Coffee Prince and Late Autumn Roadtrip

In June 2011, I took a road trip from South Carolina to New York City via Palisades Park, NJ.  I had learned through my constant internet searching that there was a Coffee Prince coffee shop in Palisades Park.  The shop was set up similar to the way things were in the drama and the waiters, all cute Korean guys, wore the same uniform outfits that were worn in Coffee Prince!  Add to that the fact that Hyun Bin's movie "Late Autumn" was being shown in select US theaters at that same time, in the same area!  It was written in the stars that I purchased my 2006 Mini Cooper S convertible that looks exactly like the one Choi Han Gyul drove in Coffee Prince in March of 2011 and that my latest heart throb, Hyun Bin's movie was playing where I could actually sit in a theater and watch it, not on a computer screen.  The word ROADTRIP screamed in my brain....I had to go!!!

I needed a traveling companion.  As it turned out, my granddaughter Nicole was 8 months pregnant and the fraternal grandparents lived in Staten Island, NY.  What better person was there to ask if she wanted to come along for the ride.  Now, the fact that the baby arrived a bit early on July 24 had nothing to do with the trip, I'm sure???  Just to ease your mind, baby Aslynn Skye arrived in an underwater birth and is absolutely beautiful, healthy and perfect as my great grandchild #4!  I digress....

Nicole and Ji Cheol

Off I go, riding with the top down.  Stopped in Virginia to visit daughter Amy and my 3 granddaughters, Jessyka, Samantha and Rebecka.  Then on to Maryland to meet up with Nicole and to see my daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Mike.

Thank goodness Nicole had a smartphone with GPS navigation.  We arrived in Ridgefield Park, NJ, corporate home of Samsung in the US.  After checking into the hotel we made the short drive to Palisades Park.  As soon as I was on the street where Coffee Prince was I knew where it was.  I had gone on Google Earth and I had actually "driven" on the street and parked in the parking lot in front of the coffee shop.  No surprises, it was amazing!  We entered the coffee shop.  On the wall was the mural I use as my Avatar, the sunbursts very similar to the ones drawn by Han Joo Yoo.

Mural at Coffee Prince

We each ordered a coffee after doing our best to decipher the menu. It was apparent our waiter spoke very little English, if any.  While waiting we looked around the shop.  Please forgive the poor quality of my pictures.  I was nervous and the room was dim.

I asked the waiter if he would pose for a picture but he declined with a grin on his face.  We finished our coffee and it was time to go.  This is me outside the coffee shop.

I had researched restaurants in the area.  There were many to choose from.  This was definitely Koreatown!  I chose a BBQ restaurant and we headed inside.  It was packed!!  Luckily we did get a table with the BBQ grill.  The food was very good.  I had wanted to order a bottle of Soju but the waitress wanted me to know that it was the equivalent to vodka.  Since I had to drive as Nicole was in no condition to do so, I regretfully declined.  Here is me and the food....

End of Perfect Day #1 of Roadtrip!

The next day we went to see "Late Autumn".  We went to a matinee as Nicole had been in touch with the grandparents and we were to meet them in New York's Little Italy that evening for dinner.  An unexpected but exciting side trip.  Here I am after the movie.

The movie was good.  Most of it was in English but there was also Chinese that was subtitled in Korean and then Korean being spoken.  You could tell they only expected Koreans to come to see the movie.  The theater was right next door to the Samsung offices.

Now, our side trip to Little Italy.  I was a bit nervous and I know Nicole was as well.  We had never met the grandparents before but we both held our breath.  We had originally planned to take the bus into the City as info I had read recommended doing that rather than driving in but it was raining and I couldn't see us being wet and miserable as we would have to do quite a bit of walking.  So I decided we would take Ji Choel and drive in.  It was only New York City, right?  Luckily it was a Sunday so there was no rush hour traffic to worry about.  We programmed the GPS and off we went.  Had no trouble at all.  Piece of cake!  The grandparents were very outgoing.  We had a wonderful Italian meal, walked around the streets that had been turned into pedestrian only for the Italian festival that we didn't know was going on until we arrived.  We ended up at a wonderful Italian dessert restaurant.  Sure gained some weight that night.

The lovely evening ended.  Nicole and I headed back to NJ.  Got a little lost but nothing scary.  The next day we headed back to Maryland and then I headed back to South Carolina.  This was truly a memorable trip that I will think back on and be so glad I took a chance on something and some place new.

On a sad note, since then the Coffee Prince coffee house closed in March, 2012.  I had hoped to go back there again.  I may still go back to Palisades Park as there were many other interesting places there I would like to check out.  Wonder if Nicole and Aslynn would want to go......

Korea

I love Korea, South Korea to be specific.   I fell in love initially with K-Dramas but then I started to explore other areas of Korean culture.

I cook, so I had to try the food.  It was wonderful!  So then I had to prepare it myself.  Okay, some good, some bad.  My Kimchi was beautiful (that's really the Kimchi I made in the picture above) but so hot the tears rolled down my cheeks as I ate it.  But I did finish it!  After that I decided the Kimchi prepared by the Korean ajumas who sell it through my Korean grocery store is better than mine.  I prepare bulgogi at least once a month.  I prepared my own marinade in the beginning but then I decided to try the prepared version at the Korean grocery store and it is just as good.  Just bought a bulgogi cast iron grill and can't wait to try it out.  I love pajeon (savory pancakes) and my green onion version is just as good as I have had at Korean restaurants or from the Korea grocery store.  I want to make some jigae and porridge over these winter months.  I also want to visit the H-Mart even though the closest one to me is in Georgia.

