Watch out, Kwang will poke you with that stick.
This kid also got into it as well. He looks pretty amused that I'm taking his picture. Kwang had to help him get on the straps because the structure is so heavy.
Sleepy cute cat awwww. Why won't you play with me?
Apparently this guy had some issues, but we still love him!
Look at that face.
Ok this would not be allowed at home buddy, but in the Giocat Cat Cafe it's ok. Know your boundaries.
Ok you just won me over. That cone looks charming on you.
Ahhh no kitties wanted my love. I have so much love to give too! I've been in pet ownership withdrawal for years now. Maybe one day...
Finally, success! Ok, ok I half picked up this cat. It was on the bench right next to me and it just needed a little encouragement making it up onto my lap. Sometimes it's necessary to bend the rules.
Finally, success after many tries although apparently she was a little smelly ;(
I would have to say Kwang is happiest when petting cats. He makes me have a good time just watching him pet cats. Needless to say he was in cat heaven.
Kwang in front of the Giocat Cat Cafe!
The cat above looks like Pumpkin, my cat from childhood.
Kwang and I went to the Giocat Cat Cafe last weekend. You pay $8 and gain entry into cat heaven plus a delicious cappuccino. There were between 20-30 cats sleeping, walking around, and playing in the cafe. There were quite a few admirers too so getting a cat to come cuddle was quite the accomplishment. We were successful though in the end. There were all of these funny rules too at the cafe. You could not pick up the cats. They had to willfully jump into your lap. At one point I did break this rule and was not kicked out, phew. Also you weren't suppose to wake up sleeping cats. Kwang continually broke this rule as he could not help but pet the sleeping sweethearts. We decided that this was a brilliant business plan, but one that would probably not work in the US. Hot beverages and cat hair really don't stand up to code very easily.
Kwang tells me Sogogi-guk is a traditional Korean soup made from radish, beef, bean sprouts all in a spicy broth. This gigantic vat of the soup lined the stalls at the Cherry Blossom festival. It was steaming hot and waiting to be eaten. Often the restaurant stalls had a vat on each side of the main display. Unfortunately, we had just eaten at Kwang's house so we did not sample any of the soup.
There are cherry blossoms everywhere in Jinhae, Kwang's hometown. As they fall to the ground people scoop them up and throw them in the air. We saw a bunch of older ladies doing this and having a blast. Apparently, Jinhae is a prime cherry blossom spot because the Japanese brought them over and planted them along the streets during the occupation time period. Sort of a bitter sweet reminder of that time period.
In Korea you have to buy special trash bags for your normal trash as well as for your perishable food scraps. Kwang tells me the food scraps go to the pigs and to farmers for their fields. It's a pretty good system though sometimes it's hard to put everything in a little bag like this. Also the full bags are left outside with the normal garbage, which does not exactly paint a pretty picture outside of our apartment.
Kwang and I ventured out into our neighborhood to find this Italian restaurant. There was not a nook nor cranky that was not covered in faux flowers or pink gauze. It was just like we were in Italy, wink, wink. However, the food was pretty good, spicy, but good. Plus we did the meal deal and both got a glass of wine.
