Today was a rainy, windy day and we needed SOMETHING to keep us from going stir-crazy on this Memorial Day holiday. Today was the kind of day where you want a cup of coffee and a place where your kid can run wild and a few delicious snack stops along the way. 

The Wagner family, along with our friends, headed off on the 14-stop subway ride to COEX Mall. The mall is located in Seoul's Gangnam district, yes THAT Gangnam as made famous by PSY, and is,  "Asia's LARGEST Underground Mall." It is in the basement of Korea's World Trade Center. It has a 4-D movie theater, probably hundreds of coffee shops, two food courts, On the Border Mexican, Hyundai Department Store and even and aquarium which we visited today. 

The Hyundai Department Store stole the show today and dazzled us with it's delicious delicacies and even had one member of our group skipping through the store. ;)   

Don't these cakes just scream, "BUY ME!"

A lovely Italian bakery. They also had a rustic, Alaskan bakery, classical French bakery and a number of Korean bakeries located within the department store.

These ladies, who wouldn't stand still for a photo, were at EVERY SINGLE display ready to sell you produce and hand out free samples. 

I could be wrong, but those look an awful lot like twigs and bark in the produce section.

See the purple, gelatinous substance? DAT AIN'T JELL-O folks. Actually, the one with the luscious, lavender color about made me loose my lunch. I daresay it might have taken every ounce of self-control to not do so. VERY, very, very,  unsavory, to put it nicely.  

Some strange form of sea life being sold in the food section that looked to me to be an awful lot like seashells. Im thinking there may be something gooey, sticky and possibly flavored like the ocean on inside that some people consider a food. ;)

I am always fascinated by the Octopus and I will probably keep posting photos of them. 

If you look really close, you can see thousands of little eyes. Yes, this is some sort of fish salad. They put it in the deli section as if it should come along on a picnic. 

You know the saying, "Don't knock it until you try it." Well, this doesn't apply here. More eyes. 

Surprise of the day? Sesame-seasoned seaweed is scrumptious. How do you like that for alliteration? :)

"I would like one leaf of Swiss Chard please."

No. No. No. Bacon Spam? WHY?!

So the next time you are in Wal-Mart or the Commissary and you find yourself complaining about how much Peanut Butter has gone up in price, just remember you don't have to pay $8.00!!!! WHOA!

These were called, "Fruit Bricks." YUM! 

Dumplings are truly a delight. I love them so much that I have a bagful of Pork dumplings in my freezer. :) 

Fish could probably be a national mascot. Even the dessert comes in fish form. 

Pull up a chair, eat a fancy little meal out of a barrel and then get back to shopping for really expensive food. 

These little lovelies are rice cakes and not the styrofoam kind we eat with the Quaker label! 

Bean sprouts anyone?

Oh yeah, this is the touchscreen menu I used to pick my dinner tonight. Swanky. 

Gotta love conveyor belts that bring you SUSHI! PS. Im pretty excited because I just spelled 'conveyor' correctly on the first try. This is rare. :)

I have had a difficult time finding shoes that fit me here in Korea; however, chocolate shoes are a lovely, one-size-fits-all, compromise. 

Doesn't this transport you right to Paris? . . . 

Op, back in Korea . . . 

The lovely babies at the COEX Aquarium. A bit blurry, but you try getting these two to sit still!

This could be the strangest fish display EVER. Fish in the dryer, too!

Emmalyn is letting the little fish nibble her fingers. 

Electric Eel

Daddies are the best! 

Feeling the Octopus suckers.

My sweet little diver, well, my cute little diver, sweet is an entirely made up characteristic for today. :)

Feeling the Starfish. 

Even I got in on the starfish holding action.

Already looking forward to the next visit to COEX Mall and Hyundai Department Store.

Today we hopped in a van from the USO and headed to the Korean Folk Village with our friends. It was a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy being outside and observe how an old village during the Chosun Dynasty would likely operate.

Welcome to land of the thatched roof homes.

We were greeted by totem poles when we first walked in and  for a moment I thought I was somewhere in the Pacific Islands of the Americas.  

I am grinding something, possibly corn. It really felt like walking into an Asian-style, middle ages village. Only sans suits of armor and the plague. 

This home would be for a wealthier family, hence the "real" roof. They also built their homes with no nails showing. It was impossible to find them. 

Their furniture was actually quite remarkable for the time era.

A hut JUST for Kimchi. Saying they take their Kimchi seriously is an understatement. I would say life revolved around it back in the Chosun Village. 

This is the way they ironed back in the day. I don't iron, so I told Darren to make sure he got a photo!

No day would be complete without the traditional performers. These guys were amazing and LOUD . . . very loud.

Elijah wants to join in very badly. 

Birds-eye view.

As  long as she has her paci, anything will hold her attention. :( 

TERESA!! She and her family make these events so much more fun!

Acrobat! This guy was probably pushing 70. The fact that he could jump was impressive, much less on a rope.

Mooing at the cow. 

We found a rice paddy!

We brought her all the way to the Folk Village and she wanted to play in the sand. 

Elijah and Emmalyn appear to have gotten hitched. Here they are in tradtional Korean wedding garb.

Some spirit tree . . . weird, but cool photo.

Thankful for memorial day weekend, so we can do stuff with friends and daddy! 

Those ears are not made for my head, but here Darren and I are getting married. . . at least he looks happier than the first time. ;)

All those kids with cell phones. WOW. 

Old-fashioned dining area. They had some strange food selections. I ate a normal beef and vegetable meal, but Darren was a bit more adventuresome. . . 

Here Darren has spicy kimchi with sesame and ACORN JELLY! Yikes. 

Ahhh Tofu, my new love. Here it is being made. I prefer not to see my food being made, so I didn't eat tofu today.