Last Week of 2010

We had a wonderful Christmas. And it snowed! In Gwangyang, where apparently it never snows!

We were very happy.

Unfortunately, on Monday and Tuesday we had to work. It was difficult going in, knowing that pretty much everyone we know would be on holiday. Still, we got through it okay, and on Wednesday the academies closed again. I went a bit enthusiastic about baking on Wednesday, for some reason, and we ended up with a lot of bagels and crescent cookies. The crescent cookies were gorgeous. I made 22, I think, and ended up eating probably eighteen of them.

On Thursday, we got up annoyingly early and headed off with our colleague to eastern Korea! It snowed again as we left Gwangyang.

We drove most of the day, stopping off at anywhere that looked weird or wonderful, and drove back the next day. Unfortunately I forgot to get any pictures of the hotel we stayed at, which was stunning - a claw-footed bathtub, heated floors, free internet, and all for the equivalent of about thirty pounds! We were very, very happy.

There are more pictures of our trip at the bottom of the page. Be careful if you're looking at this at work, or anywhere where it might be dangerous to look at sculpted penises - we went to Penis Park, and faithfully documented the trip with our camera.

After getting home yesterday evening, we relaxed for a while, drank some prosecco, and went to the local foreigners' bar. We've not been there before, but as New Year's Eve is an occasion which demands a drink (and we thought it would be a little depressing to sit at home as the new year came in), we thought we'd trek through the ice to find it. It was an easy ten minute walk away - and the experience was so surreal! We weren't the tallest people in the room! Other people understood us! (I say that, but my English accent befuddled someone behind the bar. I asked for "two beers" and they thought I said "two Bailey's." Another person said that my accent was very neutral and not very British. Weird.) Tom was invited to join their rugby team, and is seriously considering it. (Talking of exercise, I'm also starting yoga next week, although that's with colleagues and not foreigners.)

Right, I think that's everything, so... on to the pictures. I'll repeat my warning about the penises. Also, if you want to see more photos, the Facebook albums here and here are far more thorough.

Our first glimpse of the sea!

A colourful little fishing village.

Tom wrote 'HELLO' in the sand.

Interesting signs at a public loo.

 We saw a bridge that had scaffolding in the shape of a ship, and impulsively decided to go and have a look. I can't remember the name of the village - it was near Yeongdeok - but it might as well have been called Crab World.

The fish market at Crab World.

Tom took a picture of some ice to show how cold it was.

The seagulls at Crab World were, in all honesty, the size of owls. They were so huge, it was terrifying. You can't really see their size too clearly here, and we didn't take any better photos because we were scared of them.

The ship bridge that started the whole Crab World experience.

A beautiful beach.

It was really cold.

Tom looking moody.

A strange, very large dolphin sculpture.

Tom adores Korean bathroom signs.

He is also quite fond of odd bathrooms.

And then we got to Penis Park.

A fence post/glans.

I don't really need to caption these photos!

A whole group of penis statues.

A gorgeous statue at Penis Park.

A waterfall.

A frozen stream.

 I can save you from the strangeness of New Year's Eve driving home, which involved many, many stops to take pictures of waves. Personally I think most waves are fairly similar, but clearly I'm not an expert. Here are a few of the tons of photos of the sea I've had to sift through. Would that I could save myself too! (If you are interested in waves, see the Facebook link above.)

Eating lunch in the car.

Another village that really likes their crab.

Tom makes a friend.

And another seafood statue.