a quick Hongdae weekend
A friend and I went on a trip to Seoul a few weeks ago with one of my work friends. It was perfect. Friday night partying, Saturday morning coffee then a full day of quirky shopping and cafe hopping. Then Sunday we jetted home, just catching the sunrise and cute robots at Incheon Terminal 2.
The flight over was so easy. We had a row of three for the two of us, so the middle seat became the shared snack chair. When we landed we quickly went through immigration and then headed on to the metro. The Seoul metro is super easy to use. Before you leave the airport, go to the QS25 and get t-money cards. They even have the amount you need for your final distance taped on the counter. True heroes.
early morning hongdae 
no one comes out until noon
We stayed at Kimchee Hostel in Sincheon, right by hongdae station, and it was perfect for a quick trip (HI click me for discounts!). If i was going to stay in Seoul for longer than two nights I probably would have gotten a different hostel/airbnb. This place was two seconds away Hongdae, the collegey/party area in case you don’t know. We went out in search of a CHEESE PLATTER because Beijing severely lacks cheese platters. we found this amazing burrata plate and got a bottle of wine to go with it. After than we went to a pizza place and waited for some friends to join us.
I think my favorite thing about Seoul is the energy. It truly is a 24 hour city, I have found people out early in the morning at markets and then people just heading out for the night at one am.
We stayed out until four, I think? Which was leaving early from this place called Jake’s bar? Mike’s bar? Whatever the name, it was foreigner crazy. I mean, I felt like i was in America. This is a bad thing, it was just so interesting to find myself some place like that. There are definitely areas in Beijing where I can find tons of foreigners.
The next morning we woke up around nine and headed out for coffee. If you find yourself in Seoul with no plans, please just go on a cafe walk. I can’t tell you how many cafe’s we saw all over the place. Twelve? Twenty? Two Hundred? It’s a lot. Prepare yourself. Also, just do a photo walk! Hongdae is soooo interesting, you need to do a photo walk to force yourself to look at all the stuff around.
PHOTO WALK TIME
Blue & Yellow 
Blue & Gray
A jewelry store we stumbled upon 
It was beautiful, I bought three things
this place was right next to our hostel 
Egg place 
yummmmm
Please please please go to a bbq place. Even if you are vegetarian, you can get mushrooms. It’s just so much fun. It’s also quite cheap, you can find these places everywhere all over hongdae, and of course all of Seoul. Go with friends and share a bunch of meats and garlic and lettuce. Honestly, its just a lot of lettuce and sauces when I go.
Alyssa in France 