A little more about the area in which we are staying, Song-Do or Songdo, we’ve seen it both ways. It is an International Business District, a smart city built from scratch on about 1,500 acres of reclaimed land along Incheon’s waterfront. Song-Do is 19 miles southwest of Seoul and along with Yeongjong and Cheongna it is part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ). I had noted some areas of interest while running, so on Friday we ventured out to explore some of the area more thoroughly. A bit of Song-Do. . .
The 1988 Summer Olympics were held in Seoul. It followed two Olympics marred by boycotts (Los Angeles and Sarajevo) and nearly 8,500 athletes from 159 countries participated. It saw the return of tennis to the Olympics and the addition of table tennis and archery. Big winners included Ben Johnson (later DQd for drug use), Sergey Bubka (what a fun name!), Flo Jo, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Seoul has transformed the Olympic Space into a beautiful, art-filled park.
On Monday we ventured back into Seoul to do a walking tour along the old city wall that we had found in the information center near Central Park. This was an uneventful trip 1.45 hour trip in by train with 1 train change.
On Saturday, we headed out of Seoul proper for the suburb of Incheon, and more specifically Song-Do. It was about a 1.5 hour ride by train with a couple of changes. This city/ region has the most extensive network of metro lines that we’ve ever seen.
We said good-bye to our tour guide at the market and walked back to our hotel for a quick break before heading to the Seoul Tower. Bob found us a different walk back (Note: He’s using the Naver navigational app here as Google Map does not provide as detailed directions nor have many English translations. The Naver app even tells you about stairs, escalators, underground passageways, etc.) that took us along a stream in a pedestrian area below street level before coming back up.
Bob and I are together again for our first house sit (and actually first trip) in Asia. Our house sit is in Songdo, a suburb of Seoul, so we flew into Seoul and spent a day in the city center before starting our house sit.
We weren’t sure what to expect as we haven’t learned Korean but while we haven’t met a lot of people that speak English the signage does tend to be in both Korean and English which has been very helpful. Since we wanted to make the most of our first day not knowing how often we’d be coming into the city from our house sit, we arranged for a private walking tour with a local. This was a great way to see some of Seoul, get some good info on what we were seeing as well as learn some pointers for our visit.
We were to meet our guide at 10 am on Friday having arrived at our hotel about 8:00 pm on Thursday. Luckily, our room came with breakfast, so we had a very atypical breakfast (scrambled eggs but also kimchi, dumplings, salads, boiled rice) before heading off for our tour.
First, a couple of photos from our walk to the tour.
We loved this building as well as the wire gazebo and statue.
We saw this phrase around the central business area.
We met our guide just inside the entrance to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the oldest of Seoul’s five palaces. She had informed us she would be in “blue padding” which apparently means a long blue (though really gray) padded jacket. She won us over by purchasing us each a hot pack (hand warmer) that they sell all over here. It was still in the 30s and our tour was mostly all outside, so they came in handy.
The palace and grounds were impressive, but truth in advertising, the buildings that we saw were built after WWII as the originals (already destroyed and rebuilt after a fire) were then destroyed again during the Japanese occupation during the war. Had they been original they would have dated back to the 1300s.
Other things of note: the grounds were used by the king but also by the government who dictated much of the king (and his family’s) behavior including determining when the king and queen could sleep together. Apparently this was to optimize chances for healthy offspring. For her part, the Queen was lucky enough to “get” to care for the household, including the 10-15 concubines typically kept by the king.
Entrance gate to the palace grounds
View of one of the palace buildings as you enter the gate.
The changing of the guard ceremony— check out the head and footwear.
The king’s house and school — required to study at least 15 subjects
A large pavilion on the palace grounds used for events
Small structure on the grounds of the palace
From the palace we walked to Bukchon Hanok Village, an area with traditional Korean houses, but on the way we saw this…
This is a statue of an actual game played by Korean children.
The Hanok Village was lovely and people live in the traditional-style homes that are obviously renovated and now have modern conveniences. (Interesting note: heating here is typically done through heating floors). Unfortunately, the people living here must deal with the groups of tourists that descend upon them to see their homes. Locals from the city walk around in yellow vests that read “quiet please.” Our guide said this was mostly for the Chinese tourists who tend to be quite loud. We have not seen many US, Canadian, nor European tourists.
