Exploring Insa-dong (one week late)

Last weekend, I went exploring by myself. I went to Insa-dong, where I've been before with the other new teachers, but this time I got to poke around at my own pace. I love it! Perusing touristy Korean shops and art galleries and tables with jewelry and knick knacks; what a great way to spend a Sunday morning!

I also checked out an outdoor market/shopping center that Helena told me about. It was really neat. Very artsy and full of shops with funky jewelry or prints of local artists or all-natural drink stands. I wanted to buy everything I saw. Luckily, I'm quite broke so just looking is fine with me. But I did find would-be gifts for people, which was fun, sort of like mental shopping.

I went to an art gallery that was 3 stories and absolutely free. It was fantastic. It makes me want to surround myself with art. LeAnn's painting is the first of many, I hope. I got a print and some postcards for free too. Hello, bare apartment walls.

After looking around, I ventured out across the street to what I believe is another part of Insadong. Down a street with a tall wall on either side takes you to another set of tiny streets with boutiques, coffee shops, cafes and little restaurants. All the cafes and restaurants have open windows and lots of flowers. It's all very picturesque.

Walking around in the heat was tiring so I stopped for a smoothie. It wasn't my idea of a smoothie but it was pretty good. It was watermelon and ice blended together. It was kind of weird but pretty good. They had tomato too. That just seems a little too weird to me. But I may be missing out on something huge.

The outdoor shopping center.

Green space at the outdoor shopping center.

The wall next to a gallery (I just thought it looked neat).

Okay, so now I'm going to cheat and include pictures that were taken the first time I went to Insadong with J, S, and H. I just like them. We stopped in at this very fancy tea shop.

Rows of tea.

A tea display.

Tea, anyone?