Tag Archives: Garden

In Search Of Tulips Near Amsterdam

Amsterdam was on the list of places that we wanted to visit before we set off on this two year trip. We even considered starting our journey here by taking the ferry from Newcastle, but in the end we decided that we wouldn’t have enough time to do it justice and get through Europe in time to make the most of the fixed start date on our Russian visas. Amsterdam stayed in the back of our minds though and when we were planning the last stage of our route northwards through Europe it felt like a logical place for our final long stay before returning to the UK. We’d booked our accommodation and train tickets before I realised that staying in the Netherlands in April meant tulips and I got very excited!

Tulip varietiesTulips come in a surprising variety of shapes and colours

Tulips are not native to the Netherlands but were first introduced from Turkey in the 16th century and immediately became popular, so popular in fact that they were responsible for the world’s first economic bubble in 1637, usually referred to as Tulip Mania. Nowadays the Netherlands produces over 50% of the world’s cut flowers and a massive 80% of the world’s bulbs. Keukenhof is the showcase for the Dutch floricultural industry and every year 800,000 visitors from around the world descend between mid-March and mid-May to marvel at the spectacle.

Tulips at KeukenhofDuring our visit in mid-April, most of the outdoor tulip beds at Keukenhof were not yet fully open. An exception was this beautiful display beside the lake

It takes about 90 minutes, but it’s straightforward to get to the Keukenhof gardens from Amsterdam – get the bus to Schipol airport, walk around the corner and board the Keukenhof Express bus straight to the main entrance. We bought the combined bus and entrance ticket from one of the Canal Company ticket offices in the city – at €28.50 it’s actually slightly cheaper than paying separately and saves time queueing at ticket offices on the day of your visit.

Tulip showSquares of tulips in the indoor tulip display

Keukenhof gardenI really liked the mixed beds with their pretty complementary colours

Each autumn seven million bulbs are planted at Keukenhof. Although tulips are the headline act, the garden focuses on a whole range of spring flowering bulbs also featuring a wide variety of daffodils, hyacinths and crown imperials. This also means that there will always be something to see as the different flowers bloom at different times. Obviously the timing is heavily dependent on the weather in the preceding months.

Spring flowers at KeukenhofKeukenhof was filled with swathes of colour (top to bottom): tulips, daffodils and crown imperials

HyacinthsThis ‘river’ of hyacinths smelt fantastic

To supplement the outdoor displays (and provide useful places to warm up on chilly spring mornings), there are three pavilions with flower shows. These change at various points through the season; when we visited one was dedicated to orchids, one to roses, and the main Willem-Alexander Pavilion had a mix of flowers including a wonderful range of tulips.

Orchid show at KeukenhofOrchid show in the Beatrix Pavilion

Multicoloured rosesThese crazy multicoloured roses were part of the rose show in the Oranje Nassau Pavilion

From the windmill at Keukenhof we got a view across a few bulb fields…

Bulb fieldsBulb fields visible from the windmill at Keukenhof

This whetted our appetite for a bit more of an exploration into the bulb growing area, and what better to tackle such an enterprise in the Netherlands than by bicycle! We found a route online (PDF booklet in Dutch but the map is easy to navigate) which started outside Leiden Centraal station.

Nodal point on the Dutch cycle networkThe Dutch bicycle network is marked by a number of junction points from where arrows point off to the neighbouring nodes. Here I am at point number 77.

The ride through the countryside along well marked cycle lanes and through pretty little towns was nice enough in itself but before long we passed through Voorhout and into the start of the bulb field area.

Cycling to the bulb fieldsCycling to the bulb fields (clockwise from top left): Some rather handsome hens beside the path; Julie passing a small windmill; bulb sculpture on a roundabout in Voorhout; Andrew cycling down the main street in Voorhout

Flower pickersIn the first fields that we came to was a group of workers picking bunches of tulips. This is quite unusual as most of the fields here are destined for bulb production not cut flowers

Tulip fieldsTulip fields in full bloom

Daffodil fieldThe yellow of the daffodils is just as striking as the tulips

Bulb plantingWe came across one field where planting was underway

There were a few Dutch people cycling the paths as well but in general it was quiet until the route took us past Keukenhof and suddenly there were lots of tourists on bicycles (it’s possible to rent bikes at Keukenhof and do both activities on the same day).

