Weekend in Seoul, South Korea

Hello Everyone! 

Last month we were able to spend a long weekend in Seoul, South Korea to reunite with one of Ryan's friends from college. We had a great time exploring the city, eating strange street food and visiting the various markets. It was Xavier's first time in weather below 75 degrees so it was interesting for him to have on all the layers, mittens and hats! 

Plane ride to Seoul

Ryan, Xavier and I with our friend, Ryan 

Beautiful fall colors in Seoul

Exploring the Changdeokgung Palace

Haven't seen frost in forever! 

 

A taste of home for lunch- Taco Bell! 

Xavier had no interest in a cheese quesadilla (and I wouldn't let him!)

Krispy Kreme for dessert

Bingco- a J shaped ice cream cone that tastes like captain crunch cereal and is filled from both sides with soft serve ice cream

Korean BBQ

Myeong-dong night market

Toy market

Churros for our afternoon walk

Cabbage is not only the most popular thing to eat- but it's their landscaping! 

Kimchi festival

Street food night

Getting a demonstration on the making of a Korean dessert

Xavier couldn't handle it all 

Hong Kong bound

Next Saturday we fly out to the states for Christmas and can't wait for everyone to meet Xavier over the holidays! If you're around Milwaukee or Iowa during that time let us know and we would love to meet up! 

New apartment and neighborhood

Wow- 2 posts in 1 week?! I actually have been meaning to write this for a long time and I am finally getting things crossed off my list before heading back to work next week (this and trying to fill in X's baby book).

We moved out to Discovery Bay a few weeks before Xavier was born. We thought we would be barely unpacking the last box when he would arrive but luckily we were all settled in and even had time to wait around before he finally came.

Discovery Bay is a private residential community on Lantau Island in Hong Kong (we previously lived on Hong Kong Island). It is a 30 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong Island and is only accessible by ferry and a few public buses. No private cars are allowed within the community, only golf carts and a handful of buses are available for those who need. We live within walking distance to the ferry pier and main plaza so transportation is not an issue for us. At the main plaza, adjacent to the ferry pier there are stores and restaurants for pretty much everything you could want. In the middle of the plaza there are tables and chairs with a large open space that is often filled with kids playing and families sharing take-out meals from the nearby restaurants. Hong Kong Disneyland is also across the bay from us so we are able to sit out on the plaza at night and see the nightly fireworks show!

Part of our walk by restaurants to the ferry pier

Walk along the beach to our apartment

Golf carts parked at the pier

We live in a low-rise complex within the community near the beach. Our apartment is a bit bigger than our last and we are loving the extra space to sprawl out and have people over. Our kitchen is now open (vs the previous with a closed door) and can fit more than 1 person in it!

The grass area our apartment looks over

Out our front door and a right turn is this view

Walking into the apartment

To the left of the front entrance, kitchen and dining room 

Looking from living room to dining room, kitchen and stairs to spare bedroom and nursery

Around the corner in kitchen, extra storage and laundry closet

Looking into master bedroom from living room 

Looking into nursery

Nursery

Overall we are very happy to have made the move out to Discovery Bay. It is very friendly for families and dogs (Ahri is a completely different dog now that she is socializing with other dogs and small kids on a daily basis). We are enjoying every minute of walking by the beach and living in this community that we have. 

PS- For those of you wondering, the recent protests in Hong Kong are not near where we live and we have not attended any of the events. The only effect it has been having on us is the awful traffic it is creating around the city due to major streets being shut down for weeks, which is only a minor inconvenience. We continue to watch events unfold on the news daily and pray for the city we have grown to love and for those involved to be safe. 

Cambodia

Hello everyone!

We survived our first trip with Xavier and managed to avoid any major meltdowns by either Xavier or his parents! Ryan had a week off of work for China's National Day so we wanted to take advantage of the time to go on our first vacation as a family. We stayed in the city of Siem Reap and toured around during the week to see the many temples and ruins that surround the city. 

Angkor Wat is the worlds largest religious monument. Angkor Thom is a nearby religious complex that has been featured in many movies, most notably Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. We spent 3 days going from temple to temple in a tuk tuk (small carriage pulled by a motor scooter) and afternoons introducing Xavier to the hotel pool. 

Xavier's first flight

Xavier's own seat belt 

Bassinet seat during the flight 

Finally in Cambodia! 

  

Family tuk-tuk ride around Siem Reap

Ready to swim! 

Angkor Wat 

Xavier slept in the carrier all around the temples

Tree roots finding their way to the ground 

Tired boy after touring all over! 

Overall we had a great experience in Cambodia and traveling with Xavier for a first time. We've realized that now is a much easier time to travel with him as he loves sleeping in the carrier and is easy move around with him. We can't wait to keep taking him around Asia with us and making memories we will tell him about in the years to come!