My full and kooky life as a homeschooling mommy to 2 great kids, raising a child with HLHS (Hypolastic Left Heart Syndrome), coping with depression, following Jesus, and being much too camera happy.
Welcome to my blog! My name is Esther and I’m so happy you are here. I’m an avid nature photographer and a daydreaming thinker. My posts revolve around photos of nature’s beauty, homeschooling adventures with my 2 kids, sporadic reflections on my child’s heart condition, Bible reading reflections, gardening feats, and other mish mash things. Hopefully you’ll leave encouraged, pensive, or smiling at the simple things of life. Thank you for stopping by and hope you’ll find some interesting posts to read!
Hi everyone, I’ve been absent on WP for about 3 weeks. I missed being in this platform but I couldn’t juggle the sightseeing during the day, helping kids keep up with their online classes homework at night, and taking time to rest. I missed you all!
Our family went to Korea for a vacation and now we’re back in California in the midst of recovering from jet lag. It’s been a fun, sensory overwhelming, busy, and delightful trip, but there’s nothing like coming home to our comfort zone. Food was the best part of the trip and we ate out for all meals. This was the best for me… since there was no cooking involved!
I’ll share some pics and stories soon, but here are some to start. Each day consisted of 5-8 miles of walking and lots of stairs and bustling crowds on the bus and in subways. This was our 3rd day in Seoul and we were part of a waking for the palace and Secret Garden ( a retreat for the king and his family) towards the back of the palace.
At Changdeokgung Palace with volunteersAnother tourist took this picture for us.Front view of the main palace.Main palace. The upright stones on ground were telling of which rank officials were to stand. King’s throne the painting behind the throne is significant. “The *Ilwol Obongdo* was placed behind the king during ceremonies and processes inside and outside the palace, symbolizing royal authority. Depicting the sun, moon, five towering peaks, pine trees, waterfalls, and crashing waves in symmetrical harmony, it embodied the eternal nature of the cosmos and symbolized the king. The *Ilwol Obongdo* was primarily made as a folding screen, which was convenient for movement and installation and also served to divide spaces.”A parade ready to start on the street. They were waking from this palace to the next. Looking up where to go for lunch. By the second leg of the rope, we decided to abandon the tour group and go our own way. Our legs were too jelly by this point.Entrance to the Secret GardenA cool find. A streamwayWhere the king used to hang out for leisure to hear poems.Right next to this structure is this pond. If his poets didn’t write poems that pleased him, they would be sent to the middle of the pond (where you see a small round area of trees) for hours as punishment. Thought that was a funny tidbit to share. An outdoor sitting areaIntricate roof tile designs seem throughout the outer parts of some buildings. Ready for lunch.
Yes, we had a busy time of sightseeing and eating and being tourists! I got a kick out of hearing what happened to the poets if their poems didn’t please the king. I wouldn’t want to write a poem if the king was feeling extra moody. You might have to sit out there longer than usual.
This post was interesting and we all learned some history and saw some very cool and fun photos. It looks like everyone had a great time, homework and studies notwithstanding. I’ll look forward to the rest of the photos as you go through them- I’m sure you took a lot of them.
Thank you, Linda! It’s been a cultural lesson to be there and to learn more about Korea, food, riding on public transportation, walking miles per day, etc.
If we didn’t have homework to keep up with, that would’ve been the best, so we could rest after the day’s tourist things. Somehow we did it and we managed to survive!
What a wonderful trip! I was quite taken with the architecture, and especially with the king’s palace. The thought of being consigned to a little island after writing a bad poem made me laugh. It seems perfectly reasonable; I can think of a few poets who might profit from some time there. It’s interesting that there was a special place to listen to poetry, too.
The photo of the acorns gave me pause. They look just like our bur oak acorns. I wondered if they were the same species. They weren’t, of course, but in the process of trying to answer my own question I found this wonderful article about Korean oaks and their acorns. Fascinating!
Thank you, Linda! Touring the palace was a big highlight of our sightseeing. These living museums are awesome to imagine what life must have been like at that time.
The story of the poets being banished to that little island cracked us up too. I agree that it sounds like a reasonable punishment and perhaps a retreat to write better poems next time.
The acorns were interesting and had to take a picture of it. We were such tourists that every time we saw a special bug or plant, we had to say they were Korean bugs or plants. Thank you for the link, I’ll check it out!
Thank you! It was a fun time to be away but it’s so good to be home now. The jet lag has been fierce; hopefully, this weekend will be the last bit of it.
20 responses to “We’re back from Korea and seriously jet lagged”
Missed you too Esther. Very nice architecture!
Thank you! I missed you too. Glad to be back.
The architecture of this palace was beautiful and the decorations too.
Wonderful travels!! Welcome back!! 😍
Thank you! Happy to be back and settling back into our regular life.
Amazing photos Esther! I’m so glad you got to go on vacation with your family!
Thank you! It was really great go go away and to be immersed in our culture and try new things.
That looks like quite a family adventure! I love the tidbit about what happened to poets whose poems displeased the king.
Yes, we had a busy time of sightseeing and eating and being tourists! I got a kick out of hearing what happened to the poets if their poems didn’t please the king. I wouldn’t want to write a poem if the king was feeling extra moody. You might have to sit out there longer than usual.
🙂
This post was interesting and we all learned some history and saw some very cool and fun photos. It looks like everyone had a great time, homework and studies notwithstanding. I’ll look forward to the rest of the photos as you go through them- I’m sure you took a lot of them.
Thank you, Linda! It’s been a cultural lesson to be there and to learn more about Korea, food, riding on public transportation, walking miles per day, etc.
If we didn’t have homework to keep up with, that would’ve been the best, so we could rest after the day’s tourist things. Somehow we did it and we managed to survive!
Well, it’s officially the weekend so have a restful one!
So wonderful.
Thank you, Cindy!
Thank you for the story about your trip!!! It’s very interesting 😎
Thank you, V!
What a wonderful trip! I was quite taken with the architecture, and especially with the king’s palace. The thought of being consigned to a little island after writing a bad poem made me laugh. It seems perfectly reasonable; I can think of a few poets who might profit from some time there. It’s interesting that there was a special place to listen to poetry, too.
The photo of the acorns gave me pause. They look just like our bur oak acorns. I wondered if they were the same species. They weren’t, of course, but in the process of trying to answer my own question I found this wonderful article about Korean oaks and their acorns. Fascinating!
Thank you, Linda! Touring the palace was a big highlight of our sightseeing. These living museums are awesome to imagine what life must have been like at that time.
The story of the poets being banished to that little island cracked us up too. I agree that it sounds like a reasonable punishment and perhaps a retreat to write better poems next time.
The acorns were interesting and had to take a picture of it. We were such tourists that every time we saw a special bug or plant, we had to say they were Korean bugs or plants. Thank you for the link, I’ll check it out!
Wonderful catching up with what you and the family have been doing. Exciting to see your vacation photos! 🙂
Thank you! It was a fun time to be away but it’s so good to be home now. The jet lag has been fierce; hopefully, this weekend will be the last bit of it.