Monday: Buddha's birthday

We celebrated our last day as a family of two by attempting the city bus tour again (after it being sold out yesterday). Just call us savy tourist because we had Success!!! Finally I feel like a tourist. We jumped on the 9am tour bus and hit most of the major Seoul highlights!
1- Gwangghwamun Gate. Which is where we were yesterday
2- Deoksugung Palace (we only made time for one palace, so this one got skipped, just a quick drive by)
3- Namdaemun Market. He open air market we visited Saturday night, it had thousands of vendors selling housewares, trinkets, food . . .
4- Seoul Station. Major hub of transportation in Seoul, and shopping area
5- United Service Organization
6- Youngsan Station
7- National Museum of Korea. We stopped here for an hour or so, visited the ancient artifacts, it is an amazing building, giant!!

City view from National Museum

8- War Memorial of Korea (unfortunately it was closed today!)
9- U.S. Army Base
10- Itaewon shopping area
11- Myeongdong populate shopping district, fashion malls and department stores
12- Namsangal Traditional Korean Village we stopped here a for an hour, it is like a living history of traditional Korean living, houses, tea ceremonies, children's crafts and games, you could pay to dress up the traditional Hanboks

13- National Theather
14- N Seoul Tower (the hike up to this tower is what put both of us over the edge yesterday, but the DRIVE up was real nice today!!)
15- Namsan Botanical Garden
16- Duty free shopping at the fancy Shila Hotel. First we aren't much of shoppers and certainly not anything Duty free, that just sounds expensive so we did not take time to go in
17- Donddaemun Market, more importantly the Changshin Toy Market. This is what Valarie had been talking about for a year and a half so we had to go!! There were several hundred, felt like thousands, stalls/vendors selling toys, supposedly at wholesale price (not really sure that is the case) all this was cramped into one side street. Super crowded and overwhelming. But Evan got some fun Pororo for Christmas, and a stuffed Pororo for the plane ride. Rest assured Dan did not let me go overboard.

street view of toy market

18- Daehangno
19- Changgyeonggung Palace. This is the presidential home
20- Isadong. We have already been here twice so we didn't get back out especially since there was absolutely no room to move once off the bus, there was a huge Buddahist celebration going on, for his birthday at the temple nearby
21- Unhyungung Palace
22- Gyeongbokgung Palace (we did yesterday)
23- The National Folk Museum
24- CheongWaDae

We finished up with dinner with our new friends the Germanns we met on Friday at Eastern! They invited us to the other side of the river where they are staying. It is a whole other world over there, very modern and high end! We shared a great meal at the food court in their hotel complex. We both are sharing in the festivities tomorrow, lunch with Dr. Kim, the president of Eastern, and then in the prayer ceremony and goodbyes with the foster families, then we take custody of our kiddos!! I know it will be a special occasion that we will never forget, it is amazing that we just happen to be at Eastern at the same time and we happen to both be from Rochester!

Please continue to keep our little family, including Mrs Choi in your prayers. This transition will be filled with grief for everyone.