jogyessa temple. Here, I tried ttaoekbokki for the first time. It was one of my favorite things I’ve had so far while being here, although it was slightly spicy. Some people were even sweating a little.

Finally after walking around Jogyessa Temple for some time, exploring the Namdaemun Market having a break at the hotel and eating a very large traditional Korean dinner, I passed out in bed with the lights on at around 8-9pm. I don’t remember exactly. It was a very long, but very cool and fun day filled with some awesome architecture and sights, some shopping in the market, and some good food.