June 30, 2017 - Day #28 Nami Island
June 30, 2017
Our private tour bus picked us up at the hotel at 7:30am for a full day excursion to Nami Island. Located about 63 km from Seoul, Namiseom (Nami) Island was formed as a result of the construction of the Cheongpyeong Dam. It's a half moon-shaped isle about 550,000 square yards and known for it's beautiful tree lined roads.
Before heading to the Nami Island, we made a stop at Gangchon Rail Park. We hopped onto 2 and 4 seat bikes and pedaled along the old train tracks while soaking up the scenery of the Bukhangang River. Carter and Matty took the lead in a 2 seater, followed by Emilie, Nicole, Audrey, and Steven in a 4 seater. Next in line was Ed, Carol, Ben, and Karen. Russell and I took the rear carrying Mom and Dad. The strong peddlers sat in the back. We traveled the historical route the Mugunghwa train used to take for more than 60 years by starting off at Gimyujeong Station and embarked 6 km to the next station. We arrived at a transfer station for a much needed rest to catch our breaths before making the trip back to our starting point.
In order to go to Nami Island, you would have to take a 5 minute ferry. The more adventurous can zip line to the island. Most of us wanted to do the zip line option for 30,000 wons. We were all excited to go, especially Matty, Carter, and Audrey. Even though Matty met the height and weight requirement, the workers denied him permission and said that it's for his safety. That was a bunch of BS. Karen said, "If Matty can't go, then we all are not going!" I later found out that she was a little scared and that was her opportunity to bow out.
We all boarded the ferry for the short ride to Nami Island. It kind of reminded me of Angel Island. The island was well maintained with a lot of pathways. There were options to rent bikes and segways which we decided to do. Nicole and I were on a tandem, Russell on a single, and Matty was on a dirt bike. Carter and Audrey didn't want to miss the fun and rented a tandem as well. Emilie and Ben both got segways. I was happy that Nicole was able to ride the bike better than the scooters. Matty had a blast riding the dirt bike all over the island. Emilie and Ben rolled around on their segways at a snail's pace. The bikes were an awesome way to explore the island. Grammy, Grammy, Carol, Karen, and Ed did a walking tour and enjoyed the beautiful gardens.
We left the island to go to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We were served BBQ and stir fried chicken. The BBQ was much better. The kids did some souvenir shopping at the gift shop next door before we made the 1½ hour trip home. The journey home was longer than expected due to traffic but we all were able to take naps. The tour guide made a detour to the cosmetic store where a representative gave a demonstration of skin products and gave us all a hard sell. They were relentless and made us very uncomfortable. Upon leaving the store, Grampy said, "I can't believe I went through that!"
We were all relieved to be back at the hotel after a long day. Since it was Steven's last night in Korea, it was his choice of restaurant. He said that he didn't care but Carol (aka Care Bear by her brothers) knowing that his favorite is Italian, enlisted the help of Karen to find one close by. Russell and I were craving for Jap Chae so we went to Myeongdong an hour earlier to try to find the street food vendor. We eventually found it and was disappointed. So far all the street food that I have tried has been a let down. We met everyone at Pane Pasta for dinner. It was nice to have something else besides Korean. Steven was able to order his anchovies pizza and was a happy camper. The restaurant was a hit and everyone was happy with their dish.
Following dinner, we made it to Subling Korean Dessert Cafe across from Pane Pasta. It was an EPIC dessert experience for us all! The saying, "Go big or go home" applies here. Ten huge desserts to share amongst us all. We all went there for Steven but he didn't make it. Carter made his famous disappearing act and Steven was trying to find him. He was found back at the hotel and by then Steven wasn't in the mood for dessert anymore.
Emilie, Nicole, and I stayed for some more last minute shopping. I went a little crazy at Olive Young (my new favorite beauty store) and stocked up on skincare. We ended our night with more girl bonding time applying facial masks.
Our private tour bus picked us up at the hotel at 7:30am for a full day excursion to Nami Island. Located about 63 km from Seoul, Namiseom (Nami) Island was formed as a result of the construction of the Cheongpyeong Dam. It's a half moon-shaped isle about 550,000 square yards and known for it's beautiful tree lined roads.
Before heading to the Nami Island, we made a stop at Gangchon Rail Park. We hopped onto 2 and 4 seat bikes and pedaled along the old train tracks while soaking up the scenery of the Bukhangang River. Carter and Matty took the lead in a 2 seater, followed by Emilie, Nicole, Audrey, and Steven in a 4 seater. Next in line was Ed, Carol, Ben, and Karen. Russell and I took the rear carrying Mom and Dad. The strong peddlers sat in the back. We traveled the historical route the Mugunghwa train used to take for more than 60 years by starting off at Gimyujeong Station and embarked 6 km to the next station. We arrived at a transfer station for a much needed rest to catch our breaths before making the trip back to our starting point.
In order to go to Nami Island, you would have to take a 5 minute ferry. The more adventurous can zip line to the island. Most of us wanted to do the zip line option for 30,000 wons. We were all excited to go, especially Matty, Carter, and Audrey. Even though Matty met the height and weight requirement, the workers denied him permission and said that it's for his safety. That was a bunch of BS. Karen said, "If Matty can't go, then we all are not going!" I later found out that she was a little scared and that was her opportunity to bow out.
We all boarded the ferry for the short ride to Nami Island. It kind of reminded me of Angel Island. The island was well maintained with a lot of pathways. There were options to rent bikes and segways which we decided to do. Nicole and I were on a tandem, Russell on a single, and Matty was on a dirt bike. Carter and Audrey didn't want to miss the fun and rented a tandem as well. Emilie and Ben both got segways. I was happy that Nicole was able to ride the bike better than the scooters. Matty had a blast riding the dirt bike all over the island. Emilie and Ben rolled around on their segways at a snail's pace. The bikes were an awesome way to explore the island. Grammy, Grammy, Carol, Karen, and Ed did a walking tour and enjoyed the beautiful gardens.
We left the island to go to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We were served BBQ and stir fried chicken. The BBQ was much better. The kids did some souvenir shopping at the gift shop next door before we made the 1½ hour trip home. The journey home was longer than expected due to traffic but we all were able to take naps. The tour guide made a detour to the cosmetic store where a representative gave a demonstration of skin products and gave us all a hard sell. They were relentless and made us very uncomfortable. Upon leaving the store, Grampy said, "I can't believe I went through that!"
We were all relieved to be back at the hotel after a long day. Since it was Steven's last night in Korea, it was his choice of restaurant. He said that he didn't care but Carol (aka Care Bear by her brothers) knowing that his favorite is Italian, enlisted the help of Karen to find one close by. Russell and I were craving for Jap Chae so we went to Myeongdong an hour earlier to try to find the street food vendor. We eventually found it and was disappointed. So far all the street food that I have tried has been a let down. We met everyone at Pane Pasta for dinner. It was nice to have something else besides Korean. Steven was able to order his anchovies pizza and was a happy camper. The restaurant was a hit and everyone was happy with their dish.
Following dinner, we made it to Subling Korean Dessert Cafe across from Pane Pasta. It was an EPIC dessert experience for us all! The saying, "Go big or go home" applies here. Ten huge desserts to share amongst us all. We all went there for Steven but he didn't make it. Carter made his famous disappearing act and Steven was trying to find him. He was found back at the hotel and by then Steven wasn't in the mood for dessert anymore.
Emilie, Nicole, and I stayed for some more last minute shopping. I went a little crazy at Olive Young (my new favorite beauty store) and stocked up on skincare. We ended our night with more girl bonding time applying facial masks.
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