Austrian food + Lucy Pie + Lanterns in Seoul

Oh Seoul. You glorious city, you. 

Unless you are driving, have a stroller, and/or a Korean GPS. 

Then you suck.
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I think it's pretty much assumed that when people come to South Korea the only city that comes to mind is Seoul. 

And I love Seoul... I especially like that there is an Army base located right on the outskirts of the city where we usually stay and walk to major sites.

But staying on an Army base isn't immersive so I booked myself and my parents a lovely room at a guesthouse. 

The look on my dad's face at "check-in" was priceless. 

Guesthouse translate to guests in one's house.

No lie. 

But before we found our "hotel," we got so lost in the city that we had to park in a parking garage and our lovely host had to come find us and take our poor, pitiful selves to her home. 

City hall recently changed the street names so our GPS was rendered useless.
Thank God a young Korean man took pity on my mother and was able to get us help.
If not for him, I would have ditched the whole idea and gone home.
Making matters worse my phone was minutes away from dying and the number I had burned up my battery calling was not correct.
Once we were rescued by our host and arrived at our guesthouse - learning then that we were literally bunking in one wing of these lovely people's apartment, shit got real.
No, seriously, our accommodations were great.
Centrally located, beautiful views, parking and breakfast!
That makes for a happy girl.
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See? Beautiful view...

I'm sure Seoul has thousands upon thousands of places to eat but we can never find one when we're really hungry. We settled for Paris Croissant which is a popular chain in Asia and I will say... their warm grapefruit juice changed my life. Delish.

We stumbled upon a book festival in the city.

And they were gearing up for Christmas at Namdaemun market.

And I picked up one of these egg buns because when I asked a young man about them he said they are a must have in Korea. The bread was really nice... a little sweet... but the egg in the center just didn't do it for me. Cross that off my list of Korean street food.

Our visit conveniently took place during the Seoul Lantern Festival. I really wanted to go because it only happens once a year and it's always nice when you can show your company something special like this. We went right when they opened (after having been out all day long) and even before it got really dark, it was still pretty.

This event is free and stroller friendly (they even have a nursing room if needed).

Another day another picture of our view...

My mom wanted to visit Myeongdong Cathedral in... Myeongdong. It's the most well known Catholic church in Korea. We had a great lunch of beef bulgogi and then walked up this giant hill to look at the church. My mom and her churches.

And now I'm going to plug a little business because I said I would. And it's my blog and I can do shameless plugs if I want to. The Lucy Pie Kitchen is totally adorable and I'm sorry (not sorry) to say that we ended each evening right here with Lucy. It was bliss. 

While living in Germany, I wanted for no pastry. Their sweets often blow American pastries out of the water (in my opinion), however, I sometimes would miss a nice warm crumble (a la mode) or berry pie right about mid-Summer. 

Flash forward a year and every "sweet" thing I've tried in Korea (bingsu excluded) has been lack luster. 

Then we found this place. 

Pecan pie (a rarity here), sweet potato pie, mud pie, blueberry cheesecake all packaged in this little 'I Love Lucy' themed cafe? Heaven. 

And the employees... super nice.

I need this place in my life.

You want pie now, don't you? 

Okay, anyways, our last day we were able to visit the National Museum of Korea and the area of Itaewon. Not before getting lost but that's water under the bridge. 

We had a great lunch at Chef Meili- a small Austrian restaurant right here in Korea before a brief walk in the rain and a long drive home.

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Don't have the luxury of staying on a military base in Seoul? Seriously, the River View House was awesome. A wonderful family operates the entire thing and they could not have been more welcoming.

Public transportation nearby, lots of little restaurants, within walking distance to Yongsan station, and did I mention that view? I booked it here.

More information regarding Chef Meili and their restaurant/delicatessen can be found here.

Seoul Lantern Festival here.

That glorious little pie shop, find directions here.

And lastly, if you want to read about how Seoul warmed my heart and cured my cold, click here!