Christina ONeil

CHO

Christina ONeil

First time traveller ready to see it all!



Asia » South Korea » Seoul October 15th 2010

I apologize for not posting any new entries during my stay in Seoul but we have been going non-stop since we arrived and I've finally found a little time to post my last blog :( I'll try to keep it short and sweet and let the pictures speak for themselves. Most of our time here has been spent shopping which is absolutely out of control! Shops stay open until 5am and streets are lined with vendors and all sorts of amazing street food (dakbogi!). Forget New York being the city that doesn't sleep Seoul truly doesn't and I haven't slept much either since I've been here, running low on fumes as we speak so bear with me! However, we did take some time off to do other things besides shop such as visiting ancient palaces, the ... read more
Seoul at night
Street Food!
Street Food!

Asia » South Korea » Jeju October 10th 2010

Well, tonight is our last night in Jeju-do. It's been such an amazing week and I am sad we have to leave so soon. To finish up the week we had an amazing lunch, actually every meal has been amazing and extremely filling as you can see in the pictures. My uncle then wanted to show us Mt. Hallasan, the highest peak in South Korea. The rest of the family wasn't up for it so just Liz and I went but we too were a bit tired so we asked to do a light hike and we didn't want to go all the way to the top (which would have been an 8 hour journey). Well a light hike to my uncle is still strenuous, he's very energetic and eager to show us Americans all there ... read more
Mt. Hallasan
Mt. Hallasan
Mt. Hallasan

Asia » South Korea » Jeju October 7th 2010

Third day on Jeju-do (Jeju Island) and loving every minute of it! This is where my mother grew up, a volcanic island about 53 miles off the tip of the Korean peninsula and where it all started for my family. My grandfather, Hyun Gee Won, was originally from North Korea before it split from the South and during the Japanese occupation of Korea he was forced to join and fight for the Japanese military. On August 15, 1945 after 35 years of occupation, Japan surrendered to the allied forces and my grandfather was able to return home. However, he was aware of the problems stirring between the North and South and decided to head to Jeju-do. My grandfather worked as a police officer and one day he noticed a picture of a woman outside of a ... read more
Grandfather's Grave
Uncle's Grave
Grave site

Asia » South Korea » Seoul October 7th 2010

Hello everyone! I was finally able to connect my laptop to the internet and now you can follow me on my Korean adventure with my sister Liz and my mom. Liz and I have never been to Korea or met any of my mom's family except for my grandmother who raised us since I was about 5 years old and moved back to Korea about 4 years ago. My mother has only been back to Korea once since she married my father 28 years ago and that visit was over 15 years ago. We were all very excited for this trip, a well deserved reunion for my mother and a new, exciting adventure for Liz and I. So the flight was a grueling 12 hours especially since my tv broke after the first hour and I ... read more
We're heeere!
Plant Nursery
Family Reunited

Europe » Italy » Veneto » Vicenza July 28th 2008

Well everyone, tonight is my last night in the beautiful country of Italy. It's an experience I'm so glad I was able to have. Sure it was a little tough in the beginning, just like anything new is but there is so much I'm going to miss. I will miss my walks through the piazza eating gelato, Spritz, ancient architecture and art, tug of war with the Hulk, trying to speak Italian, train rides, near death experiences with Vespas, home-made pizza and pasta, men with purses, Cinque Terre, fragolino, boat rides on Lake Garda, watching parades out my window, incredible espresso, kabobs, out-door cafes, breath-taking views, my new friends, etc.....ok you get the picture..I could go on and on. Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed reading about my adventures and if you haven't been to Italy ... read more
Colorful Abodes
The piazza in Vicenza
Vicenza

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence July 24th 2008

With just a week left until I return to the states I took one last big trip to Florence. The first stop was to the Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella which was built between 1279-1360, pretty damn old! Inside is Masaccio's Trinity, which was the first paintintg to use geometric perspective, sorry wasn't allowed to take pictures! Next, I went to see who else but David in all his marble glory. I waited in line for an hour and paid 10 euro...doesn't that usually mean there's a roller coaster somewhere? Anyways, I finally made it in and was greeted by Michelangelo's four Slaves which led to the main room where David was....incredible. Pictures were also forbidden here but I misbehaved and took a few illegal shots of the David, which I won't post because I really ... read more
Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella
Long Lines
The Duomo

Europe » Italy » Veneto » Verona July 17th 2008

Yesterday, I took a little trip to Fair Verona, home of the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet (spelled Giulietta in Italian and prounounced Hul-ee-eta). Apparently, there were two feuding families in Verona during the 1300's and supposedly they did have two kids in love but who knows! I think Shakespeare's story is loosely based on it and Verona makes a killing from dumb-witted tourists! Nonetheless, my first destination was the Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's House), apparently the Capulet's never even lived here though so I didn't bother wasting my Euro going inside. The archway leading to the courtyard is known as the lover's wall which is filled with graffitti of all the lover's who have passed through...I contributed :) ...Inside the courtyard is a statue of Juliet and the balcony from which she stood and was ... read more
Piazza Bra
Lover's Graffiti
Casa di Giulietta

Europe » Italy » Veneto » Lake Garda July 14th 2008

Cristina, Kelli, Monica and I took a nice little trip to Lake Garda, the largest lake in Northern Italy. It was a gorgeous scenic 2 hour car ride! Vineyards, mountains, and rivers surrounded us. We decided to park in the little town of Malcesine and enjoy the lake from there. The main event of the day was to rent a speed boat. Once we shelled out our money we hopped aboard and sped away! Lake Garda is absolutely gorgeous and it's size is imense! I just enjoyed the sun and wind while Captain Kelli sped around the lake trying to catch wakes from other boats and ferries. Unfortunately, there weren't very many out but we managed to chase a few down that we did see. After awhile we decided to give our little boat a rest ... read more
Weeee!
Lake Garda
Lake Garda

Europe » Italy » Liguria » Cinque Terre July 9th 2008

After a couple days in Milan, Kelli, Monica, and I decide to take a day trip to Cinque Terre. So Sunday morning we hop on our 6am train ride and arrive 4 hours later to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Cinque Terre consists of 5 different villages that are all connected by various trails along the coastline or through the mountains. We started off at the last village, Riomaggiore and hiked a good two hours passing through Manarola and Corniglia. The views were amazing, just look at the pictures! Well, along our hike we ran into a sign that said FREE BEACH THIS WAY. We were just planning on catching the train back to the first village, Monterosso al Mare which has the main public beach but you have to pay ... read more
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre

Europe » Italy » Lombardy » Milan July 9th 2008

My new friend Kelli invited me to Milan this past weekend to party it up for the 4th of July. I was so excited that I wasn't going to be alone on the 4th! There weren't any fireworks but it turned out to be a blast anyway...haha get it? Blast? Fireworks!...j/k...anyways! So Friday night we went to a place called Oracle, I thought it was going to be all Italians and I would just be standing in the corner flipping through my Italian phrase book. Much to my surprise though it was mostly American, Brits, and Canadians so thankfully I didn't have to worry about a language barrier. There was a live band that was pretty good and played some good ole American music. Well Kelli, her friend Monica, and I just danced the night away! ... read more
The Girls
Dance Machines
USA




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