HyacinthsSometimes you could work out what had been planted in the field the year before as here where there are couple of lonesome tulips in amongst the hyacinths

Us in the tulip field

Cycling through the dunesOur return leg took us through the dunes which protect the Netherlands’ low lying land from the North Sea

Keukenhof was an unmissable day and it was also extremely busy, the day of cycling was fun and felt more relaxed, but we’re glad we did both.

Reggia di Caserta, Naples, Italy

The Reggia di Caserta or Royal Palace of Caserta is the largest royal residence in the world. Started in 1752 by Charles VII of Naples, he abdicated just 7 years later to become becoming King Charles III of Spain before it was finished.


Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The Royal Palace of Caserta. Largely inspired by the Palace of Versailles in Paris in terms of looks and choice of location away from the hustle and bustle

We thought we’d make the most of the nice morning and walked straight through the palace to start with the huge gardens..

View of the gardens, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The view of the extensive gardens from the ground floor of the palace. Lovely!

Fountain of the dolphins on the cascade, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy!

The first of the waterfalls on the cascade that flows towards the palace is the Fountain of Dolphins. Its scale and lavishness reminded us of Peterhof palace in St. Petersburg, Russia

Fountain of Aeolus on the cascade, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The largest of the fountains on the cascade – the Fountain of Aeolus, who was the ruler of the winds according to Greek mythology

Cascade, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The sections of water are separated by long rectangular lawns that end at fountains or pools. It’s a really nice effect and beginning of the waterfall on the side of the hill also reminded us of Alnwick Gardens near home

At the final fountain we found the entrance to Il Giardino Inglese – the English Garden!

Ruins in the English Garden, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

Our favourite part of the English Garden was this deliberate ruin on an island in the middle of the lake

After a spot of lunch and a look around the garden’s greenhouse, we headed back down the formal cascade to check out the state and royal rooms of the palace.

Cappella Palatina, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

At the top of the grand entrance staircase is the Palatina Chapel. The chapel was badly damaged and the artwork was lost due to bombing in World War II, and has been reconstructed

Sala Alabardieri, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The first of the grand rooms on the tour route is the Sale Alabardier, or room of the halberdier (men armed with a halberd). Sumptuous!

Throne Room, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

After the Sala Alabardieri, we walked through another 6 large state rooms, each as exquisitely decorated, before reaching the largest and most stately – the Throne Room. The Royal Palace of Caserta exceeds the Palace of Versailles in number of rooms decorated with frescoes

The tour route then goes through some of the more private royal apartment rooms such as bedrooms, bathrooms, studies and the library, before ending with a couple of armoury rooms and the royal nativity which is even bigger than the ones we saw on Via San Gregorio Armeno, the “Nativity Street”.

The Royal Nativity Scene, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The massive nativity scene reminded us of Via San Gregorio Armeno in the centre of Naples, otherwise known as “Nativity Street”

The Palace of Caserta deservedly holds UNESCO World Heritage status. We loved wandering through the gardens reminiscing about home and the other places we’ve visited on our trip that it reminded us of. It’s also worth a final mention that you’ve probably seen it already, especially if you’re a fan of Star Wars, and it also doubles for The Vatican in the movie Angels and Demons!

Highlights of Palermo, Sicily

Having enjoyed our time in the second largest Sicilian city of Catania, we were equally looking forward to Palermo which is the largest. Anticipating that it would be a larger version of the same, we weren’t at all disappointed, there’s more to do and more to see. Also like Catania we found ourselves a nice little apartment with a kitchen so we could make full use of the Sicilian markets when were weren’t out trying the local street food.

Palermo Cathedral

Palermo Cathedral, Sicily

The massive Palermo Cathedral

Built in 1185 on the site of a former Byzantine church, Palermo’s cathedral, like the Monreale Cathedral that closely preceeded it, is a hodgepodge of the styles and influences of multicultural Sicily: Norman, Arab, Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical.

