The Big Hill to the Guesthouse

We arrived in Seoul on Wednesday night after a 14-hour flight.  Before leaving the U.S., my Uncle Joe warned us not to take any large suitcases.  As we got off the bus and started walking to our guesthouse, we quickly realized that wise old Uncle Joe was right.   What were thinking deciding to take our big suitcases with us to Asia? ?!?!?   We had to drag our two large 50 lb. suitcases, 3 carry-on bags, and camera gear up a very steep hill to get to our guesthouse.  Luckily, an old Korean man walked by and helped us drag our luggage up the hill.  Our guesthouse is modest, but in a great location.  It's a short walk to the metro and to the Myeong-dong shopping district, which has a vibrant night market. 

Here I am struggling up the hill.

This elderly woman can handle the hill better than me!

Day 2: The Beautiful Sheraton Hotel

Day 2 of the Asian Adventure and we have traveled as far as......Herndon, VA.  Yes, we are still in the U.S.  We arrived at Dulles airport yesterday at 4:30 well in advance of our 7:00 flight, but were shocked to discover that our flight actually left at 1:35.  Apparently, my usually reliable better-half read the wrong line on our flight itinerary.  Luckily, Korean Air has a flight flying out of Dulles to Seoul everyday so we checked into the Sheraton 5 minutes away from the airport to take the next day's flight.The bad news is that rebooking the tickets will cost $800, so Yen pleaded with our trip insurance company for them to cover the additional costs.

We will file a claim with the insurance company, but are not optimistic about recouping the costs. Since we were here for one additional night, we decided to hangout with our friend Hannah and her daughters Jackie and Julie in Centreville, VA.  If you have never been to Centreville, it is almost like being in Korea as half of the restaurants and shops are Korean.  Yen found the opportunity to have her nails done by Julie in Hannah's nail shop.  Julie is a surprisingly skilled nail technician for an 8-year old.

Today's flight leaves at 1:35 today, so my next post will be from Korea (hopefully).