Six in Seoul

Food delivery service in Korea. 

I found this in my strawberries.....it says; "Do not eat, do not dip in water".  Humm... I'm not sure I want to eat the strawberries either.

The leprechaun always makes an appearance at our house. This year Boy 2 REALLY wanted to catch him, but as always the leprechaun is always too quick and too small to even be seen by human eyes....

While he (the leprechaun) is here, everything he touches turns green!  This includes the toilet water, milk, butter for the biscuits, smoothies, and no St. Patrick's Day is complete without green eggs. All day we find things are green.  Next year I heard he may even take it up a notch & turn some hair green, but shhhh...don't tell.

I got this recipe from my friend Teri many moons ago.  I am almost ashamed to put this on here as it is not *homemade*.  However the taste makes up for what this cake lacks in being homemade, plus it is so easy even my sister Kathie could make it.

1 box devils food cake mix, with pudding in the mix
1 small box instant fudge chocolate pudding
2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup kahlua
1 package milk chocolate chips
4 eggs
¾ cup oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat  a bundt cake pan with cooking spray.
Mix all ingredients together.
Bake for 45-50 minutes.

I did it again, I went back to the Dragon Hill Spa. This time I took my entire family with me!!   Also, I  snuck my camera in and took a couple of pictures!!  :)  First picture, the entrance I told you all about last time...

And the fountain just before you enter (boy 2 is standing in front of it, so you can't really see it)....

This time I felt way more comfortable going into the spa, I had no ‘barfy’ feeling at all.  I must admit I was a little nervous for my family though; the unknown is always a little frightening, even if it is not for me, but someone close to me. 

After arriving I told Hubby as much as I could about what to do once he left me and got on his own elevator.  Boy's 1 & 2 went with him; we agreed to meet in 1 hour.  I took Girl and Boy 3 with me.   Once upstairs it was time to get undressed...Girl was a tad on the nervous side, she still wasn't sure about this naked thing, Boy 3 on the other hand, stripped right down with no hesitation...oh the joy of being 3 years old!  While walking over to the shower area, Girl had the little 'hand towel' they give you wrapped around her waist; oh the joy of being 7 years old!  ;)  Once we arrived at the showering area, all Girls’ hesitation went right out the window.  She sat on the bench & started showering, then started spraying her brother, he was spraying her...oh the giggles I heard!  What joy.  Next it was time for the hot tubs.  At this point both Boy 3 and Girl are totally comfortable and are prancing around like they own the place & from the looks they were getting from everyone one else you would think they did own the place.  This is where I started to get a *tiny* bit uncomfortable.  I didn't think about this angle...I brought 2 small blonde hair, white bodied children with me, in American that would be like walking around with a rock star.  I am so thankful there were not any cameras in this area, because if there were, I'm sure we are on the internet somewhere in all our *glory*.  I finally realized all this oohing and awing was not about me ;)  They could care less about what this old Oma looks like, it was about the kids, and I was comfortable again.


Sunday seems to be a much busier day at the spa than Saturday.  I'm sure that has to do with the fact that Koreans go to school every other Saturday.  Can you imagine....American kids would have a heart attack if they had to attend school on Saturday!  We found a place on the floor in the main common area.  This is where most families hang out.  The kids loved the little snack bar & had a few too many snacks here.  They explored several of the saunas in the common area, including the one pictured below....the ICE SAUNA!

Other things we did in the common area...Hubby and Boy 1 got massages in the massage chairs - 10 minutes = 3,000 won!  They said they were great.  I should have taken more pictures, but I was afraid of getting thrown out, I'm not sure cameras are allowed, but I did see other people sneaking pictures as well.  I brought the DVD player for the kids, they watched a movie, & ate more snacks while I read a book.  At this point they were a bit restless, so I took them to the play area, after a little while we headed to the outdoor heated pool.  The kids and Hubby had a fantastic time in the pool. 

While they were in the pool, I snuck away to get a massage.  This time I opted to get a massage in the common area, the more western type of massage. (No wet black table with a lady holding her panties.) I was guided to a big room that had about 8 massage tables, I saw people laying with all their clothes on (remember they give you PJ's), so I plopped down and was ready for my 1 hour sports massage.  Now I must tell you, I LOVE a deep tissue massage.  9 out of 10 times I am not happy with the massage I get because the therapist rarely goes deep enough for me.  After the first touch, I knew I was going to like this *little* lady.  She tore me up and it felt FANTASTIC!  I couldn't believe she actually hurt me a couple of times, but I did not complain, as I did not want her to lighten up.  She walked on me, shoved her knees in me, twisted my body in ways my husband only dreams of.   It was the best massage I have had in YEARS!!  

Next I met up with my family, and everyone was hungry.  We ate at one of the two sit down restaurants on site. It was good and we would eat there again.