Inside Palermo Cathedral, Sicily

Inside the huge Palermo Cathedral. Quite restrained in its decoration given its proximity to Cefalù and Monreale

A nice surprise was the international nativity scene made up of models from around the world!

Palermo Cathedral Nativity, Sicily

The Sacristy of the Canons was given over to an international collection of nativity scenes. We tried to spot as many as we could from countries we’ve been to! We especially liked the Panda bears of China and although we haven’t been to the North Pole, we liked the Polar Bear but wondered why there was a giant penguin there.. (they’re native to the South Pole)

We were staying not far from the cathedral, and even though we passed nearly every day, we couldn’t help taking photos of the outside apse end!

Rear of Palermo Cathedral, Sicily

Outside of the nave at the rear of the cathedral was our favourite part, we just couldn’t help taking photos of it every time we passed!

Enoteca Sicilia – Wine Museum of Rural Life

Enoteca Silicia - Wine Museum, Palermo, Sicily

The private wine museum in Palermo

On our first night in Palermo we found our local enoteca or wine shop, run by a young guy who, while filling up a two litre water bottle with Nero d’Avolo for us gave us a ¾ plastic cup to taste, then the same of the house white, followed by a small taster of the house moscato! As we’d enjoyed them all we decided it’d be a good idea to find out more about how Sicilian wine is made so we booked a tasting at the Enoteca Sicilia.

Barrel of Perpetuo, 1928, Enoteca Silicia - Wine Museum, Palermo, Sicily

Guido Ferla explained that every year 10% of this barrel has been taken out and replaced with 10% new wine since 1928. It smells fantastic!

This very impressive collection of all things wine related appears to be very much a personal labour of love. The underground Aladdin’s caves are packed with memorabilia, tools, bottles, labels, maps and has a small bar where we received a small glass of wine. The President of the museum, Mr Guido Ferla met us and explained, in English, that he didn’t speak English, which is fine with us and so we thought we’d spend the next hour or so wandering through the museum on our own. However, he then proceeded to show us around pointing out some of the more interesting artefacts with a little English explanation! It was as good as some of the tours we’ve had that are advertised as being in English!

Enoteca Silicia - Wine Museum, Palermo, Sicily

Anything and everything related to wine and wine making, the museum is a treasure-trove

We came away with a much more rounded appreciation of Sicilian wine making and its history, and a book of wine-related quotations and thoughts put together and signed by the President himself!

Martorana (Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio)

Martorana, Palermo, Sicily

The Martorana overlooks Piazza Bellini and is kind of tucked out of the way as it is surrounded by other large imposing buildings

Dating back to 1143, construction of this little church was started after the Cefalù Cathedral, but before the Monreale Cathedral and the major work on the Palermo Cathedral. And, like those, it was on our must-see list because of its amazing ceiling..

Inside the Martorana, Palermo, Sicily

Wow! What a ceiling!

Inside the Martorana, Palermo, Sicily

The apse is decorated in beautiful golden mosaics like the cathedrals of Palermo, Cefalù, and Monreale, but the nave is covered in delightfully delicate pastel murals

The smaller size of Martorana made it easier to take in a lot more of the decoration compared to, say, Monreale.

Close up of the Martorana ceiling, Palermo, Sicily

Close up of the ceiling of the Martorana, murals in the foreground and golden mosaics in the background

The Martorana is a stunning little gem of a church, but we found it difficult to find reliable opening times, so for future reference here they are from the sign at the front door: 9:30-13:00, then 15:30-17:30, or during festivities: 09:00-10:30.

Palazzo Riso – Contemporary Art Museum of Sicily

Exhibition Hall, Palazzo Riso, Palermo, Sicily

Exhibition hall at Palazzo Riso. The satellite dishes in the foreground are sitting on speakers playing a recording of the Syrian riots, with a pile a couscous on them. I’m in the background watching the video of a wall being shot by the artist

Feeling a little church and cathedral’d out, we took a change of pace and picked Palazzo Riso, the most central of the modern art museums in Palermo. We’re not sure if the building restoration works have impacted the displays, as the galleries seem confined to one wing and spill out into the staircase, but regardless we felt a little underwhelmed or un-inspired by the works on display.

