Celebrating Ten Years at Vitos | Busan, South Korea

I can't believe that our ten year anniversary was only two months ago. It feels like our time in Korea was another lifetime. I'm so glad that Markus and I were able to spend our ten year celebration somewhere amazing like Busan. It's not every day that you can celebrate a decade with the same person and in a great place like Korea. I never would've thought that my life would end up like this! 

 

For dinner Markus found this great Italian place, Vito. It was in the heart of Seomyeon and had great reviews online. Vito, the chef, trained in Italy and makes all of the pasta fresh everyday. Koreans love Italian food, but they tend to add a Korean touch to all international food. I was really eager to eat authentic Italian pasta. The ambiance of the place was nice and cozy. It was a lot smaller than I thought. There were only a few tables and the restaurant probably only sat 15 people. People were always waiting to be sat, so I knew we made a good decision.

When we ordered, we both decided on pasta dishes. Ever order came with a complementary appetizer of cream soup and mushroom crostini. Both were really delicious and I wish they gave us more. I can't really remember the names of the dishes, but I do remember how they tasted. I had an olive oil based pasta cooked with garlic, basil and tomato. It was so good. Markus had a creamy shrimp pasta. His was also really yummy. When the plates came out, I was worried that it wouldn't be enough food, but it was the perfect amount. After dinner, they gave us complimentary tea to finish off the meal. I remember we chose Vito because we missed the taste of home. Now that I'm home, I miss the taste of Korea. It's really funny how that works.

When we left Vito, we walked around a bit and looked for a cafe. We decided that since it was a special occasion we should be a bit more adventurous and find a new spot. We finally found a great cafe called, Cafe Verre. It's a bit hidden, which is perfect because less people know about it. It was super cute and had lots of nice brick-a-brac. We sat at a table next to the window and people watched for a bit. We both ordered an Americano, our favorite drink, and a raspberry tiramisu. We really enjoyed the cafe and we went back at least a dozen times before we left Korea. It was a great find and one that I was glad to experience before we left. I'm so glad that we were able to have a nice memorable anniversary and I wonder where we'll end up next year! 

Angkor Thom, Cambodia | 3 of 3

Even though I wasn't keen on Angkor Thom, I really loved the photos we took. While were exploring some of the more secluded areas, there was an old Cambodian gentleman that started to lead us around the complex. He kept showing us the best places to take photos. I think we wouldn't have such great photos if it wasn't for him! I will always remember his kindness!

Adventures in Camping | Part 1

In the two years that Markus and I lived in Korea, we were blessed with some amazing Korean friends. I know I've talked about it before, but I can't stress how important it is to make connections, especially when you live far from home. It's already scary enough moving to a new place, but moving to a place where you don't speak the language and don't know anyone is terrifying. Thankfully, we were able to meet some great people.

Our dear friend, Junnie, is someone that I will always be thankful to have in my life. I don't think I've ever met such a kind and thoughtful person. He is always thinking of others and always trying to do his best. He might not always make the right decisions, but his intentions are always sincere. Back in May, he even planned a camping trip for Markus and I. It was really sweet and Markus and I were really excited. Although, neither one of us had ever been camping before. We were all planning without experience but we knew it would be a great adventure!

After a lot of going back and forth and cancelled weekends, we finally settled on a date. We previously cancelled a weekend in February because it was rainy and cold. We didn't have the proper gear and Markus imagined us all dying of hypothermia or something similar. So when Junnie finally pulled up with a huge video camera and our other camping comrades, Shin-chang and Gwang-jin, I knew that it was going to be a really interesting experience.

We began our journey in Busan and then headed out to Pohang. If you use the map I drew, you can follow along. We had to go to Pohang, because Junnie's parents had the tents at their house. Now looking back on it, I don't know why we didn't just rent them in Busan or borrow it from a co-worker. So from Busan, Pohang is around 1.5 hours away. By the time we arrived in Pohang, we were hungry and tired. After we made a pit stop at Junnie's house and met his sweet lil Korean grandmother, we headed out to get some lunch. Thankfully, Junnie knew of a really cheap Chinese place and we were able to eat a lot of food for really cheap. Gwang-jin kept saying it was the only good thing Junnie did that day.  After we ate, we still had to buy all the camping supplies.  Since none of us had been camping before, we were really unprepared.  We stopped in a random town and realized that they didn't have any meat or much of the supplies we needed. We decided that we needed to head to the campsite to be able to set everything up before nightfall.

After another 1.5 hours of driving, we found ourselves at the campsite in Gyeong-ju. It was actually quite beautiful, but really out of the way. While we were driving up, Markus and I wondered why we didn't just camp out in Busan. Gyeong-ju looked just like Busan. By the time we started setting everything up, we were all delirious and tired. The boys worked really hard, while I ran around taking photos. Once we set up one of the tents, we realized that it wasn't enough room for all five of us, so they started pitching the other tent. Once we were done, we realized that we had no food and needed to go to another city to get the food. So again, we hopped into the car and began the search for food.

If this seems exhausting, trust me it was and I lived it. This isn't even close to the end of the story. There is so much more, but I will continue the rest of the story in the final installment of Adventures in Camping!

Angkor Thom, Cambodia | 2 of 3

Since Angkor Thom is such a popular temple, we spent a lot of time there. We wanted to make sure that we saw every hidden room and tucked away corner. We found a few secluded spots and we were able to take as many photos as we wanted! I even climbed a few of the ruins for a more dynamic look. I guess I'll do anything to get the perfect photo!