Beach Days

Last night we ventured over to see the Gwangandaegyo bridge, and to have dinner at a place called Sharky's. What we didn't expect was the pretty awesome view at Gwangalli Beach and the big expat/nightlife scene. 

Sharky's , started by two SoCal brothers, was your typical American/California food and exactly what we were looking for. However, we missed the memo that there was an Expat Meet-up happening and we were the only two in the restaurant not wearing name tags. We felt a bit out of place and a little old (I overheard a twenty something year old guy, wearing a tight t-shirt and cargo shorts say to his buddies, "I knew this would be a sausage fest."), and we had no interest in making new friends. Are we lame?! haha

Anyways, we enjoyed our food, snapped a picture of the bridge (reminiscent of the Bay Bridge) and called it a night.

Today we set out for Haeundae Beach, which was about a 45 minute commute on the subway line. (The subway here is pretty easy to navigate and filled with tons of shopping, restaurants, and stairs - like in Japan!) 

The beach, surrounded by a ton of high rise buildings made for a pretty cool scene. It is known to get packed during the hot summer months, but the crowd today wasn't too bad and we happened to be there for the annual Haeundae Sand Festival. We saw a lot of neat sand sculptures and children sand sledding. 

Statue of Princess Hwangok, where legend has it she's now a mermaid in the sea. 

We walked through a little forest and ended up at the historic Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Center, a round, glassy structure just west of the beach. With more great views of the coast, we took a mini tour of the building that housed the 2005 APEC Leaders meeting. 

Gwangan Bridge in the background of the APEC Center

Seen in the entrance - A section of lacquerwork inlaid with mother-of-pearl created by Kim Gyu-Jang, a master craftsman of Korea. Noted are 12 symbols of longevity. 

Here it was agreed upon the advancement of free trade and investment. 

The interior ceiling of the hall has a motif from the Seokguram Grotto.

Mermaid sculpture made from plastics found in the ocean. The amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean is disgusting, causing many marine animals to suffer. Let's do our best to protect this planet!

And now, a little every day fashion for your (my) entertainment (no joke, these are 4 different women!):