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HE SAID... Our trip started at 3pm on April 30. We had worked frantically up until our 3pm deadline to leave, and then my Mum Aileen drove us to the airport. Aileen and Molly (Aileen’s red healer) had arrived the day before to look after the house and our pets.
We arrived in
Melbourne just after 7pm, dropped our bags at Eva and Roy’s (Ren’s parents) house and went out with them for a memorable meal at
Sigiri - a fantastic Sri Lankan restaurant in Northcote, where we were joined by Ren’s brother Ralph. It was a regular Friday night buffet where everyone eats three times the amount they need, and we certainly kept up that tradition.
We retired at 11pm and arose sleepily at 4am for a morning departure on Korean Air. We were finally on our way! I’m writing this six hours into the flight, having just finished an incredible Korean dish called
bibimbap, which came with a five-step set of instructions on how to prepare it. Prior to the meal I’d slept well and then watched a curiously overlong documentary on the Australian Open - they must really love their tennis. After a few red wines,
it’s time for another nap before we land in four hours. I love the first day of a holiday!!!
SHE SAID... On the way from Melbourne to Rome we scored a free stopover in
Seoul City which was inclusive of hotel, transfers and food - who could say no to such an offer? Neither Andrew nor I have been to Seoul before so we had been really looking forward to spending a day in a new city. However when we actually landed in Seoul’s Incheon International Airport after what had been an ultra hectic year already - neither of us were up for much more than hanging out around the hotel. So it was fortunate that although not posh,
Seoul Garden Hotel in downtown Seoul was decked out with everything we wanted within a two minute walk and most importantly had a large offering of food!
As Andrew mentioned, we have tried
bibimbap and so far it’s the stand out Korean dish, even though Andrew also liked
bulgogi (marinated barbeque pork).
Bibimbap is a combination dish that you assemble yourself...steamed rice is mixed through beef and various raw, cooked and seasoned vegetables, and then
gochujang (Korean hot chilli
pepper sauce) and sesame oil are added to taste. It is served with sides of
mi-yuk gook (seaweed soup) and
kimchi (spicy pickled vegetables). Andrew enjoyed the seaweed soup but as it was waaay too fishy for my palate.
Even though we may have failed dismally in exploring Seoul, we were very glad for the break in the long haul between Melbourne and Rome. It was such a lovely way to begin a trip, and it was all a freebie. 😊
I cannot describe how excited I am about this trip and about travelling with Andrew again. You can never underestimate the importance of having a great travel partner! Andrew jokingly says that we are ideal travel buddies because I give him my peanuts and half my dinner, and he gives me his dessert and a shoulder for my naps...and we never fight over the window seat...! As jokey as that may be, I think it covers the gist of a good travel partner quite well. Having said that, I’m not sure how much of my dinner Andrew is going to get in Italy - Italian food (in all its regional variety) is one of my all time favourite cuisines!
We will be in Rome tomorrow. 😄
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KD
non-member comment
On Korean Food
Jono would only ever let my delicate constitution have bulgogi ("No. 8") or the seafood combo thing ("No. 15"), but I suppose that if you get a choice about how much gochujang to use, the bibimbap could be worth a try. Just don't put too much on your gelato!