Seoul Vacation, Part III

My first trip to Seoul was began a week ago today and, although the instant enthusiasm about it has subsided, it was still so wonderful that I’d like to share!  One thing which seems so irrelevant but just tickled me during the entire weekend is a cafe that is now my all-time favorite.  All over Seoul we saw “A Twosome Place”…in Hongdae, in Itaewon, and right outside of my motel.  It’s no different from the myriad other chain coffee shops in Korea (and there are a ton of them: Dunkin’ Donuts, Angel-in-Us, Caffe Ti-Amo, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Holly’s Coffee and the omnipresent Starbucks).

But I just couldn’t get over the ridiculous name.  I repeated it to myself and the girls a thousand times over the weekend.  Damned good sandwiches, good coffee and a nice atmosphere in each one.  How could I possibly go to Holly’s Coffee when I could go to A Twosome Place?  So now, of course, the trick is to actually visit the place as a twosome…we’ll see what happens.

I stayed in a motel while Tina stayed a block away at her friend Kristine’s apartment.  Visiting Kristine’s was my first experience in one of the high-rises that pepper every city in Korea.  Her apartment was nice, modern and spacious but she had only been there for a month so the decoration was a work in progress.  One more thing I should mention is that Kristine has been to an Air concert.  You may know from reading this blog that the Air live show is unreal and Kristine’s simple accomplishment has instantly rocketed her to the top of the list of the most attractive and desirable women I have ever met.

I did not eat any Korean food while in Seoul.  There was snacking and a Korean fried chicken restaurant, but the eating highlights were the Italian restaurant and the Hard Rock Cafe in Itaewon, the America of Seoul.  Tina, Kristine and I agreed that the garlic bread sucked at the restaurant but that everything else was divine.  Fresh Caesar salad, margherita pizza and gnocchi…hot, chewy, savory and a lot of it.  I promise I will make a return trip.  If the Italian place was divine, then the Hard Rock Cafe was the best the Earth had to offer.  I went for it: a giant bacon cheeseburger, fries and a non-corresponding mojito.  That meal was killer (literally!), it hit me like a ton of bricks a few hours later and would have been the best thing I’ve had in three months if they didn’t replace limes in Korea with lemons.  Very satisfying.  More to come!