Now, I did not plan on staying all day, as I thought my family would be ready to go after a few hours.  Girl had a birthday party to attend at 1:30, we arrived at the spa at 9AM, I thought surely everyone would be ready to go home before lunch.  At 1PM, after lunch, none of the boys wanted to leave, and Girl had mixed feelings, but she really didn't want to miss her good friend’s birthday party, plus we had already RSVPed and I would not have let her miss it anyway.  So, Girl, Boy 3 and myself headed out leaving the 3 other boys behind.

The boys finally called me at 4:30 asking me to come pick them up.

So, a few things I learned from this day.....

1. If you are afraid of going to the Spa because of the naked issue, it is mute.  You can do a day at the spa without being naked.

2. There is so much to do in the common areas – there is a play area for the kids, a heated swimming pool, a hot tub, fitness center, garden on the top floor (I did not go up, but saw the sign for it), massages of all types, manicures, pedicures, relaxation, saunas of every type, hot, wet, cold, dry, brick oven…I’m sure there were even more I didn’t see.  Oh, and I cannot forget the bottom floor where you can play video games or use a computer and connect to the internet, 30 minutes for 1,000 won.  You can’t beat that.

3. I knew it was a family place, but it is much more family oriented than I thought, Boy 1, the one that was totally freaked out about going (the naked thing…you know, he is only 12) he was the one that did not want to leave.

So, what are you waiting for?  Pack a bag and head on out!  You will love it, I promise, and if you need someone to go with, just call anyone in my family and we will be game!

The Jazz Story - what a place!!!  So, we are driving down this really nice street in Samcheong-dong, couple are holding hand, people are laughing, this looks like a great area, but when the cab driver let us off, we had NO IDEA where to go, he dropped us off at the end of this popular, fun loving street going no where.  We started walking the wrong direction, back towards the fun when our cab driver honked at up and pointed to some dilapidated stair case going into a building that looked like it should have been condemned years before.  I thought maybe he was confused, or setting us up, but no, when we arrived at the top of the stairs there our friends were waiting there to greet us.

Now really, I would have never gone up those stairs if I didn't think something great was waiting for me up there.

Once we entered, there was so much to see...like many places in Korea, it was a bit overwheling.  The first thing I had to take a picture of was the chair I was about to sit in.

Really?  Green duct tape?  It just added to the charm of this little place! Not all the chairs had duct tape on them, but most of them did, sometimes the tape was the traditional silver duct tape.  The tables were made from trash cans, with rounds of glass sitting atop the trash can, our table was a jack, it was bigger than a car jack, but definitely a jack of some sort.

The next thing I HAD to get a picture of was the menu.

Now, our friend Randy is the person that found this place.  He heard about it from somewhere.  His source told him the food was good, so I did not eat before I went.  Now I like Korean food, so even if this was Korean food, I would be good with it.  My suggestion to you however is to eat before you go!!  First of all, the 'snacks' they bring out are 8 peanuts. Yes, you read that correctly, we got 16 on the second round because there were 4 of us & I'm sure they thought we might need more since Americans eat WAY more than Koreans.  OK, would you like to see the salad we ordered?

And here is the main course:

My mom taught me: If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I am not going to say anything.

Even though dinner was not a huge hit, we really did love this place!  It has a charm like no other.  The next great adventure I had here was going to the bathroom, I walked in took one look, turned around, ran back to the table and grabbed my camera! First off, this might freak some of you out, but if you see it often enough it is no big deal, it was a coed bathroom.  Boys and girls together.  Don't worry, the bathroom stalls have doors, the urinal on the other hand does not.  Speaking of the urinal, check it out!!!!

I'm not sure (I didnt' get close enough), but I think the silver thing on the wall is an ash tray.

OK, now for the toilet!

Are you having fun yet? 

At 8 the band started playing, and to our surprise, they were singing in English & by no way did the music they were singing resemble jazz.  The lead girl in the band did not even have an accent while she was singing, she was amazing!  They were singing ABBA, which everyone but Hubby was stoked about, they sang Santana, Joan Jett, Stevie Wonder and many more - all songs we could sing along to, and we did!  Did I mention we were the ONLY Americans in the bar?  One big difference we have noticed between Americans and Koreans, when music is playing, Koreans nod their head a little, and that is about it.  The Americans are loud, singing & clapping right along with the band. 

This was a great place to go & if you live here I would highly suggest it! 

Our friend Tammy and Randy..

Notice the two signs....no picture taking & no smoking....look in the left corner of the picture, between the two fingers.

This is the third time Commencer has had Boy 2 come back to model for them, which is nice, because Commencer is by far my favorite company to work for.  The staff is wonderful, catering to every whim of the kids, and the photographer ROCKS!  She is so good with the kids, letting them play and goof off, while working fast and getting amazing shots!   For this photo shoot we headed out for a 1.5 hour drive to Incheon Beach.  Remember as you are looking at these photos the weather in Korea is still VERY COLD, on this particular day it was about 36 degrees F, with the wind blowing like crazy!!

First they would get the kids dressed, bundle them up in blankets, someone would carry them outside, put them in their spot, the photographer would take test pictures with the blankets on, and then they would unwrap the kids and do the real shots, cover them back up and carry them back in the condo...

