Cherry Blossom Explosion

Spring is finally here! I feel like it's been winter for months! I do love winter, but it's definitely time for warmer weather and the earth to come alive. Spring in Busan is amazing. The streets and neighborhoods are filled with cherry blossom trees. They are everywhere and really hard to miss. They definitely make the city more beautiful and instantly put me in a good mood.

Recently, I had a Friday off from work and met with one of my dearest Korean friends, Sat Byeol. We meet once a month and it's always a great time. She always researches the best restaurants and cafes beforehand and we always end up at some great places. For this meeting, she wanted to take me to one of the best places to see cherry blossoms in Busan. 

Twinsies

Beef Pho

Fried Spring Roll

For lunch, she found a Vietnamese restaurant in Gwangalli. Markus and I have had Vietnamese food in Korea and it's always been sub par. It's nothing like it is back home and it's one of the comfort foods I miss the most. This restaurant wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. It's probably the closest taste wise, but it's still lacking a lot. They don't give bean sprouts on the side and already put them in before the bowl has reached the table. The broth tastes really good, but it's kind of a one note dish. There wasn't any hoisin to dip my meat in and that's one of my favorite things about pho. The spring rolls were delicious, but it's really hard to mess up a fried spring roll. Although, it was nothing like a Vietnamese spring roll. It was a weird Korean facsimile, but it was still really tasty. 

Gwangalli Beach

Before we saw the cherry blossoms, we walked along the beach. It was such a beautiful day. The sky was absolutely clear. It wasn't too hot or too cold, the weather was just right. It was a perfect spring day. When we walked closer to the the sea, we saw an ahjumma (older lady) out in the ocean trying to catch fish or picking seaweed. We really couldn't tell, she was sort of wading for most of the time. We stood and watched her for a little bit, soaking in the sun and enjoying the day. 

When we finally made it to the street lined with cherry blossoms, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was so beautiful and there were so many flowers! This street is one of the more popular spots in Busan and it was packed full of cars, couples and families. It was hard getting a photo without a barricade, car or person. Last year, Markus and I went to another residential street, but it was a lot more spread out. This street is like a cocoon of cherry blossoms. It was much more magical and I loved it. For a perfect ending to a perfect spring day, Sat Byeol took me to Beans Bins for coffee and a waffle.