"Souvenir #3 Family Portrait" by Loredana Longo, Palazzo Riso, Palermo, Sicily

“Souvenir #3 Family Portrait” by Loredana Longo. I’m glad we’re not related..

However, there were 2 standout pieces; firstly, a section of wall of photo frames peppered with bullet holes. In the centre was a small screen that showed a video of the ‘creation’ where the artist quickly circled the faces before opening up with a handgun taking out almost all of the portraits with admirable marksmanship.

Wardrobes, Palazzo Riso, Palermo, Sicily

Our favourite piece in Palazzo Riso – wardrobes hanging from the ceiling. Sadly, we don’t know who it’s by

But our favourite was undoubtedly the massive upstairs room full of wardrobes hung from the ceiling. We don’t know why it was done or what it means, but we like it!

Palazzo Abatellis – Regional Gallery of Sicily

Entrance courtyard of Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo, Sicily

The peaceful courtyard of the Palazzo Abatellis, home of the Regional Gallery of Sicily

The Regional Gallery of Sicily, more commonly known as Palazzo Abatellis was a highlight for us because of the great use of space. Formerly the residence of Francesco Abatellis, the port master of the Kingdom of Sicily and built in the 15th century, the building was given over to be used as a monastery after the death of the last family member. Following restoration after being bombed in 1943, it reopened as a gallery of medieval art.

Trionfo della Morte, Palermo, Sicily

Trionfo della Morte, or The Triumph of Death, a huge fresco painted around 1446 depicts Death launching arrows at all levels of society

As well as the good use of space, there were 3 pieces that stood out for us in the museum, firstly the Trionfo della Morte, The Triumph of Death, which depicts an indiscriminate Death taking lives regardless of social status. We understood it was commissioned for the entranceway of a hospital!

The second was the room displaying the giant cathedral crosses that are decorated on both sides. As they’re usually hung high in the nave, it was nice to be able to see examples of them up close.

Croce Dipinta, Palermo, Sicily

Croce Dipinta, or painted cross. Typically one side shows the crucifixion and the other the Resurrection

The final piece is the Annunciata, or Virgin Annunciate by Antonella da Messina, a vivid painting of Mary interrupted by the Angel of the Annunciation. It reminded us of the Mona Lisa as it’s a lot smaller in real life than we were expecting.

Annunciata by Antonella da Messina, Palermo, Sicily

“Annunciata” by Antonella da Messina, one of our favourite pieces in the Regional Gallery of Sicily

Just outside the Palazzo Abetallis I spotted a graffiti version of it..

Graffiti version of the Annunciato, Palermo, Sicily

A clever graffiti version of the Annunciata, just outside the Regional Gallery of Sicily where you can see the real thing!

Teatro Massimo

Teatro Massimo, Palermo, Sicily

The Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the name literally means Maximum Theatre, but translates as Playhouse

We didn’t see a performance at the Teatro Massimo, but it makes it into our highlights list because it’s the filming location of the climactic final scenes of the Godfather part III.

Orto Botanico di Palermo – Palermo Botanical Garden

Orto Botanico sign, Palermo, Sicily

Sign above an old information kiosk that is slowly being reclaimed by the garden

Palermo also has a pretty big Botanical Garden, and as we’re big fans of parks and gardens we spent an hour or so wandering through the varieties and exhibits on show. Obviously it’s not at its best in the winter months, but nevertheless it was a pleasant escape from the hum of the city scooters, and we especially liked their water-species pool which was full of lilies and home to lots of terrapins too!

Outdoor aquarium, Orto Botanico, Palermo, Sicily

We liked the clever outdoor aquarium with its separate concentric circles

Terrapin, Orto Botanico, Palermo, Sicily

.. which was also home to sunbathing terrapins!

We were surprised by how eclectic the collection was – we saw plants and trees from as far away as Ethiopia and the Canary Islands, including a species of tree that has leaves and spikes that grow up the trunk – something we’ve never seen before!

Alluaudia procera from Madagascar, Orto Botanico, Palermo, Sicily

The very strange Alluaudia procera from Madagascar, is a tree without branches, instead the foliage grows up the trunk protected by spikes!

