DAY 2 IN SEOUL: Ice Skating Near City Hall

Had a good night of rest and maybe my best breakfast of this trip so far. The buffet breakfast at Aria in the Westin Chosun is wonderful. For me, soup dumplings and udon.

See that thermos bottle? It contains scotch, which, for me is a required ingredient in the consumption of Shanghai Soup Dumplings.

Second course of Udon and kim chi.

Noticed that tree trunks are protected from the cold. How cold? Looks nice, and the temperature hovers around freezing, 32F. Lows at night will approach 20F. High winds are expected in a couple of days, lowering the wind chill to 0 F, or 32 degrees below freezing. Best to go out today and tomorrow.

So off we went to walk around our hotel block,

My Blue-bar Pigeon greeted us.

Street wearables and food stalls, Note the next one sells clothes for dogs. Dog Face, not North Face.

Lotte Hotel and Department Store.

Hangungu Shrine. Note: Westin Chosun in background,

Below, this same shrine, view from our hotel.

By the way, there is snow on the ground.

Some outdoor art.

Ice skating rink next to City Hall, Note that earlier in the day there was a protest against the government,

Ice skating in Seoul

Hwacheon Sangheoneo Ice Festival sign.

Seoul City Hall.

Inside City Hall.

We finally found a way to enter the underground shopping area through the basement of the Lotte Hotel. We had dinner of pho and ribs, with a can of Cass Beer.

Adjacent was a small shopping mall, which I remembered had a stairs up to our hotel, Looking one way,

Then the other.

Up the stairs to the outside of the lit up Westin Josun, once spelled Chosun, pronounced jo-sun.

Inside the hotel,

Very simple meal in the Executive Lounge of chicken, chips, cheese, salami and grapes , with bourbon on rocks, champagne and cabernet sauvignon.

Walked a lot today....8737 steps, more than 4 miles.

To close, something on the Republic of Korea's, also known as South Korea's, political roller coaster ride. Five individuals have led the country over the past decade.

Park Geun-hye (right, 2013–2017, impeached): she is the only female president of the nation. Daughter of former Dictator Park Chung-hee. She was jailed for five years and was pardoned at the end of 2021.
Hwang Kyo-ahn (Acting President, Dec 2016 – May 2017)
Moon Jae-in (2017–2022)
Yoon Suk Yeol (right, 2022–April 2025, impeached): he is serving a five-year prison sentence and is currently incarcerated,
Lee Jae-myung (June 2025–present)

DAY 1 on the DIAMOND PRINCESS

But first, Sheraton Yokohama Bay highlights of our Sheraton Club eats/drinks and breakfasts. Breakfast stations. Then taxi off to the Diamond Princess. Fall colors. Approaching from the rear of the Diamond Princess. Departure of Diamond Princess from Yokohama, Departure snack of lamb, beef, penne pasta, Johnny Walker Gold and champagne. Leaving Yokohama. We then went to Kai Sushi for dinner, Sushi and sake dinner, Then, off to Fun Dance Class. That followed by karaoke. The night continued into some old time disco. Finally, after midnight, back to our stateroom. Walked 4127 steps today. -

ON THE MATTER OF PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Hawaii today celebrates King Kamehameha the First Day as a public holiday. Next Monday, June 19, or Juneteenth, is a Federal holiday. However, 22 states, including Hawaii, do not recognize this as a public holiday. Four of these will begin to honor this day next year, not Hawaii. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery. Here are the Hawaii holidays, and note three that only we have: New Year’s Day: 1st day in January Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: 3rd Monday in January Presidents’ Day: 3rd Monday in February Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day: 26th day in March Good Friday: Friday before Easter Easter: Calculating Easter Memorial Day: Last Monday in May King Kamehameha I Day: 11th day in June Independence Day: 4th day in July Statehood Day: 3rd Friday in August Labor Day: 1st Monday in September Veterans’ Day: 11th day in November Thanksgiving Day: 4th Thursday in November Christmas: 25th day in December There are 11 paid Fede...

HOW TO WATCH NETFLIX SHOWS

But first, maybe President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza Peace Plan is showing some progress . No one expects the Hamas to accept all of them, but they did agree to release all captives and the act of handing over administration to Palestinian technocrats. So far, in the Gaza Strip, 66,288 have been killed and 169,165 wounded. On 7October2023, almost two years ago, 1139 were killed in the initial Hamas-led attack. About my topic of the day, I've long been lamenting the overflow of watchable films and series available on Netflix and Prime. Why expand into the plethora of other streaming options when I can't keep up with what I have, which costs me around $30/month. And, of course, why venture out to a movie theater to end up watching a film that will cost me around that amount of money, when you add the popcorn, drink, gasoline cost, time it takes to get there and back, and the risk of a car accident or worse. Oh, also getting infected with ...

Search This Blog