Christmas Bliss:

With just under three months until Christmas vacation here in Korea, it is time to get my plans together. Having visited most of the countries in Asia, I decided it was time to get back to Europe. It's been almost five years since I've been to Europe and I'm ready for a change.

Christmas plans are finalized and booked. Let me know if you'll be in the area.

Friday, December 25th: Direct flight from Seoul to Amsterdam, Netherlands!

Saturday, December 26th: Full day in Amsterdam

Sunday, December 27th: Full day in Amsterdam

Monday, December 28th: Train from Amsterdam to PARIS, France!

Tuesday, December 29th: Full day in Paris

Wednesday, December 30th: Full day in Paris

Thursday, December 31st: New Years Eve in Paris!

Friday, January 1st: Train from Paris to Cologne, Germany - Full day in Germany

Saturday, January 2nd: Cologne to Brussels, Belgium and then back to Amsterdam

I think we're spending too long in Paris, but it'll be good!

Seoul-Chicago

I'm about to finish my last day of work for the next two weeks. I am very happy to be heading to Chicago to see friends and family, to eat familiar foods, to find clothes at the mall that actually fit me, and to indulge on some good tasting beer.

I am, however, not looking forward to saying good-bye to Jin. He's leaving for Kazakhstan on September 4th for the next twelve months for work. When I come back to Seoul he won't be here, and my life is going to be really different.

I know that I am a strong person. I know that I will be fine. I am aware that everything happens for a reason and if it's meant to be it'll work out in the end. I don't need to be reminded that I'm strong. I'm going to be blunt, it just really sucks. No one really wants to have to say good bye to the person that they care about. It's one thing to say good bye to someone when it's not working out and you're not happy, however; that's not the case.

The best I can hope for is that things will work out, and if everything goes as planned we will see each other at Christmas.

Until then, I'm off to the airport tomorrow and then on my way to Chicago. Here's to hopefully a fabulous last night together.

Park Hyatt:

It was a great weekend, and we didn't even have to go too far from home. We decided it would be great to spend a weekend at a nice hotel in Gangnam. Gangnam is an area in Seoul that is rather far from where I live in Seoul. Seoul is quite a large city, so it was nice to explore a new place.

The Park Hyatt was amazing. From its simple, yet modern design, it really had everything that you would want in a hotel room. We enjoyed everything from the Egyptian cotton sheets to the large bathtub and even the 24th floor swimming pool.

The Cornerstone restaurant on the 2nd floor of the hotel was delicious. We shared rack of lamb and king prawns with mango salsa. It was accompanied with creamy mashed potatoes and asparagus wrapped in bacon. It was probably one of the most delicious meals I have had in Seoul in the past two years.

Our mini weekend trip showed me that you do not have to go too far from home to have an enjoyable and relaxing time. It was nice to get out of my apartment for the weekend and enjoy a new surrounding and new foods.

I am looking forward to heading to Busan next weekend :)

Taipei: Thru My Lens

Just a few snaps from my recent trip to Taipei, Taiwan:

• Picture 1: Jen found in the lonely planet this little cafe called Chocoholic. It was sensational and I definitely recommend you find it if you are ever in Taipei.

• Picture 2: One of the trees at the Confucius temple. It's a pretty cool shot and makes me excited for Cambodia!

• Picture 3: Inside the Confucius Temple- it was my favorite, actually.

• Picture 4: A snap from the Taipei Eye -- an acrobatic show and Peking Opera

• Picture 5: One of the characters in the Peking Opera. He reminded me of a character from something else, but I couldn't put my finger on who!

• Picture 6: Me at the Opera wearing a traditional Taiwanese hat.

• Picture 7: Longshan Temple. One of the more famous ones in Taipei. We went at 5 pm when it was super busy. This is when people bring offerings of: food, flowers, money, etc.

• Picture 8: Inside the Taipei 101. This picture was taken with the wind damper. Yes, you may ask "What the heck is that" -- it's used to offset movements in the building caused by strong gusts of wind.

• Picture 9: A view of the busy street from the world's tallest building.

• Picture 10: Taipei 101 from a distance. The World's tallest building since 2004.

• Picture 11: Memorial Hall

• Picture 12: Tien-Ho Temple. It said in the lonely planet that "if you blinked your eyes, you might miss out on Tien-Ho". We loved it!