Korea Photos...Days 1-4

I think I know how to post photos now...I think.

Day 1 (Saturday): Arrived in Korea a little after 5AM without too much jet lag.  As soon as we arrived in Seoul, we visited with relatives, had breakfast made for us by our aunt (my sister and I rarely eat a "full" breakfast but as the saying goes, "when in Rome..."), and then met up with a good friend who wanted to take us out to lunch. Below is the view from the restaurant (Marco Polo on 52nd floor) as well as some items that were on the table when I finally remembered to take pictures.

After the lunch, we roamed around Gang Nam area, in particular COEX.  It had changed so much since the last time I had visited Korea (5 years ago)!  By the time we eventually made it back to our relatives' house, it was pretty late, so we had a home-cooked dinner with the relatives and called it a night.

Day 2 (Sunday):  The morning started off nicely with a church service. One of our goals while in Korea was to get our cousin, who had stopped going to church for 3 years due to some personal circumstances, to try out a handicapped church where he might feel more comfortable.  What a blessing that place was!  The atmosphere among the handicapped congregation was so welcoming.  We had lunch there and then by the time we got back home to our relatives' place, it was time for my sister and me to meet up with that friend whose family wanted to take us out to dinner.  Below is a picture of what the streets of Gang Nam, in front of Sam Sung Station, look like...I know it's not comparable to the streets of NYC, but I was entranced by it.

Dinner was a quiet but memorable affair at the Grand Hyatt up near Nam San Tower, which was one of the places on my absolutely-must-visit/see list for Korea on this trip.  When I mentioned how much I was excited to be around Nam San, the entire family (despite their work schedule the next day) decided to go to Nam San Tower after dinner, even the father of my friend who wakes up at 4AM each morning!  The cable car was too crowded for me to take a photo, but below is a picture of the "gazebo" that was up at Nam San Tower...it was shown on a number of dramas:

I didn't get a good pic of the fence of locks up there, but I did get to see more locks than I ever cared to see.
Definitely impressive, that wall of locks.  LOL.  Below is also a picture of Seoul from the observation deck from Nam San Tower itself...loved the clear, night view:

And guess who I saw up at the Tower?!

Or at least a representation of our boy from SKKS. LOL.  Apparently JYJ is the spokesgroup for a cosmetic store (Nature Republic...love their waterproof eyeliner, by the way).

On the way out of the tower, I came across some furry little friends both in a window display in front of Nam San Tower's small Teddy Bear Museum store and smack in the walkway for all and sundry to see (yup, that's me with the big bears):

Day 3-4 (Monday and Tuesday): Since it was a work day for our friends and family, my sister and I roamed through Seoul, trying to act like natives.  LOL.  However, it was difficult to blend in when I insisted on taking random pictures here and there. Below is the one I took of the subway floor...I thought it was cute how there were foot markings on the floor so that people wouldn't get too close to the edge or crowd each other:

The next one is a picture of the COEX (from the outside) that I remembered to take:

The staff there was trying to put up Christmas lights/decorations, which is why you see all the metal contraptions in the middle of the walkway.