Allie's Got Seoul: Falling in Latte

I saw this written on a café sign and thought to myself what a clever play on the word love, the changing season, AND the Korean coffee obsession. As is common, there is a comical undertone of awkwardly translated English. But then I saw other signs that read “Falling in Chocolate” and “Falling in Coffee“ which just...didn’t have quite the same effect. I began to wonder if all that cleverness may have just been purely accidental… Anyways, the title is a bit of a stretch for this post but the point is that the leaves are beginning to turn outside the city, I love coffee, I’ve already fallen in love with Seoul.

Having experienced several fall seasons in Charlottesville where the foliage is beyond amazing, I knew Korea had tough competition. However, the maples so far have not disappointed. On Saturday I traveled outside the city with the same hiking group that I ventured with last month to Seoraksan. The destination was the Mungyeongsaejae Old Trail. During the Jonseon Dynasty this road connected Korea’s two biggest cities, Seoul and Busan. The section of road we hiked is the only section of the road that still looks as it did 500 years ago. Through the course of our short trek we passed through three ancient stone gates. It wasn’t so much a hike as it was walking on an inclined dirt road, but it did combine incredible scenery with historical significance. The trail was lined with the gorgeous colors of changing leaves, leaving (ha!) it impossible for anyone not to appreciate the season.

The hike also included a visit to an apple festival. I over-optimistically hoped to procure hot cider, caramel apples, apple pie and the like…but this festival was purely apples. I am not complaining as the apples were incredibly large, crisp, and sweet and are apparently the best apples in the entire country. Besides eating seven apples worth of free samples, I tried Omija berry makgeoli rice wine which is traditional to the region. The festival offered children’s crafts, a maze of apple walls, street food, and a musical performance by who we believe were Native Americans singing and dancing to techno-rock…only in Korea!

On the trip I reconnected with a few people I had met from the previous hike but also met new people whose company I quite enjoyed. The world got a little smaller when a recent William & Mary graduate and I realized we have a mutual acquaintance from home. Another new friend imparted upon me the invaluable wisdom of the only place in Seoul I can find a caramel apple this fall.

I spent Sunday afternoon at the Seoul Zoo with a few coworkers in what was one of the best zoo experiences I have had. I am accustomed to sludging through D.C. summer humidity to catch a glimpse of the animals, but the fall temperatures and changing leaves of the season overwhelmed the zoo, providing a lovely atmosphere. The zoo had all the highlights of the National Zoo in D.C. and the animals were surprisingly active. All present were the African safari animals, playful baby monkeys, various species of interactive bears, and the big cats, among many others. When the tigers got fed we even witnessed a little territorial roaring.

And now…it’s a very rainy Monday morning and time to start another week of teaching. It is a no-Facebook Monday because I plan to watch the Redskins game tape-delayed tonight.