Archive for September, 2009
Tickets, Weddings, and Plans
6JJ and I booked all of our flights and now have e-tickets for our entire trip. We will fly from Seoul to Paris with a 7hour lay-over in Kuala Lumpur. We will spend 6 nights in Paris in a small hotel near Republique station. It doesn’t seem to be that far from all the major sights. . We just found out that one of our friends, who I worked with at Youngdo, is living in Paris. We hope to meet up with her during our week in the city. We are steadily gathering information and tips on how to enjoy our week in the City of Lights. After a week in a Paris, we will depart for New York. We have about a 4 hour lay-over in Dublin. I think this is enough time for us to grab a pint or two. We will get into New York around 6pm and grab a hotel near the airport. Our plan is to get up super early and go explore Manhattan for about 10 hours the next day and then fly into New Orleans. We won’t get to see much of New York in a day, but I sure that we will get to Times Square and spend most of our day in that general area. I am pretty sure that we are going to need some major rest before the wedding, but we really have only two weeks to get everything ready once we get back. Sometime in that two weeks before the wedding, I need to buy a car and get a new driving license. I let it expire while I have been in Korea and did not have the chance to renew it while I was in the States.
We are also in the process of gathering addresses, so that we can send out our wedding invitations. JJ has ordered the invitations which I think look great. The design looks good and I can wait to see how the finished product comes out. 
JJ’s parents and family are arriving the day before the wedding. This will not give the much of chance to rest up before the wedding rehearsal, but because of work schedules this is their only option. They will only be staying in Mississippi for two nights. They will be staying about 2 weeks in California with JJ’s older sister. They are all coming down for the wedding, so it should be a great time. It will be interesting to see how her family handles eating Mississippi food for a few days. Catfish and hushpuppies with Turnip greens and cornbread!!! Wow! I get hungry just thinking about it!
A couple of images for you. The first one was taken at Bongeunsa and the last one was taken in Songtan on our way to eat Thai food. The dog seemed very protective of the shoe store. or maybe just didn’t like kids. 
K9 Security Guard
We are having a somewhat lazy Saturday. I am still trying to hire a teacher to take my place and have been busy interviewing prospective teachers. I have a little less than 45 days left at the school and there is a lot for me to get sorted out before we leave. We are headed to Bundang tonight to have dinner with Troy and Joanne. Sunday will be spent gathering items for our trip and doing some serious packing. I really want to take a bunch of photographs on our trip and I will need to go buy some more CF cards and maybe a new camera bag.
Hope you have a great weekend!~
Honolulu out Paris in….
4JJ and I had a change of mind after talking it over. We actually made the decision while out with Adam having some beers at Blue Bar. He started talking about Europe and the next that you know we had changed our minds. We have been checking out hotels via Tripadvisor.com and really have been having trouble finding somewhere cheap, clean, and in a good location. We could have gone the hostel route, but really wanted our own room. The private room option at the hostels was the same prices as a hotel, so I decided to start looking at hotels. I finally found a hotel that had pretty good reviews and was in our price range.(damn rooms are expensive in Paris) I thought I would check it out on google maps and what did I see when I looked next door. It is fate. I just hope that they have some room left. 
We almost booked our tickets tonight, but decided to wait one more day to decide exactly when we are going to leave. It looks like we are going to spend about 6 nights in Paris and then make our way to New York. We are going to have about 24 hours in New York and plan on getting downtown for a day in Manhattan. We won’t do much in New York, but I will try and squeeze as much as possible in the 12 hours that we will have to kill in the city.
I have been planning our trip to Paris and trying to figure out what exactly we want to see. I know that we will go to Versailles and at least spend one whole day there. I also want to spend a good amount of time in the Louvre. The last time I was in Paris; I was only 18 years old and really didn’t appreciate as much of as I should have. JJ has never been to France, so I know that it is going to be wonderful trip!
If anyone has any tips or tricks about traveling in Paris or what they would see in a week, please feel free to leave a comment!~
Bongeunsa-Temple in the City
72 years ago
by JR
in Korea and Culture
Today JJ had a meeting with some of her old college friends. She met her friends in Shinchon and I finally went to Bongeunsa(봉은사). Bongeunsa is a Buddhist temple near Coex Mall in Seoul. You can read more about here. I have been meaning to visit this temple for awhile now. I took a bunch of photos. I mostly took HDR images and if that is not your style, feel free to skip this post. 
I love walking around temples here. The smell of the incense floating over the grounds is intense. The chanting and the bell ringing seem to never stop. I am not a Buddhist, but the whole experience of being at the temple during a service is unforgettable.
There are still a few more cultural places that I want to photograph before we head back to Mississippi. I also want to hit up Gwanghwamun one more time before I leave. I have seen some photos of the new fountains and really want to check it out at night.
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