Family Vacation - Part Last

Day five - Friday was mostly uninteresting as it was a travel and rest day for us. We moved from Busan to Gyeongju (경주) that day and stayed at a hotel called the Dream Center. I think it would have been a really great place to stay in season, but in January, there just wasn't much to do. Even the indoor pool was drained. :( For in-season guests there was lots of fun outdoorsy stuff to do and even a science museum-type outfit.

The highlight of that day was our exquisite dinner at the Gyeongju Hilton Hotel's Da Vinci restaurant where we officially celebrated our three years in Korea. David had a foie gras salad and rack of lamb. I had a juicy steak with goat cheese and foie gras. It was all so tender and flavorful. And it may have been the very best meal we've had in three years.

Day six - Gyeongju World! Since we don't really get snow in Pohang and the little girls had been praying for some white fluffy goodness, we took them to Gyeongju World where they could sled and play in the man-made snow. We had a few fun hours there with some sledding and snowball fighting.

A few ways Korea is different from the U.S.:
-The climb up to the sledding area was completely iced over and people were falling like crazy.
-About twenty people would take off on their sleds down the small hill simultaneously. Some ran into each other, some fell over, and it was pretty much a big mess.
-At the bottom of the hill, everyone dismounted their sleds and made their way to the sides, but the next group of sledders were already on the way down!
-They let me sled down the slope wearing my five month old baby in a carrier and my 23 month old in front of me. I felt pretty safe about it, but I couldn't imagine any establishment in the U.S. EVER allowing that.
DMunk said that as an attorney, the whole thing just made him nervous. But really, these are the some of the things that make us love this place.


DMunk & JMunk sledding. (They're to the left, she's in the white coat.)









I believe JMunk's favorite part was the giant Ferris wheel (that moved snail slow). She threw her hands in the air and screamed just like Fern (from Charlotte's Web). DMunk and I just breathed deep breaths and couldn't believe we'd entrusted our lives to this big rickety old contraption.




On the Ferris wheel


Warning: Turn your speakers down for this one! It cracks me up, but it's an earful of little girl squeals.)