Thank you all so much for the kind comments on the book. I am so glad to hear that so many of you are looking forward to it as much as I am! I was a bit worried about how I would get through the wait but I have discovered that with the book being done (6 months of my work life!) and after a lovely holiday I have a new lease on crafting!! I have been designing and sewing and having oh so much fun doing it, but more of that in my next post.
For now I thought I would show you a few more photos from Korea as promised!! Above is the view from our apartment window where the lights and activity keep going 24 hours a day. One of the tour guides we spent a day with laughed about how Korea was known as "The land of morning calm" yet the city never stops and there is never much calm!....
..that is of course until you enter a beautiful park like this! I just adore all of the parks I have seen in Korea so far. They are just so beautifully put together and maintained.
They always create a mood of calm and relaxation and the flora is always so beautiful, especially this time as we were their for the spring.
In a lot of the parks there are these funny wooden totem poles which sometimes border on cute looking!! (Im sure that isn't the intention!)
On Children's day we initially went for a trip into the city to see what was happening but soon realised that to be a part of any of the organised festivities we were going to have to queue up for hours, I have never seen so many families in one place at one time!! So instead we decided to take a taxi down to a park on Yeouido island. This park was likewise packed with families out for a nice day day of celebrating but even with all of the people it was so relaxing and one of my favorite days.
The kids enjoyed being able to run around, get their sillies out (I think they were a bit of a spectacle with their funny dancing to the korean music that plays throughout the park!!) and of course what is a day at the park without a messy ice-cream?! But the most amazing part of this park for me was....
...the amazingly beautiful blossom trees that surrounded the entire park! They were so stunning and the best part of all was that at one stage there was a nice warm breeze and the blossoms were floating around everywhere on the wind!! Sitting on the grass in this park with the kids rolling around full of giggles, my husband beside me and the blossoms floating everywhere - I felt so content, so inspired, so in awe! I tried to capture a photo of the beauty but the camera could not focus on the floating blossoms - I will have to keep it alive in my memory instead!! I went back to the hotel that night and designed a stitchery right away!
This stitchery will be one of my projects for the "Girls Day Out" retreat at Country Thyme next month and I think I will also adapt it for my project for this Stitchery of the club month. Then it will hang on my wall as a reminder of that beautiful day.
One last picture I wanted to share with you were these great padlocks
One thing that I have found out about Korea over the years is that love, dating and romance are of huge importance!! I now think of Korea as the "Paris" of Asia. Everywhere you go there are sweethearts walking hand in hand and there is so much focus on dating and finding your soul mate. This trip when we went up to Seoul Tower there was a new addition. In the 4 years since we were there last, this long wire fence was suddenly covered in padlocks, they were all different colours and shapes and a lot of them had inscriptions or tags attached. We were told that when someone has finally found their soul mate they come up to Seoul Tower and link their padlocks together on the fence, they then throw the keys over the fence into the bush far below so that they are linked together forever. So cute!!
Melly.
how romantic! I want to go there and link padlocks with DH because he is my soulmate!
Posted by: rosalie | May 19, 2009 at 09:17 PM
Oh, I just love those padlocks!
Posted by: rachelmp | May 19, 2009 at 10:53 PM
How wonderful to see your beautiful photos and read your evocative desvcriptions, Melly. I have a Korean DIL and a 2 yr old half-Korean granddaughter living here in Australia, so I love learning about Korea. Thank you for sharing your wonderful experiences.
Posted by: Di Jobbins | May 20, 2009 at 12:24 AM
What fabulous pictures. I love the park picture with your children on the waterfall. I could just picture the scene you discribed and feel the peace you felt. Your stitchery is adorable, and I love the look of all the padlocks. How romantic.
Posted by: Lisa | May 20, 2009 at 12:44 AM
How wonderfully put, Korea being the Paris of Asia. I can see what you mean. Thanks for all the Asian beauty from the land of the little Flossies!!!
Posted by: nicolette | May 20, 2009 at 02:51 AM
Oh that stitchery looks so cute! And I love the story of the padlocks - how romantic! Thanks for sharing with us all about your trip - it is so beautiful!
Posted by: Amber | May 20, 2009 at 03:14 AM
What a lovely think to go and do.... I think Australia's version of that would be going to pick up the ball and chain for the husband.... putting it on him and then throwing away the keys! I'm sure I'd rather live in Korea!
Posted by: Maree @ Farmyardcrafts | May 20, 2009 at 06:43 AM
I love the padlock idea. How romantic. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip with your husband and the flossies. I have never been to Korea so love the photos you are sharing with us. The stitchery looks so cute too. Cant wait to see the entire thing.
Posted by: Rebecca Woods | May 20, 2009 at 07:40 AM
I like the look of you stitchery and am looking forward to seeing the version you have put together for us in the Stitchery of the Month club. Korea sounds like a wonderful place to visit.
Jane 80)
Posted by: Jane Riches | May 20, 2009 at 10:31 AM
The Korean photos are fantastic . Looks like you had a great time .
Posted by: clare bower | May 20, 2009 at 10:26 PM