LIFE ON 'THE PENN': It's Springtime, Hey Ding-a-ding, Ding!

In springtime, the only pretty ring time,

When birds do sing, Hey ding a ding, ding.

Sweet lovers love the spring.

And therefore take the present time,

With a hey, and a ho, and a hey hey-nonny-no,

For love is crownèd with the prime

In springtime, the only pretty ring time,

When birds do sing, Hey ding a ding, ding.

Sweet lovers love the spring.

Shakespeare, from As You Like It
Act 5, Scene 3

Oh I do love Korea's spring! Cherry blossom time is here (well, was - today is rainy and windy and the blossoms are going, going...) and that of course means picture time in my family. Since I have the pleasure of homeschooling, I can select field trip and park days willy-nilly, so most of this past week was spent in a few of the numerous parks throughout Seoul. I must say that Seoul is fabulous at creating beautiful park spaces inside the city.

Our first visit was to Yongsan Family Park, 용산가족공원, which is located just outside one of the base gates. The land used to be part of the base and was given back to the Korean government in the late 1980s. A large portion of that land is now taken up by the National Museum of Korea, and the park itself is fairly small. However, it is a beautiful park. The park contains a pagoda garden, walking trails, scenic spots, an exercise area, playground, and duck pond. We even met a friendly bunny hopping around!

The Reflecting Pond in front of the museum.

Dragon Falls

A small view of the park grounds. Love those blossoms!

The same evening my husband and I went to Yeouido Park to find a festival. We never found it; turns out I had incomplete information. It was still a lovely little park to see. Since it was evening/night time the pictures are all dark.

King Sejong

Reflexology walking path

Another friendly bunny!

Above is the National Assembly Building. I found out the next day looking at a random poster while waiting in the subway that the festival we were looking for was behind this building. The website I used left that part out. So close, yet so far!

The following day we went to the World Cup Stadium, which has several parks adjacent to it. The one I chose was Pyeonghwa Park because it is said to have a playground. However, their idea of a playground and my idea are apparently different. It did have a small lake where we saw some fish, turtles, and a blue heron, and the walking trails are very nice. The cherry blossoms were beautiful as well!

Across the lake.

The 'playground'.

A not-so-great picture of the cherry blossom trees.

World Cup Stadium in the background.

We also crossed the pedestrian bridge over to Nanjihangang (Nanji Han River) Park. This is a large park, and we only went over to see the fountain show.

Not a great picture, I know.

And finally...on Friday we went to the Children's Grand Park. I had been dragging the girls everywhere for pictures, so I decided they should have some fun too. It was beautiful in bloom! There were people everywhere with the same idea, and even several bridal photo shoots to be seen. At one point the wind got a bit strong, and the petals were everywhere like a blizzard!