Jeju Island Introduction Course

So many you aren't aware of this, but just south of Korea there is a little island called Jeju. Jeju-do (do in Korean means island) is beloved by all Koreans. Seriously, when I lived there I thought this place must be freaking paradise because of how everyone talked about it. It's the honeymoon island and traditionally where the older generation traveled after they got married.

Illustration done by a local artist whose website can be found here

Jeju has a big beautiful mountain in the middle of the island, and plenty of strange and interesting attractions (like a museum dedicated to the local, elderly female divers or the sex themed sculpture park). I will say, as I've traveled to many beautiful places in my life, I was a little underwhelmed by Jeju. Sorry! Maybe an unpopular opinion. Perhaps don't go there expecting it to be like Hawaii. Because it's not. It's different, and that's ok!

The plane ride from Seoul is about one hour. So that says how small Korea is! It's super cheap and easy to get there as there are a lot of airlines that fly to and from there. I recommend Jejuair or Eastar Jet. Once you arrive you have a few options. You can either rent a car (I'd do Lotte rental car because if you become a member you get a serious discount) or you use the bus/ taxi system. Every SINGLE time I've gone, somehow my international drivers license got messed up and I have yet to rent a car. Super annoying! So guess what? We took the bus everywhere. It is definitely cheap, not sure how easy it is to navigate if you don't speak Korean. In the summer the car rentals fill up/ sell out insanely fast so I highly, highly recommend booking in advance!

The first time I went to Jeju was in the middle of summer. I think it was July. It was super hot. And because we didn't have a car rental (this time we didn't get one because they sold out too fast) that meant buses and walking. And let me tell you, bus drivers in Jeju are mental. They drive super aggressively.

One night we were taking the bus back from a day trip and the driver was honking the horn at everyone, flying over speed bumps, and in Korean kept groaning, "I wanna go hooooooooome." He stopped at a stoplight in the middle of a town, got out, peed, and got back on the bus. I can't make this stuff up.

 Even though there is no "aloha" spirit here and it's maybe not as exotic or tourist developed as other islands, I love Jeju. My boyfriend's parents live there, and I've been many times. As a quick overview and in fear that this post could become just way too long, I'll write my recommendations below. Later I'll go more in depth about specific day trips, places to visit, and small neighboring islands to go to!

• Eat Hallabong oranges. They are native to Jeju and the best oranges I've ever had... in my life. you'll get a bunch of orange themed products. Try them all! They are cheaper in Jeju and eaten all over Korea. The only time you can't get them is in summertime, when it's too hot for the oranges to grow.
• Visit the beaches on the west side of the island! There is Hallim park, where you can pay an entry fee to see lots of beautiful botanical wonders, caves, and man-made waterfalls. Across from the park is a really great beach, and there is an Italian style pizza place nearby (pictured above)
• Go to the green tea fields and sample some products. I didn't get to do this but I still want to!
• Go hike/ drive through Hallasan (Halla Mountain). It's so beautiful and peaceful year round.
• Drive east and visit Udo (Cow Island). In my opinion, the best beaches in Jeju! So fun and cheap to rent a bike or a little electric car and go around the island, eating the local peanut ice cream or peanut sauce hot dogs & burgers. May sound weird, but even for a picky person like me I loved it. 

Have you been to Jeju before? What's your favorite warm weather locale? I'm gonna sit back now and dream of those oranges... 

Film from Norway

I just got a roll of film developed from a couple of different trips over the past year and I'm really pleased with the results. I find the photos I take with a film camera have more meaning and purpose, as I know they are expensive to develop and I have to trust my alignment, film speed, etc. are all in order. It takes more work and I find it more rewarding.

Anyway, the first set of photos I will post and discuss are from my trip to Norway early this year. I went towards the beginning of January and returned in late February. I split that time between Paris as well, so no, I wasn't in Norway for a month but rather 2 weeks. I didn't see the actual sun until my second week there and it felt so strange and wonderful to see it again. I got to visit my friend Annika, bum around her grandmother's adorable farm house, sleep in freezing temperatures (my favorite) (no really), visit said grandmother (who is in her 90's), knit, visit towns, and participate in many other adventures.

