Seoul Lantern Festival

Our first weekend in our new home, that still didn't feel like much of a home due to the fact we only had approximately 800lbs of stuff, we decided to get out in the city for the very first time! The Seoul Lantern Festival was going on downtown. We were a little nervous about going out on our own, but figured there would be plenty of other military families there too. There may have been...but we sure didn't see them!

The Lantern Festival is described as a glimpse into Seoul's roots and the daily life of Korean ancestors. It was held in Cheonggye Plaza along a small man made river and spanned 1.5 kilometers. We arrived early in the evening and had no wait to get down to the river that was below the street. It was crowded, but not bad.

 This was our first off post experience with a lot of people. We had heard Koreans love American children, but underestimated the type of reactions we would get. The older ladies and school age girls went absolutely crazy over Addley, then very quickly would spot Tracker in the carrier on my chest! They would just watch our every move and stop and point. Some would play with Addley's hair and a few even wanted their picture with her. It was CrAzY!

A shot of some of Addley's mesmerized admirers. 

 There was a station where you could make your own floating lanterns. We weren't sure exactly what you were suppose to write on them and had a difficult time following the directions, with a little help from a friendly onlooker we got it figured out.

Releasing our lantern.

Our lantern floating away.

 After we made our way through the Lantern Festival we found a restaurant to have dinner. Of course there were no other children there and we continued to be stared at, but the food was good and we all had a good time.

We weren't too adventurous with our food choices. After dinner we walked around a little more and tried our first street food before hailing our first cab and making our way home! All in all, a successful first outing! :)

Addley was excited about the random Snow White. 

Carter and Addley enjoying their street vendor food.