L’Associazione Culturale Stanze al Genio

Entrance hallway, Stanze al Genio tile museum, Palermo, Sicily

The entrance hallway of the amazing Stanze al Genio (“Rooms of Genius”) private tile collection. Wow!

Not strictly a museum, this is actually a private collection of Neapolitan and Sicilian floor tiles from the 16th century onwards displayed in the owner’s apartment. Like the Enoteca Sicilia, viewing is by appointment only so the owner can disappear upstairs to his office while one of his very knowledgeable guides walks you through the history of floor tile design and manufacture. I know, on the face of it, it sounds as dull as watching clay dry, but as soon as we stepped through the door into the hallway we saw why this is the highest rated attraction on TripAdvisor for Palermo.

Living room, Stanze al Genio tile museum, Palermo, Sicily

Every room is floor to ceiling mounted floor tiles, complemented with modern and antique art. We walked through each room 4 or 5 times and saw something new every time

Dining room, Stanze al Genio tile museum, Palermo, Sicily

Some floors were commissioned by very rich nobles such as this one, which shows off another of the owner’s properties. We were told it’s extremely rare to find and then to successfully recover complete sets like this

The collection is loosely organised by age, and the owner swaps them around occasionally. The guides try to catch him out by swapping the odd tile around too, but we’re told the owner always spots them!

Kitchen / Dining room, Stanze al Genio tile museum, Palermo, Sicily

Most of the collection consists of single tiles, which creates a beautiful background

Classical gardens of Suzhou, China

Suzhou is situated on the banks of the mighty Yangtze River and is a city of canals. Also dubbed the ‘Venice of the East’ although we’ve travelled through several alternate Venices by now (St Petersburg, Bangkok, …) and none of them are even close to having the same atmosphere as the real thing.

P8098273.JPGNot a gondola in sight…

Suzhou is famous for its classical Chinese gardens, nine of which have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Unlike the imperial parks of the Forbidden City and Summer Palace in Beijing, these were private gardens, built by wealthy men and intellectuals and designed to recreate natural landscapes in miniature.

Master-of-Nets pondA miniature landscape, rocks, trees, water and small pavilion in the Master-of-Nets Garden

The Humble Administrator’s Garden

The Humble Administrator’s Garden originally dates from the early 16th century and is the largest of the remaining gardens in Suzhou. At first we though it wasn’t actually so big but it’s full of twisting paths and little buildings so that you can actually get lost. It is cleverly designed so that beautiful vistas open up across the garden at various spots, some even use the technique of ‘borrowing’ scenery, something that we also saw in Japanese gardens. Here, for example, looking across to the North Temple Pagoda:

Borrowed scenery in the Humble Administrator's GardenIt was a hazy day, but you can see the pagoda at the end of the lotus pond (it’s actually 0.5km away from the garden

Like many of the buildings in this and the other gardens, the name comes from Chinese literature. The garden was first laid out by Wang Xianchen when he retired from public life as an imperial envoy and poet. He was inspired by a quote from an essay titled ‘Staying at Home Idle’:

To cultivate my garden and sell my vegetable crop…is the policy of a humble man

After Wang died, his eldest son lost the garden to pay gambling debts and it was split and changed hands several times in the following centuries before being reconsolidated by the government in 1949.

The Mountain-in-View TowerThe Mountain-in-View Tower

I’m sure it would be a wonderful place to relax on a quiet day but when we visited it was absolutely overrun with tour groups. Chinese tour groups are like an extreme version of a normal tour group;

  • they have a kind of herd mentality that makes them lose any peripheral vision and just keep walking in a straight line regardless of whether their way is blocked by another person
  • they are obsessed with taking photos of each other, usually to the exclusion of whatever ‘view’ they’re standing in front of and frequently draped over a wall or statue
  • many walk around with their cameraphones in front of their face snapping everything but looking at nothing
  • the guides are equipped with a microphone to project the information as far as possible, not the most peaceful in a compact garden with dozens of them competing for attention

Crowds in The Humble Administrator's GardenSee if you can spot Andrew taking a photo for someone in the middle of this chaos

Suzhou embroideryThe House of Sweet-smelling rice contained an exhibition of stunning embroidery by a local craftswoman, Haiyun Zhou

At the far end of the garden is a space given over to hundreds of bonsai trees. This section wasn’t quite as packed as the other areas of the garden and we enjoyed seeing the variety of different trees which had been miniaturised, and some of them had some forming wires in place to shape their branches.

