Seoul Lantern Festival

Yesterday we took the KTX to Seoul to see the Seoul Lantern Festival.  We wanted to spend some time walking around the city, have some dinner, and then see the lanterns as it was getting to be night.  Right outside of Seoul Station, where the trains all come in is this statue... not so interesting, except that he is holding a grenade in his right hand... look closely... see it?  Not sure why he is standing outside of the train station...

Part of the adventure is trying to get somewhere in a strange city, and feeling lost is what makes it even more interesting (not actually getting lost, but just hoping that you are walking towards your goal).  Walking downtown and looking for the market we found these bike riders. 

Made it to the market, along with half the population of Seoul...

Food vendors set up right in the middle of the market.

Octopus, anyone?

Love this... Pinko!

It was terribly crowded so we decided to leave the market and head towards the City Hall to see the changing of the guards.  Along the way we passed Christmas Alley!

Seoul is a lot like Portland OR, where the mountains are right outside of the city.

We misunderstood... the guards are not AT city hall, but at this palace, Deoksu Palace, right across from City Hall.

Deoksu Palace was the king's residence in 1567, and still is present, right in the middle of the city.

Like all palaces and places in Korea, it has lots of cute stone statues.

On the left is a bell, and right is a water clock.

It was a beautiful fall day.

The changing of the guards is a 15 minute process with lots of foot stomping, marching, and bowing.

After a mexican dinner, including several margaritas, we are ready to head to the lantern festival.

According to CNNgo, "30,000 colored lanterns will float on the water and in the air along the 1.3-kilometer stretch from Cheonggye Plaza to Jongno-3-ga."

Read more: Seoul Lantern Festival | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/seoul/play/seoul-lantern-festival#ixzz1eDKyc5N1

The lanterns are truly beautiful, and it is a beautiful scene as the river rushes under them.

We arrived at the lantern festival at around 5:30, and by 7:00 it was mobbed... luckily we had seen all of the lanterns, and were ready for some hot cocoa and the long train ride home...