Back to K-Dramas.  In the blogs I've read on the subject there are some true stand outs.  Coffee Prince, Kim Sam Soon, and Secret Garden, just to get started.  I became a K-Drama addict back in  October of 2010.  I was searching around Hulu.com and looked for international shows.  I liked Bollywood and truly thought that, along with French films, is all I would find  Well!  Lo and behold!  Up popped Prosecutor Princess!!  The title alone put my back up, I had to see what fluff this could be about.  And fluff it really started out to be.  But as I watched each episode I saw the characters grow and began to be meaningful to me.  Astounding!  It was all subtitled and I'm sure I didn't understand even half of what was going on but I was so intrigued I watched the entire 16 episodes.  I had to try another one.  Well, I hit the real jackpot the second time around, Coffee Prince!!!!

Coffee Prince changed my life.  I was in love!  Gong Yoo as Choi Han Gyul was gorgeous and Yoon Eun Hye was unbelievable as Eun Chan.  But the whole cast was outstanding, each character really developed.  I'm only repeating what has been said in so many reviews and comments all over the internet.  I am so in love with this drama that I have watched it at least 6 times so far aside from now owning the DVD and the OST soundtrack.  In 2011 I was doing a search on Carmaxx for Mini Coopers, just for the fun of it.  Guess what popped up?  A 2006 Mini convertible exactly like the one in the drama!  I couldn't believe it.  I told myself to calm down, I couldn't afford it.  Well, the price was right, the financing was affordable.  So I now own Ji Cheol (part of Gong Yoo's real name)!!!!  It is the love of my life, period.  This picture is to show the car, not me!

Of course, I had to see every drama and movie starring Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun Hye.  As this was satisfying the craving to see them it also introduced me to new actors that became intriguing.  Kim Sun Ah and Hyun Bin (much more on him to come) and so many more!!  Oh, my!  And so on, and so on.  Currently (2/16/13)  I have logged 1,621 hours or the equivalent of 67-24 hours days since October, 2010 watching Korean dramas and movies.  I'm also a fan of the OST from these dramas.  Some are really fantastic.  Royal Family's "Don't Cry" is an anthem!  CN Blue's Lee Jong Hyun's "My Love", absolutely beautiful!  So many more.  And, of course, Psy's "Gangnam Style", couldn't leave that one out!!!

My interest and craving grew!  I had to experience this country and culture for myself.  As intriguing as the dramas were the history and current events of the country are what myths are made of.  Surviving the Korean War so far as it really is only a truce, being the only divided nation in the world, living with the threat of imminent demise by North Korea and its supporters, this country has developed into a technological and manufacturing powerhouse.  Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia, and being the most internet wired country in the world, just to name a few leaders of commerce in the entire world today in 60 short years.  Utterly amazing!!!

I decided I had to go there.  I kept as close mouthed about my plans as I possibly could.  I'm an Irish American with no cultural or family ties to anything Asian.  Never had any interest before this.  I realized as a lone female visiting a foreign country, and from my experiences visiting western Europe a number of times, that I needed to know as much of the language and customs as possible before visiting that country.  I joined many Korean websites as well as online language courses.  I made contact with a Korean tutor which, in South Carolina, is hard to come by.  Young has now become a good friend.  It was difficult to find a travel agency that managed tours to South Korea.  I only found one, Goway Tours.  Leo, my trip advisor, was wonderful.  I booked 11 days in April, 2012.  My trip took me to Seoul, then to the DMZ, Gyeongju, Busan and Jeju Island.  There was never such a perfect trip.  I still marvel at all that I saw and did during this trip.  I'm going back, but I've already prepared myself that the perfection cannot possibly be repeated.

 Me and a sentry at the DMZ train station that has never been used.  He spoke better English than I did.

Tumuli Park in Gyeongju.  Resting place of the Silla Dynasty's kings and queens.  The mounds in the background are their burial tombs.

Me through a lava tube at a park on Jeju Island.  Gorgeous resort island.

N Seoul Tower, Namsam, Seoul.  I climbed more than a mile steadily up the mountain to arrive at this destination.  I put a love lock on the fence for my husband and me.

Me enjoying makgeolli rice wine and tofu on a night dining tour of Seoul.  That was a wonderful night!

Me and Korean high schools girls in Gyeongju park.  They were so friendly and outgoing.  Treat of the trip!

Cooking class at O'Ongo Foods.  Chef Hyejin and fellow classmate George.  Made fire roasted chicken breast and spicy pork.  Delicious!

            Busan, just in time for the cherry blossoms.  Saw many wonderful things in Busan but these were what I was hoping the timing of my trip would be there to see.

For you drama fans I have to add two last things about my trip: 

One, on my last night I returned to Seoul and stayed at the Grand Ambassador Hotel.  When the porter, who was helping with my luggage, and I got to the floor my room was on the hallway was filled with camera equipment and cameramen sitting on the floor playing with their smartphones.   The porter apologized for the congestion and explained they were filming a drama in the room across the hall from mine.  I almost fainted!  If I had not already booked and paid for the Seoul night dining tour that evening I would have been sitting in that hallway with them, believe me!!

Two, while in Korea I watched the first 4 episodes of King2Hearts with Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won.  It was so exciting to be in Korea watching this drama in particular.  It wasn't subtitled since I was watching it in Korea but that didn't matter.  If you recall April, 2012 is when North Korea fired off a nuclear missile that ended up being a dud.  Kim Jung Il had just died in December and his son, Kim Jung Un had just become their new leader.  What wonderful timing!!

Well, I will stop for now.  I have many other things to say but they can be for another time.  

Just a question for other K-drama watchers, I'm currently watching Level 7 Civil Servant and That Winter the Wind Blows on DramaFever (2/16/13).  But they don't have any light heartedness so far so I had to begin a repeat of Rooftop Prince, just for the sheer fun of it.  What you are watching right now?

Elaine, 일레인