We all had lots of fun this day, the time seemed to fly by! 

Here is a picture of Boy3 feeding the cheetah...

And Boy 2 trying to warm himself on the cheetah....

Don't you just love his hair?

Here are a couple of pictures of the condos we were using...

And some shots of Boy 3.

My stomach was in knots the moment I decided to go. I grabbed my neighbor J & we headed out the EMart gate over to IPark mall where we were meeting my friend G & her family for my first Korean style spa experience.  The Dragon Hill Spa is right next door to IPark, I have seen it several times not knowing what it was.  The entrance is very nice, & calming, it is lined with skinny, bamboo style trees and a water fountain right before you go in the doors. I don't remember what the fountain was, as I was concentrating on not tossing my cookies. 

Upon entering I paid 10,000 won & they give me a key on a wrist band a couple of towels not even big enough to cover my 3 year old & a set of pajama style clothes.  Next I took my shoes off & put them in my shoe locker.  At this point we said goodbye to G's husband, planned a time to meet up with him in the common area and then we head to the women’s elevator.  Upon exiting the elevator I saw a little gift shop, turned right and HELLO, NAKED PEOPLE, things started to blur and I just followed G to the lockers.  My locker was in one hall, and G's locker was in another hall.  I didn't know what to do at this point, G was gone & I was lost, so I had to look to S, G’s 9 year old daughter for guidance now.  I looked over at S & ask what to do next...S told me to take off my clothes. "REALLY, right here, in front of God and everyone?!?!"  This is what I wanted to shout, but instead I just followed her lead, thinking, "OMG, I am naked, yeap, naked, and so is my friends little girl & my friend J, now I am walking out.....oh, and there is my friend G and she is naked too, and now we are just going for a walk."  My friend G, the experienced one, just threw the tiny towel over her shoulder and walked like she owned the place.  After J (this was J's first experience here as well) and I had a small case of the giggles, we pretended to know what we were doing.   G took us to the "showering" area, where you sit side by side, (naked) and clean yourself, - taking a full fledge sit down shower.  I'm pretty sure this is in the dreams of most men.   By this point I have seen at least 100 naked women & am feeling a little more at peace with my nakedness.  After we are all clean G shows us the many different spas, all with different temperatures, from very hot to freezing cold!  There were fresh water spas, sea salt spa, aroma spas and more.  There is even an outdoor spa area.  Again, I was a little freaked out at first, but then once I got outside it was not what I imagined.  The cement walls were very tall, no one could see in. 

After relaxing in all the different spas, we decided to have a treatment done.  G took us to the treatment area.  I chose to have a scrub.  I handed the lady my locker key, where she scanned it to charge me for the scrub.  Then another lady with a bra on, holding her panties in her hand guided me to a table, all the way across the spa - this place is huge!  She motioned for me to lie on the table, and then she put her panties on.  (Yes, I am laughing with you.)  After lying on the long black, cold and *wet* massage style table my lady threw a bucket of warm water on me, she then put *pot scrubbers* on both of her hands and started scrubbing me down!  It was a little painful at times and she would occasionally show me all the dead skin she was scrubbing off my naked body, and then throw another bucket of water on me.  When she finished scrubbing my *ENTIRE* body raw, she lathered me up with some medical smelling soap, threw another bucket of water on me & told me to go shower.  My scrub was done, and boy did I feel good!  My skin has never been so soft; I swear my skin feels like a baby.

Once I was all done showering it was time to get dressed in our *PJ's* and go meet G's husband in the common area.  The common area is so relaxing, you walk in & it is very quiet, even though there are several children here.  The floor is heated, so your toes are nice and toasty.  People are having picnics on the floor, children are playing, couples are snuggled together, a few people are sleeping and others are reading and just hanging out.  There is a restaurant, a 'western' style massage area, you know, were you are not laying side by side in nakedness out in the open.  They have a play area for kids, and a coed swimming pool, where you have to wear a bathing suite, thank God!  There are many saunas, and even an ice room.  After ordering a little snack, I sat down on the heated floors.  G started knitting, her daughter broke out toys to play with & her husband was reading a book.  After a little while, a magician started to set up.  G said she and her family have spent 8 hours here just hanging out.  I am starting to see why!  I love this place!  I hated that I was on a time limit and had to leave, but don't worry, there is always next weekend.  I can't wait to get naked again, run through the spa & get a massage!  Next weekend my whole family is going, everyone that is except Boy 1, he is not sold on the whole idea, but just give him time, give him time....

Look what I found when I went to the mall yesterday...

Girl is the one in the left corner of the picture.  I screamed on the escalator when I looked up and saw this!

So, if that isn't enough to give a mom heart failure, I saw this when I walked around the corner...

Woo-hoo!!  We have a green belt in the house!  Give it up for Boy 2!!

OK, not to take away from his moment, but go back and look at the first three pictures, check out the girl in blue sitting behind Boy 2 while he was getting his green belt.