Shopping Day

We started today going back to the Doota mall and eating at the food court. I've found my new easiest food strategy is choosing something with shrimp because Tim loves them and they are easy to pick out. I'm having fried rice with shrimp and salad. It came with soup with a mussel inside that not even Tim would touch and kimchee. Tim loved his bbq marinated beef on cold noodles and broth, Otto loved his chicken tenders.

Tim's came with scissors to cut the noodles which Otto "needed" for his chicken tenders:

This one is from the subway and goes out to Auntie Sarah:

This is how we spend several minutes each day - I thought I was good at maps, turned out I was wrong though I am good at retracing my steps. Tim is the map-ter-mind and Otto and I follow him blindly and it always works out.

I took this as a reminder to myself what a pain it is to learn to read so I have empathy for my little second graders. I can read all these words but all those Korean names make it exhausting to follow:

Cheap thrills for Otto:

Otto had one of his first "I can't walk any further" too bored, too tired moments. We let him play iPod while we browsed a very sweet and trendy mall. All the shops said "no photos". Can you spot Otto on the steps clicking away?

While we were there we saw another lovers' wall and not one but two couples dressed alike:

I wasn't fast enough to get the couple wearing matching teal Converse. Thank heavens at the end of this lovely shopping street were a few fountains that live-edy him up.

This kid needs a career in aquatics/fountain design. Happy again we went to the imperial palace but it turns out it is closed on Tuesdays. Notice that big mountain in the background? That was the fortress wall we hiked on the other day.

Don't ask why we are making those crazy hands. We are just doing what lots of Koreans do though we don't know why... Oh wait - more water!

Eggplant in the city. If only they tasted as good as they look though Mary makes a good Eggplant Parm.

A few more photos of the palace which we will go back to see when it is open someday...