Sunday, Seoul Tower and Shopping!

Day 4. La Cathedral, Myeongdong Shopping Center and Seoul Tower

It was a sunny Sunday morning. First on our list was to hear mass at La Cathedral. It was one of the largest Catholic churches in Seoul located just along Myeongdong.

The cathedral from afar. Started the day right with a prayer.

After church a stroll along Myeongdong streets seemed appropriate before we head off to the much anticipated Seoul Tower. Shops just started to open as it was still 10am. We passed by stalls, cosmetic shops and  then H&M came to view, with a big red SALE sign at the window. A short stroll then turned into 2 hours of shopping. Haha.

Nagpanic sa h&m!

Myeongdong streets were not so busy at this time. When it starts to get dark this place gets jam-packed!

WARNING: This ice cream should be shard by 2 or 3 people. We passed by an ice cream corner and it looked enticing! We didn't realize it was too much for each of us. The ice cream started melting and we had to hastily eat them all at once! It was literally dripping everywhere! That's what you get from being too greedy. Lol!

It was 12nn when we started off to Seoul Tower-- a 236-meter tower sitting on top of Mt. Namsan. We opted for the cable car going there. From the streets of Myeongdong we walked our way to an outdoor elevator leading to the cable car station. It was an inclined elevator, which amazed all of us. From the station we paid the admission fees (7,000 KRW round trip per person). After tickets were distributed we had to wait in line for our turn to ride the cable cars. The cable car was similar to Hongkong's (the one going to Ngong Ping). Everything but the floor was made of glass, except this time it was so big it can accommodate a maximum of 48 people. We got a better view of the mountains below us. You can actually see everything, and that moment when I looked at the ground and saw the distance from it going farther and farther and us going higher to the mountains sent chills to my spine. Haha!
 

Inclined outdoor elevator going to the cable car rides.

We were amazed. Haha!

Even from the elevator you can see the beautiful city view.

The Seoul Tower was just the right place to relax. It had an open ground at the center where there was sort of a little show going on. Korean dance and martial arts were showcased. Surrounding it were benches under shades of trees, where people can sit or lie down, chat, laugh, sleep, read, run around and even eat. The fresh mid afternoon breeze from the mountains can lull you to sleep. Souvenir, food and coffee shops also surround the area. My favorite part of the place was the roof terrace where the "locks of love" can be found. People who go there hang padlocks at the tower fence with their names or little notes on them, as a symbol of eternal love.

After getting off the cable car we still had to use the stairs to get to the second level. We passed by a cafe with a good view of the city which looked like a really nice place to chill.

This greeted us. Not really sure what they were doing, though. Haha.

You can go to the top of the tower with another admission fee. We opted not to since we would get to see the same thing anyway. Hehehe.

Lunch. Gavin seemed not to like his lunch. Haha. This place has an al fresco area but all tables were full. It was the perfect spot because you get to see the entire city while munching on your fries and cheeseburger.

City view. This somewhat reminded me of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

After lunch we decided to sit back and relax at the benches nearby. We spent the entire afternoon at Namsan tower, just talking, taking photos, walking around and simply doing nothing. It was a prefectly relaxing afternoon for everyone.

Gavin and Yanna mimicking the famous Korean pose.

Korean dancers.

Breathtaking view. Such a romantic place.

Love locks for the hopeless romantic.

 

It was almost dark when we decided to head home. My sister highly recommended for us to try that delicious authentic Korean food near our place. This made us all sprung up from our lazy state. Haha.

Too exhausted to go out again, we decided to take the food home instead. Indeed it was yummy! The best I must say!