In addition to seeing the festival, we had two other goals: make it to a baseball game and eat at a Brazilian charascuria. We don't get too many non-Korean food opportunities in our town and our stomach's growled when he first learned that there are at least 5 of the unlimited meat, eat-til-your-sick Brazilian steak houses in Seoul. In the end, accomplishing these goals proved much more difficult than originally anticipated, but worth the hassle nonetheless.
After arriving on Saturday morning, we found a hotel and immediately set out to find the Ipanema Brazilian steakhouse. After about an hour of subway riding and witnessing a changing of the guards at one of the old palaces, we stumble upon the restaurant only to find that they are closed for the day due to a wedding. After being up since 5am and it is now approaching 2 or 3pm, we are not pleased to say the least. Luckily, the iphone and free wi-fi at a nearby coffee shop come to the rescue. We decide Mexican food is the next best option and another cuisine we don't have the pleasure of eating back home in Geoje. A quick search of some food blogs takes us to Dos Tacos, aka heaven on earth (at that moment in time). Fresh guacamole, burritos, tacos, and awesome margaritas all place us in a much better mood. While it wasn't the typical fare we're used to back home in Austin, it hit the spot. With our bellies full, we headed off to make the baseball game.
We arrive at the Jamsil baseball stadium, also home of the 1988 Olympic baseball games, only to find that all of the tickets are sold out. It was a big game, Lotte Giants from Busan vs the LG Twins from Seoul. We heard tickets would be cheap (about $8) and that the rowdy fans and cheerleaders (yes, cheerleaders) would be a sight to see. Also having the option of bringing in our own food and drinks was very appealing. It was nice to see that going to a professional sporting event wouldn't set us back over $100 each like back home in the states. Determined to make it into the game, we searched for scalpers. Luckily, there were many ajumas selling tickets but wanting little to do with any foreigners. We found a little old lady selling tickets and ending up paying $30 for $12 seats. Once we made it inside the stadium, we realized our money was well spent. Our seats were not too far from the dugout and would have easily been three times that price in any stadium back home. The fans were extremely entertaining and we quickly picked up the chants (although I have no idea what I was actually saying). The cheerleaders and mascots kept the crowds entertained despite a huge loss by Seoul, 13-3. The die hard fans stayed until the last inning and did not stop cheering. We had a great time and are looking forward taking a trip to Busan to see the crazy intense fans on their home field.
On Sunday, Austin and I set off on our own adventure determined to find another Brazilian steakhouse. After a few phone calls to the restaurant and a confused cab driver, we made it. While it wasn't exactly on par with the steakhouses in the US we've been to, it was a great meal nonetheless. One of the side dishes that I will need to attempt to make was a a cold potato salad but whipped like mashed potatoes. Amazing. I think I ate more of that than I did meat. Austin was more daring than I and tried the chicken heart. I don't think he was too impressed.
Next on the list was finally making it to the lantern parade! While we missed a lot of day-time festivities and arts & crafts, we did get to check out the Jogyesa temple where the parade would end. It was first built in 1395 and is one of the chief temples in Seon Buddhism. There were hundreds of lanterns hanging everywhere. It was amazing to see. One thing we were not expecting was the large amounts of foreigners everywhere. There were more foreigners along the parade route and at the temple than Koreans!
Unfortunately Austin's camera decided to stop working as soon as the parade started, but we did capture a few shots. All in all, we had a great time in Seoul, but we were happy to come back to our little town in Geoje where we didn't have to be pushed and shoved into subways like sardines in a can and brave the crowds everywhere we went.
My sweet lotus lantern I purchased for the parade
At Jogyesa Temple
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