One of the main roads with the traditional home styles
Another view
Our guide walked us through the popular shopping area of Insadong.
One of the streets decorated with lanterns
Cartoon type characters are everywhere
An attractive building that is a lovely tea shop
The letters are for the name of the complex. They are filled with cassette tapes.
A more traditional area of the shopping district
In the Insadong district is Jogyesa, Seoul’s most prominent Buddhist temple.
Part of the entrance to the temple grounds
The temple and surrounding grounds
A baby Buddha surrounded by lovely lanterns
Inside the temple
A 400 year old tree with lanterns
We ended our tour with a trip to the market.
Trying a bean sprout and onion pancake. Best part, we were sitting on heated benches!
Pancakes in process, glad I didn’t see this before I ate one. This does not make me hungry.
Fresh fish and kimchi
Fish stew ready for hot broth
Drying whole fish
Stay tuned for scenes from our post tour outing on Friday.
The last real day trip that we did out of Rustington was on Friday to Portsmouth. We had a map of the city, and as soon as I saw that it was the birthplace of Charles Dickens I wanted to go. Bob discovered that the home/museum was only open from a Friday through Sunday which helped us determine which day to go. Now having been we’d like to go back to explore the city more completely. Portsmouth was a 50 minute train ride from the Angmering Rail Station, about a 30 minute walk from our home.
We saw the following in or near the city center.
A fountain dedicated for the Queen’s silver anniversary
We saw a number of food trucks, but we liked the name of this one
The rail station we arrived at. We left out of the harbor station.
We started off for the Charles Dickens home for our first stop. The house was small and fairly quick to peruse with paddles in each room to provide information on what you were seeing. My favorite part was that the gift shop sells his books for 2.50 pounds (about $3) each! Of course I had to buy one.
Signage to the museum
The home where Charles Dickens was born
The bed where Dickens was born
And full circle, the chaise on which he died (though not in this house)
A statue of Charles Dickens in Guildhall Square
From the town center we walked to Gunwharf Quay to see the Spinnaker Tower that we had seen on the news channel as well as to walk along the busy wharf. It is a great area with lots of retail, a transportation center, info along the coast about D-Day as the ships sailed out of Portsmouth, and housing. We continued down the coast along the Millennial Walk. Due to time constraints we left lots undone here. We’d like to get back to visit the D-Day Museum, go up in the Spinnaker Tower, see some of the old ships, and then sail over to the Isle of Wight or Jersey or Guernsey.
Walking towards Gunwharf Quay
Entering the quay through an old gate
New residential/retail
We liked the look of this building and thought it would be fun to sit upstairs by the windows
A canal in the quay area by the harbor
A bakery in what looks to be an old tram car
Some of the D-Day info along the harbor
A cute statue
A figurehead from a ship along the canal
The Spinnaker Tower, 3 guesses as to what it looks like
Photos from the Millennial Walk —
Lovely building and gardens, reminded us of an old customs building
We weren’t sure what this building was but loved the incorporation of the flag
We just love the look of pubs. They just have a bit of charm about them.
The ferry to the Isle of Wight
Another view of the Tower
An old battery structure
Looking out one of the gun holes
Bridges and boat along the harbor
A better view of the pebbled beach and water south of the pier
A great green space/park across the road from the water
An impressive wars memorial
We went to Portsmouth on Friday. Late Sunday morning, Bob left to begin his journey to our next house sit in Denver for one of his classmates. I stayed until Sunday night and am now in London to begin my journey back. I’ll be headed to Illinois to try to be of some use to my sister. The last photo is me with George and Hamish during my last bit with them. Super sweet dogs, there were some tears shed (who knew dogs could cry?! 😁) as I walked out to catch my taxi.
Bob and I did not walk to Chichester, but we did walk to Anmering to catch the train. This is the same station we arrived at a few days prior when our homeowners picked us up. This train station is a little over 2 miles from our house. The train to Chichester was a quick 20 minutes. We booked an open-ended return ticket since we didn’t know how long we’d stay. We arrived a little before 11 and ended up taking the 2 pm train back.