This is the frontyard. No, really, it is! You cross the street and this is what is there. You look out the window in the morning (yes this is the morning and also a few hours before the light would disappear) with your feet in hand-knit chunky socks and your cup of warm herbal tea and look out to this. It is as dreamy and unreal as it sounds. I want to relive this moment over and over again. 

At night, and until the early hours of the morning, you can look out the window and hopefully catch an incredible aurora borealis show. I was so lucky with the one I saw. It moved all across the sky, was bright green and swirled in the most unbelievable way. We also got some red in there, as you can see from this photo. I feel really lucky to have captured this moment. Annika and I were running all over the yard like madmen. This night was truly magical because my fingers were frozen, the moon was so bright, and the wind was pretty fierce so the northern lights were moving rapidly across the sky and I was worried I wouldn't capture all the incredible moments. Visiting Scandenavia is expensive but as you can see it's so worth it. 

This is a pretty awesome picture which shows 1) how insanely bright the moon was (bright enough that you could see around you pretty well in the middle of the night) and 2) how full of stars the sky is there! The area we stayed in (roughly) is called Andøy. I say roughly because honestly I have no idea. The area is so small and hardly anything is labeled. We were near a really cute town called Sortland which was full of wonderful people, including the sweet Camilla who knitted a sweater for me at my request! It was a sleepy, dreamy little town and I really hope I can go back again someday. 

The best thing about all of this is the older generation doesn't really get tired of seeing the northern lights. When I met with Annika's grandmother, who we call "farmor" (meaning grandmother from her father's side and is pronounced far-moore), we talked about this incredible light show. I'm glad the locals don't ever take this beauty for granted. Farmor also taught me how to knit, let me shower in her awesome shower, and knitted me a few pairs of socks. She made us waffles to eat with cloudberry jam (so good, let's not think about it or I'll cry) and she also had a coffee break what felt like every hour. She also is probably more active than I am, which is saying something because she's like 95. I feel spoiled having known her for only a few weeks, everyone should have a farmor in their lives.

After a week of being there we went on a whale safari. This was totally cool though I warn anyone who doesn't like roller coasters or who has neck or back problems to NOT SIT AT THE FRONT OF THE BOAT. Phew, that was tough. We used Sea Safari Andenes which I highly recommend. Maarten is awesome and knows the landscape really well. He's also amazingly caricatured. He would guide the boat with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth, he has curly grey floppy wavy hair, his outdoorsy coat. He's just a nature guy from the Netherlands and it's great. He's very nice and takes excellent nature photos, particularly of animals. You can buy prints from him of past photos, as well as photos + a USB of your whale safari adventures. 

If you want to see puffins, go in the summer. If you want to see whales, go in the winter. 

I met a British nature enthusiast who was on the other boat (two go out) who took photos of us. He e-mailed me those as well as some bonus whale pictures. The photo above is his work, thanks David! 

I know I took more photos of the whales but that might be on another camera roll. Also, the picture above the whale photos was taken in Andenes, which is at the top of Andøy. You will eat the freshest and bestest fish there. Annika's brother Jeremy lives their and he is a fisherman. I never ate fish before but I ate the fish Jeremy caught and cooked! It also helps he's an amazing chef :) That town had one great cafe with free wifi, you should go there. It was called Jul Nilsens Bakeri & Konditori as. They have some delicious baked goods and hot drinks. Around the corner from that are some good clothing stores and an excellent knitting store. 

The last photo I'll share is one of this town. This was the first time I had seen the sun since I'd been to Norway, and this is the effect of the sunlight hitting the side of the mountain. This was on our four hour drive down the Lofoten Islands, to the very end of the islands, to a little place called Å (pronounced oh-uh). We got to stay in the fisherman's cabins which I highly recommend! Very cool and cozy and right by the water. My goal is to come back to the Lofotens in the summertime because they are truly breathtaking. Then I'll be able to hike and be more outdoorsy because in the wintertime poor Annika wanted to hike but I was so grumpy and only wanted to stay indoors.

