Blog 2 - February 8

We have packed and posted 5 boxes which hopefully will arrive in Seoul in 10 days. Fingers crossed! Amazingly were just under weight with our luggage.

As we prepare to leave we have had many more dinners, lunches, drinks, text and phone messages, visits and breakfasts. Feeling truly cherished, replete and experiencing farewell fatigue! Thank you to our friends and family and also to people who haveposted comments.
Photo taken on the day of our departure, 4 Feb, regular walking on the River Torrens that is at the back of our home.

Damien, Paula, Dominic and Dad saying goodbye at Adelaide airport. Thanks to Dominic, blog consultant, dog walker and house minder, especially for posting comments helping people to log comments. Also to Paula for the fruit cake that I carried in my computer bag and was much appreciated as our first meal in Seoul. After arriving to minus 3 degrees, the 3 hour trip from Incheon airport in peak hour traffic meant that everything was closed. (This journey usually takes an hour.) As we climbed the 72 stairs to our 5th floor (penthouse!) apartment, the promise of homemade cake kept us going.

Visiting Singapore on our way, it was great to briefly see familiar places and even to catch the MRT again. Thanks to our dear friends Shahnaz and Rassul for a wonderful meal and bed, for the video of their son's recent wedding in Sweden.


The view from my computer as I persist with learning and flying solo. Have already lost everything on this posting once so keen to get this finished. Those who know me well can testify to my amazing technical skills! As I write Damien is cleaning so perhaps it's better to take my time!
Today is sunny and cold, minus 9 degrees however with underfloor heating it's very cosy inside.



Bought a teapot while shopping yesterday. Couch surfing anyone?




View from our back balcony with a forest behind.



View from our front balcony with Gwanak mountain behind. This is one of 5 sacred mountains in and around Seoul. I thought we could aim to climb them all. This one takes about 3 hours so will investigate if it's possible to climb the others. Have some more photos however have already broken my 7 photo rule!

Surprises so far - we live in a very local area and have not seen any westerners yet. This means having photos of food in restaurants is important! Few people speak English. I'm trying to learn a word a day. So far, hello and thank you are my total vocab! Living in a small apartment is wonderful - there is lots of storage and we're trying to keep it looking zen which really means it's pretty bare!