Bonsai trees in the Humble Administrator's GardenThe bonsai trees were displayed on pedestals in the areas between the paths

Paving patterns collageI really liked spotting the patterns of stones in the paths

The Humble Administrator's GardenA rare quiet moment in the Humble Administrator’s Garden

Master-of-Nets Garden

Having learnt our lesson from the day before we were determined to get to the Master-of-Nets Garden as early as we could to minimise the crowds. The garden opened at 7.30am but with a one hour walk from our hotel the best we could manage was 8am. It paid off, we weren’t the only ones there but it was a much nicer and more enjoyable experience.

Master-of-Nets GardenPlan of the Master-of-Nets Garden in tiles

In the centre of the garden is a pond surrounded by the living quarters of the former residence which are linked by courtyards and covered walkways.

Stone doorwayEntrance doorway of carved stone

Rock gardenRock gardens found in the inner courtyards of the Master-of-Nets Garden

Building interiors in the Master-of-Nets GardenBuilding interiors (clockwise from left): pot plant in The Beauty Within Reach Tower; window in The Watching Pines and Appreciating Paintings Studio; The Peony Study

Reflections in the Master-of-Nets GardenReflection of The Prunus Mume Pavilion in the garden’s pond

Looking over the Longevity BridgeLooking across the pond from The Leading to Quietude Bridge

Canglang Pavilion

For a city with some major tourist attractions, Suzhou is remarkably lacking in signage (in either Chinese or English). We stumbled across the entrance to Canglang Pavilion when we got lost on our way to the Master-of-Nets Garden and, as it was close by, we returned on our way back to the hotel. It is the oldest of the existing gardens in Suzhou dating from 1044. The name can be translated as Great Wave or Surging Wave Pavilion.

Canal running in front of Canglang PavilionThe garden is fronted by a wide canal and you must cross a bridge to enter

Canglang PavilionSituated on a small hill in the centre of the garden is the eponymous pavilion, a popular place for a rest and a picnic

Covered walkway in Canglang Pavilion gardenA covered walkway leads around this rather murky pool to The Buqi Pavilion

Canglang Pavilion's latticed windowsLatticed windows in the whitewashed walls are a notable feature in the Canglang Pavilion

Old twisted treeAn old and twisted tree outside The Pure Fragrance House

Our favourite of the gardens that we visited was the Master-of-Nets Garden for its clever layout and rock gardens. I’d really like to visit Suzhou again in other seasons, I think the gardens would feel quite different and that the most memorable views would be transformed by a covering of snow or brightly coloured autumn leaves.

Seoul, South Korea

We spent a couple of weeks in South Korea’s capital city at the start of the rainy season. As well as the excellent DMZ tour with the USO, and learning how to make kimchi, here are some of the things we got up to in and around Seoul..

Sunset from southern edge of Namsan Park looking over south west Seoul, just up the hill from our apartment

Sunset from southern edge of Namsan Park looking over south west Seoul, just up the hill from our apartment

Changdeokgung Palace and Secret Garden

Injeongjeon Hall (a National Treasure) - is the throne hall of Changdeokgung, it was used for major state affairs including the coronation of a new king and receiving foreign envoys

Injeongjeon Hall (a National Treasure) – is the throne hall of Changdeokgung, it was used for major state affairs including the coronation of a new king and receiving foreign envoys

Completed in 1412, Changdeokgung is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the “Five Grand Palaces” built by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897). Although it has been destroyed many times by war and fire, nearly 30% of the buildings are original and the rest are either being restored or are completed.

The administrative area - a warren of buildings to support the Joseon government

The administrative area – a warren of buildings to support the Joseon Dynasty government

We started in the administrative quarter and were surprised by how many beautifully ornate buildings there were.