That's all the photos I'll share for now. If you are ever in the area, send me a message if you want to know anything or if you have any comments to make! Listen to Radio Bø for me (you can also listen to it online if you want, which I highly recommend), go get soaps and AMAZING treats from Alveland, which is also a bed and breakfast and would be an incredible experience for anyone, and enjoy the Fjords and beauty that Norway offers! 

Paris, Paris

Did you think I'd given up on my blog? Never! My life has been very hectic for the past few weeks and it has been so hard to even complete normal tasks like washing my face... but now I am back on routine.

This isn't the first time I've been to Paris, but it is probably the most explorative. I've been to the cliche places so many times, this trip I decided I wanted to get lost down streets, find vrai shopping a la parisienne, and just generally find a joy in living because let's face it, living at home with your parents post college can cause quite the slump.

my view, spices, galeries lafayette. I love the place but oh my gosh the crowds. The crowds.

So far we have visited Meaux and Provins, tomorrow we are going to Auver-sur-Oise where Van Gogh is buried. I've gone up Rue Montparnasse and Rue du Rennes, been to Tuileries, through the Marais quite often... it's definitely been fun! More photos and more information to come, just thought I'd say hi to everyone and that yes, I'm alive.

Oh also, doing hair and make up here is impossible for two reasons. First, French women don't really wear make-up and they don't really need to because they are so naturally beautiful. So when I wear make-up I feel so awkward here. And second of all, it is SO hot here with no air conditioning and so much walking... the make-up looks so crazy by the end of the day. Now to check on everyone's blogs!

Exiting Stuff Ahead // Flash Lens Aviators

OK guys, I will now announce that in a few weeks I will be headed off to Paris for three weeks, following which I will go to Norway and Denmark for eight days. I feel so excited and privileged to be going to Europe for a month-- I've missed it so much as several of you know and I can't wait to be back.
Of course this means a few things, one being that I need to start setting aside shopping money, and another being the start of some intense research into things to do. Since I lived in Paris for several months I am familiar with it and have been to the "main targets" many many times. I want to start exploring some of the areas I'm not as familiar with, so I've begun the process of writing down coffee shops, stores, and smaller museums that I want to visit. If anyone knows anything about Norway or Denmark (specifically Copenhagen) send me an e-mail or comment below to let me know of fun things around. I have never traveled in Scandinavia before so I'm not sure what to expect (except heavy taxes and prices.)

Aside from that I'm still struggling to get over Hawaii time. I've been so lazy and unproductive this whole week and now that it's ending I feel the need to kick it into high gear, meaning more posts, on more topics, as well as finally finishing my degree up and all those other boring things.

Also, I finally purchased some Ray-Ban flash lensed aviators and I'm in love! They're so great, even my brother-in-law liked them enough to buy a pair while we were in Maui.

 The view was spectacular. You can see the island of Molokai in the distance.

These lenses are so beautiful and come in three colors but I thought blue looked the best with my complexion. 

Bonus picture: this little dog was so excited to see us when we got back, she collapsed as I was unpacking and fell asleep like this!

Maui Scenery

In case you didn't know, Hawaii is gorgeous

 (view from 39,000 feet over Los Angeles, complete blanket of clouds)

I'm sad to be home because that means leaving family members and of course, the beach. I loved my time there, I can't wait to share more photos!

The Normandy Hotel in D.C.

We had so much fun at our hotel when we were in DC. It was called the Normandy Hotel and was nestled on a little street surrounded by various embassies. It never felt overcrowded, the staff was incredibly helpful and polite, and I discovered on the last night they had a gorgeous little coffee bar area, complete with cookies! I hope next time I'm in town that I'll be able to visit this little place again. Definitely a cozy treasure. Oh, and the rooms were pretty great, too! I'll have to scrounge up those photos from a different camera.