Deflating Mother's spirit

No mattr how hard we try they keep sending her back

Mother proves her gullibility has no bounds. The desperate stare out the window following Liz's proposal that we climb the mountain in our view was only relieved by Liz's evil laughter. However following that momentary pause of despair, there remained an inking of doubt that Liz was not joking!

A second chance to lose her again foiled

Mothers troubles continued as we headed out for the day. Passing by the gate to Gyeongbokgung Palace, mother was in trouble again insisting on a photo standing next to the guards. Apparently nowadays you are not permitted to stand next to them as the palace official quickly appeared to move mother down to the lower level to pose for her picture followed by a stern waved finger.

We took time to explore Insadong at a relaxed pace, before nearly losing mother to a Korean Grandmother near the performance area at the Southern end of Insadong. During weekends many people gather to perform traditional songs, drumming and dance. We gazed upon mothers pleading eyes to save her as she was lead purposefully towards the stage, before waving her cheerfully goodbye. Unfortunately she managed to escape so we had to take her home.

Keen to obtain performance tickets, Liz escorted the other generations before meeting me outside the KTO offices where the equivalent of a Korean half-tix has a booth out front. At this time of year nearly every performance is available and we settled for "The Painters - Hero". VIP tickets were half price at 30000 won. We were back I row J, so figured that that is the minimum they wanted to sell tickets at. However what came with the tickets more than made up for this. I'm not sure if it is a promotion, but included in the ticket package came a railway pass each with W3000 preloaded and a ticket to visit Seoul Tower.

The cast showing off... Their creation!

It is a close call to say who enjoyed the show more. Amelie kept up a constant barrage of commentary and questions amongst giggles, whilst mother tried her best to be invited up on stage. Be warned to father, I think it is because she secretly fancied one or two boys from the cast. Following the show it was cute to see old and young girls clambering for a piece of merchandise and the opportunity to have that item signed by the cast. We had a pair of giggling school girls....and one should have known better.

A besotted fan autograph hunting

The show is, well, about painting..... I guess that is hinted at in the title. A number of pictures are created in a variety of media, punctuated by a combination of mime and slapstick. Like many shows in Korea they provide the perfect blend of fun and light entertainment one enjoys on holiday.

Showing off a proud souvenir

I cant help but finish with a comment of our flat. It is small with. Mezzanine floor/bedroom that one enters as if stalking pygmies, but it is spacious enough to accommodate all 4 of us in comfort. Amenities are commensurate with those one would have at home, so it has a lovely feel of home. Where it excels is location. We are less than 10 mins walk from Gyeonbokung Palace main gate, less than 20 minutes from Insadong and the "purple cone" end of the stream. Purple and orange line stations are no more than 7 minutes walk, so the city is well and truly open to explore on foot. All our times are measured in 75yo grandmother minutes which seem to be about 10 respectful yards behind ours. No mattr how slow we walk the distance remains constant. At least she is maintaining a daily minimum of 5klms which is pretty good a probably justifies the literal nana naps each arvo so far.

Mel and Roc, our hosts from the website AirBNB have been great. they have several apartments they rent out under the monica of MELROC. They have very good English skill so communication via email and face to face has been very easy. All our expectations have been met.

 

 

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