Old tree in the administrative area of the Changdeokgung Palace

Old tree in the administrative area of the Changdeokgung Palace

After making our way through the main gate and up to the mightily impressive Injeongjeon Hall, we had a quick look around the King and Queen’s residences and yet more administrative buildings before heading to Huwon, also known as the Secret Garden.

Starting the guided tour of the Secret Garden. Tours are arranged by language, and the English ones are booked up a few days in advance - best to book online before you go!

Starting the guided tour of the Secret Garden. Tours are arranged by language, and the English ones are booked up a few days in advance – best to book online before you go!

We’ve become accustomed to the Asian definition of “garden” being a meticulously manicured space, but in Korea, it seems that nature has more of a hand in the planning – of the ones we’ve visited at any rate. The Secret Garden is so-called because it was reserved for royalty and their guests, and, really, I’d call it a forest: firstly because it’s huge – almost twice the size of the palace grounds; and secondly, visitors would have ridden a horse or have been carried around it, stopping at pagodas to admire the small set pieces of scenery. This explains the scale and the lack of view for strollers.

Us in the Secret Garden. In the background is the Buyongjeong pavilion, a recently restored National Treasure of Korea

Us in the Secret Garden. In the background is the Buyongjeong pavilion, a recently restored National Treasure of Korea

Access is by guided tour only, and our bubbly guide was very good, but there were a lot of people in the group and we found we had to be near the front as she would start the explanations as soon as she arrived at each point of interest. We missed a lot of the introductions, and we were by no means at the back!

This pagoda seems to float on a field of rice

This pagoda seems to float on a field of rice

"Ongnyucheon" or Jade Stream - a narrow channel carved in the rock curves its way to a tiny trickle of a waterfall

“Ongnyucheon” or Jade Stream – a narrow channel carved in the rock curves its way to a tiny trickle of a waterfall

Suwon Hwaseong Fortress Walls Hike

Hwaseong Fortress walls, looking down at the Hwaseomun west gate

Hwaseong Fortress walls, looking down at the Hwaseomun west gate

We’ve done quite a bit of hiking in Korea, and after the 13km of the Geumjeong Fortress hike we did in Busan, we figured the 5.7km of the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress south of Seoul would be a nice stroll in the park!

It was a lovely clear day, but it was hot work as we elected to go clockwise from the Paldalmun – the main south gate, which meant we had a steep climb followed by a gentler descent. We took it slow and were rewarded with lovely views of the city and the old walls snaking around the centre.

The climb, starting at Paldalmun past NamChi and NamPoru watchtowers to the SeonanAmmun secret gate

The climb, starting at Paldalmun past NamChi and NamPoru watchtowers to the SeonanAmmun secret gate

A lovely park with a lotus pond just outside the walls, with DongbukGaknu pavilion on the left

A lovely park with a lotus pond just outside the walls, with DongbukGaknu pavilion on the left

About two-thirds of the way round is a visitor centre where we stopped for some shade and a well-deserved ice-cream. Here they offer basic archery tuition as the site was historically used by soldiers for combat training.

The archery instructors giving a quick (and very accurate) demonstration in front of DongbukGongsimdon. "Gongsimdon" means an observation tower and its design allows for spotting enemies inside the walls

The archery instructors giving a quick (and very accurate) demonstration in front of DongbukGongsimdon. “Gongsimdon” means an observation tower and its design allows for spotting enemies inside the walls

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Gwacheon branch)

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Gwacheon branch)

Set in the Grand Park, which also contains a zoo and a theme park called Seoul Land, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is a delight. Not only are the permanent collections free (bonus!), but it’s well laid out, had a fascinating and varied collection of artworks on display, and features a sculpture garden in its grounds.

Kids enjoying the centrepiece of the museum - "The More, the Better" by Dadaikseon, 1988 - produced in celebration of the Seoul Summer Olympics of the same year. It reminded us of the "Tower of Babel" we saw in Helsinki

Kids enjoying the centrepiece of the museum – “The More, the Better” by Dadaikseon, 1988 – produced in celebration of the Seoul Summer Olympics of the same year. It reminded us of the “Tower of Babel” we saw in Helsinki

Each gallery has a specific genre, such as painting, architecture, or photography (to name a few), we both enjoyed the design gallery exhibition entitled “Objectology” which explored the appreciation of everyday objects as art.

