Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple.

The name alone for the temple is a mouthful. Thursday was a public holiday, and we had a friend coming over to watch the kids so we could have a date day. My husband I decided to check out the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple as part of our date. As soon as we got out of the train station our senses were assaulted with the heavy perfume of incense burning and there was a thick hazy cloud to the air.

We picked a popular day to visit the temple. However, we were one of the few tourists walking through. The locals were very serious about their patronage to the temple on this particular day. Offerings of fruit and prayers being said were the main activity for the day; it was after all a temple.

After coming back to our apartment and doing some research on this temple, I understand the popularity of this particular place. The temple claims to grant every wish upon request. Many people were offering up prayers and burning incense in ernest and great sincerity.

We made a quick walk through and ended up missing a section of the grounds. When there are so many locals earnestly praying that their every wish comes true, I feel a little uncomfortable, as though I'm intruding on an intimate moment that I do not participate in, and so we left with our tourist selves and my camera.

Paul McCartney In Korea.

My two boys LOVED their Paul McCartney concert experience. Paul McCartney played for three hours and the time flew by. Everyone was given a rain poncho since it was an outside venue and it was a cool evening. My son loved pretending he was Obi Wan Kenobi with his poncho on... oh that boy! There were fireworks two times throughout the show and plenty of other special effects which made their experience that much more special. My son was able to sing along to most of the songs Paul McCartney played, he was excited when Paul McCartney played "Eleanor Rigby" and "All Together Now".

Eating At Buona Sera In Korea.

My first venture into the world of Korean drama was through a show on Netflix called, "Pasta". It was one of those shows that Netflix suggested for me based off of what I had been watching. I got sucked into the world of Chef and Goldfish and managed to binge watch the whole series in a couple days. After I emerged from my alternate world that revolved around the restaurant called La Sfera, I started watching as many Korean drama's as I could find.

You can image how bittersweet it was when my husband came home and surprised me with these pictures of their experience eating at the iconic restaurant. Man, I really wished I had been able to experience it too. But since I couldn't be there, I'm grateful my two boys were able to eat there for me!

My husband said the staff was so friendly at Buonasera. The restaurant requires their patrons to make prior reservations, but my husband was not aware of the rule, and the staff was gracious and allowed them to be seated and served anyways. They were seated on an inside patio that was open to the outside. The food was delicious, although my son did not care for the tomato soup which was really just the juice out of a tomato. They ordered steak, an eggplant appetizer, and a dessert tray that they could choose off of. 

Now my husband and I are off to watch a couple episodes of "Pasta" tonight!

A Boys' Trip To Korea.

Living in Asia, makes it easier for us to hop from country to country on long weekends. So for the long weekend at the beginning of the month, my husband and son got the opportunity of a lifetime when they flew to South Korea for the weekend to see Paul McCartney in concert. Both of my boys are huge fans of the Beatles and they were both really excited to see Paul McCartney play.

My husband is much more adventurous than I am. He's not as particular about the places he stays at, nor the food he eats. He is up for trying anything. Since I was not along for this trip, he had more freedom to explore Korea in a grittier way than if I had been there.

They ate street food. They ate food in the fresh markets. They stayed in a "hotel" that had a shower head in the same space as the sink and toilet. They ate octopus that was still moving {my son had a courtesy helping and was not a fan of the octopus}. I love the face of the lady who sold the octopus to my boys. Her expression in the photograph makes me laugh when I look at it.

When asked what his favorite thing about Korea, my husband loved the market that they walked through. He loved seeing the food prepared there. There were piles of vegetables already chopped up for customers to purchase. Beside the octopus, they sampled potato pancakes, tteokbokki {which are spicy rice cakes}, and odeng soup {fish cakes in a soup broth}. They were mesmerized by the sundae {blood sausage}, but did not sample any.