8th grade trip to Spain- March 2014

11 eight graders from Durham Academy and their two teachers, left from RDU airport on March 8th and returned on March 16th. They traveled to Barcelona, Granada, Córdoba, Madrid and Toledo.
Following are pictures from the trip.

Too excited to sleep

First stop: Barcelona in Cataluña

The country of wonderful tapas

Jamón serrano

Our hotel

Christmas in South Korea

We left for Seoul on Dec. 19th.
We got up at 3:30 and took a taxi to the airport. We left for San Francisco at 6:40
Arrived in Seoul at . 
Our welcoming first impression was of a K-pop group performing on a stage at the airport.
After rentng a cell phone, we sat at café "Paris croissant", sipping coffee, calling Jonathan to let him know of our arrival, and listening to the music.

Took the express train to the Seoul Train station and from there a taxi to our Home Hotel. We payed 2,800 won...way too much, but who knew?

We were hungry so we went across the street and ordered a kimchi soup and a bean pancake, which were delicious. We left a tip, but later Jonathan told us that this is not done in Korea. It is definitely easier to pay for everything as all bills are an even number.

We reunited with Jonathan before 11:00; it made our heart glad to be with our firstborn! We shared a room in a great location; it was near all the major sites we wanted to see.

Day one in Seoul

Jonathan had planned our day and he proved to be the ultimate tour guide.This repeated itself throughout the week...what a wonderful and thoughtful son.

We first went to the Cheongbokgung Palace, taking the metro. The subway system is such an easy, friendly, and convenient mode of transportation; I wish we had it in our neck of the woods. One purchases a card to be used with the subway and busses...when the amount is about to expire, more money can be added at convenience stores. Easy peasy...

 

Entering Huwon, the "Secret Garden"

Kids will be kids

The portal of eternal youth

We were hungry, and walked through some streets looking for something typical:

Walking through the the traditional district of Bukcheon.

As the day was winding down, we made a visit to Gwanghwamun, Seoul’s most famous gate, and the nearby Gwanghwamun Square. This is the heart of central Seoul.