"Drum & Bass", by Mathieu Mercier, 2011 - we loved this mass-produced object interpretation of Mondrian's famous geometric compositions, very clever!

“Drum & Bass”, by Mathieu Mercier, 2011 – we loved this mass-produced object interpretation of Mondrian’s famous geometric compositions, very clever!

"Iron Plate+Wires+Plumbum", by Yoon Jeong-sup, 1995. Part of an exhibition of various works entitled "Wall"

“Iron Plate+Wires+Plumbum”, by Yoon Jeong-sup, 1995. Part of an exhibition entitled “Wall”

"Visual Point-Opener" by Kwon Dal-Gool, one of the many works in the sculpture garden

“Visual Point-Opener” by Kwon Dal-Gool, one of the many works in the sculpture garden

Bosingak Bell Tower

The Bosingak Bell Tower in central downtown Seoul

The Bosingak Bell Tower in central downtown Seoul

After our kimchi making class, we wandered through the centre of Seoul towards the Bosingak Bell Tower, and arrived to find a small queue near the steps and 3 guards at the entrance. As we approached the tower, the more flamboyantly dressed head guard turned to us and said “10 minutes” – we checked the time – it was 11:40.

We stood in the shade of the tower and a few minutes later the guards beckoned all of us inside and up the stairs to the second level – we followed the other group, feeling like we’d sneaked our way in. On the second floor we were treated to a bi-lingual explanation of the bell’s history before witnessing at arm’s length the mid-day bell ringing ceremony. Our timing could not have been better!

Introduction of the bell and the tower's history, followed by 12 loud dings of the massive bell

Introduction of the bell and the tower’s history, followed by 12 loud dings of the massive bell

Gwangjang Market

For our last day in Seoul, we’d thought about finding a street food tour like the one we really enjoyed in Hanoi, but when we looked at the menus of 12 or so Korean specialties, there were only 2 or 3 things we hadn’t yet tried, so armed with a short list and a pair of hungry bellies we headed to the Gwangjang Market – home to rows of street food stands!

The main entrance to Gwangjang Market. It starts out with clothes, souvenirs, toys and herbs, but quickly gets going into food

The main entrance to Gwangjang Market. It starts out with clothes, souvenirs, toys and herbs, but quickly gets going into food

The market is mostly small, independent clothing and shoe shops, except that the main east-west and north-south thoroughfares are given over to stand after stand of interesting, mouth-watering and occasionally stomach-turning delicacies!

Most of the clothes shops were closed as we visited on a Sunday, but most of the food stalls and mini restaurants were open and there was plenty of business!

Most of the clothes shops were closed as we visited on a Sunday, but most of the food stalls and mini restaurants were open and there was plenty of business!

Julie spotted the shallow-fried mung bean pancakes straightaway, but we walked the length and breadth to see if we could find everything on our list. First, we sat down to a plate of kimchi dumplings..

Is there no end to the uses of kimchi as a food ingredient? I'll wager it'd do a grand job of your brassware too

Is there no end to the uses of kimchi as a food ingredient? I’ll wager it’d do a grand job of your brassware too

Next up was the mung bean pancakes from one of the many mini factory-stalls turning the plain-looking beans into tasty, probably-not-so-healthy fried pancakes in front of our eyes

There were quite a few fried pancake stalls grinding down the mung beans and turning them into pancakes

There were quite a few stalls grinding down the mung beans and turning them into pancakes

The finished product, a mung bean, cabbage and shallot pancake. They come with all sorts of additional ingredients, including, yes, you guessed it, kimchi

The finished product, a mung bean, cabbage and shallot pancake. They come with all sorts of additional ingredients, including, yes, you guessed it, kimchi


Footnote: Not so much a sight, but something I want to remember about Seoul.. the subway screens play curated clips from Vimeo and Youtube in between public service announcements, and a series of short animations featuring two larvae caught our attention. It turns out they’re by a Korean animation studio, and I found the humour to be just my cup of tea.. here’s one of my favourites, and there’s a lot more on this Youtube channel if you like it too.. enjoy!