Walking Through A Presidential and Palatial Neighborhood in Seoul!

My good friends Sarah and Michael have been living in Seoul for about two years now. Although they told me earlier that they live on that side of Seoul near Inwang-san (Mt. Inwang) on that street leading to Jahamun Tunnel, I didn't know that their neighborhood is that interesting.

Since I missed one of those lunches Sarah hosted a while back, I wasn't able to visit their home then. But now, right in the middle of autumn, when my weekends are getting freed up, it was time to finally invade their home. Ha-ha-ha!

            (My bus passed by Admiral Yi's statue that day)

I took a blue bus from Hannam-dong one cool autumn day and got off at the Jonggak Station to transfer to a green bus which passes through their neighborhood. The ride was short and interesting as I haven't really been to this corner of Seoul, which is just a few hundred meters from the gates of Blue House, the residence of the South Korean head of state, and Gyeongbuk Palace.

                                          (Lunch!)
Serving her chicken and potatoes in cream sauce dish with wine for lunch, Sarah showed me her neighborhood from her window, pointing towards the eastern direction is presidential and even further, palatial! I only have celebrities and diplomats in my Hannam-dong neighborhood, while Sarah and Michael have a president and a king's palace!

After lunch, Sarah and Michael showed me their 'neighbor's house', which is painted blue and another 'neighbor's home', which was so expansive and palatial, but sadly, no longer inhabited as the occupants abandoned the place centuries ago.

And we were not the only people strolling around. There were hundreds of tourists, too! This neighborhood is popular!

                                                       (The Blue House)

Stopping for a photo in front of Cheong Wa Dae or the Blue House and walking along the yellow gingko trees behind Gyeongbuk Palace are just a couple of things to do in their neighborhood. If they get bored on the plain, they can always go up the mountain on the other side!

I was glad I visited Sarah and Michael that weekend under the autumn weather in their very interesting and popular area in Seoul. Now, I know what it is like to have a presidential and a palatial neighborhood.

So, thank you to my friends Sarah and Michael for the yummy lunch and the good stroll around your neighborhood!

              (This is where we ended our stroll at the very
                    popular Hwa-dong corner of Jongno-gu.)