Chichester is the only city in West Sussex. It has a long history having been important in Anglo-Saxon times and has a 12th century cathedral that is currently undergoing restoration work.
The official welcome sign into Rustington
The canal in Chichester
Butterfly sculpture near the canal
One of the things that intrigued us about Chichester were the walls that remain around part of the town. However having started on the looped wall walk around the city, we took a brief deter to wander the lovely grounds of the Bishops Palace Garden. This lies between the cathedral and the city walls and is a public park maintained by the city.
Outside of the city walls looking towards the cathedral
Inside the Bishops Palace Garden along the city walls
One view of part of the gardens from up near the walls
More of the gardens
I loved these gardens!
The remainder of the wall walk took us around other parks and some of the town center .
Looking into Priory Park from the wall walk
Another view of the park
Walking along the wall
Another view of Priory Park and the Guildhall Museum
Lovely homes along the walk
From the wall walk we went into the Town center. We even stopped at a cafe for a sausage roll for Bob and a coffee for me. It was a lively place, as there was a climate change rally going on near the Chichester across.
St. John’s Church
The Chichester Cross
Chichester Cathedral
Saint Richard, the patron saint of Sussex. We found him to be a little scary.
The day after our walk to Worthing, we decided to walk to Arundel, a really cute market town with a medieval castle and Roman Catholic Church about 6 miles from Rustington. Again, as with Worthing, we walked there and bused back. The walk was not as pleasant since we were away from the sea and mostly along busy roads. We really liked the town though and hope to walk back there again but this time along the River Arun From Littlehampton.
Walking past some great flowers in Rustington as we headed out of town
More flowers along the route
A very cute pub on the way near railroad tracks perhaps inspiring the name
Crossing a creek
A cute new-looking brewhouse just outside of Arundel
Viewing the Arundel Castle on the way into town
Remnants of an old wall along the River Arun
The Arundel Museum on the River
Initial view of High Street on our way to the castle
Arundel Castle was initially built in 1067. It was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and 19th centuries. We just paid to visit the chapel and grounds so didn’t get inside the castle itself.
The entrance to the grounds
The impressive castle
Look at the size of these leaves!
A closer view of part of the castle
Another entrance to the estate
The FitzAlan Chapel
An arras hanging in the chapel
Part of the castle gardens
Another view of the gardens
Loved the sculpted hedges
Even more of the gardens
Who is the well-hatted man?!
A pretty fountain
Flowers in the greenhouse
After the castle, we walked around the town before catching the number 9 bus back to Rustington.
We have been trying to take advantage of the great late summer weather by getting out as much as possible before our pm walks with the dogs. One day we did an easy 6 mile walk to Worthing down the coast to the east from Rustington (opposite direction from Littlehampton). It is amazing to us how connected these communities are and how easy it is to walk along the coast either on footpaths on lawns, narrower paved paths, or large promenades. It made the walk feel like a nice, easy stroll, and we only seemed to be out in the country for a small part of it. We always seemed to have company along the way with lots of people out for their walk or exercising their dogs.
The great lawn that we walk daily with the dogs and started our walk to Worthing.
Some of the beautiful homes along our walk.
The beautiful beach and sea
Another portion of our walk
A short pause to look back towards Rustington
A nautical-themed home
A play area along the promenade outside of Worthing
Fun advertising for a grass company
Worthing is a larger town and borough of about 100,000. It’s only 10 miles west of Brighton. As with many seaside towns, it has a pier and rides. After we arrived, we had a nice walkabout around town before catching a bus back to Rustington.
Lovely flowers — another thing I love about the UK!
A pedestrian-only section of the town center
A theater
The Worthing Museum
Just a building we found attractive
A nice sitting area at one end of the promenade
The Dome Cinema and Tea Room along the promenade
Shops and rides along the promenade
Walking out onto the pier
Looking back at the town from the end of the pier
The bus ride home was so easy. The Coastliner bus runs every 10 minutes and goes from Brighton to Littlehampton. It’s a double decker, so we did the touristy thing and rode in the front seats up on top. The following are some pics from the ride home.
Peckish Travels 