Jeju Island: Day 4

Today was the day Shana was most looking forward to! When she studied abroad in Northern Ireland for a semester in college, she visited the Giant's Causeway, which is an area with 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. She thought there were only two of these areas in the world - Northern Ireland and Scotland - but she was wrong! 

The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

 There is one on Jeju Island too!

Teddy and Shana in front of Jusangjeolli in Jeju.

Looking behind the basalt columns to the rocky beach.  What a difference a couple of feet make!

Obligatory selfie!

The Russell Family.

I love this picture because the wave behind Michael is just about to hit him...and he was not happy about it!

A beautiful and tourist free place to sit for a few minutes.  This goes down as one of our "happy places."

We then walked around the pebble beach to the more touristy viewing platforms to see the area from above.  It was quite spectacular!

The boys got ice cream as they left the platforms and Ripley was especially excited about his cone. 

Next, we decided just to drive around the island and check out some of the fishing villages.  Michael had found a wonderful sounding restaurant in our guide book and we went out to search for it.

Teddy with the fishing boats.

After much searching, Michael told us just to be brave and we went into a random restaurant without an English menu.  We ordered what the couple at the table next to us were having and this is what the waiter brought to us.  Sashimi roll ups! 

Everyone tried the fish and the rollups...but there was one thing only Michael and Ripley would try.  The shellfish on the white rectangular plate was still moving!  The waitress cut it up and Michael popped it in his mouth!  He then gave a little to Ripley who was happy to chew it up but we didn't let him swallow it. 

After a nice lunch and a nap in the car for the kids, we traveled to Cheonjiyeon waterfall. 

A fun artsy shot of Shana and the boys next to the Jeju Island statues with blossoms in the background!

Jeju Island: Day 3

On Wednesday, we started the day with another beautiful hike up a crater called Sangumburi.  One side of this mountain is the crater and on the other side you can see the tallest mountain in South Korea, Hallasan.

On our way up the boys were able to make music by dropping stones on the larger volcanic stones.  It was a fun activity for everyone!

 

And to make a little boy shriek by dropping him from the top of the crater.  Oh no!

Behind Michael and Teddy is the crater.

We finally made it to the top and were rewarded with a spectacular view of Hallasan.

Sitting on one of the kitchy swings put out for tourists.

Ripley is so not interested in Teddy!

Ripley wanted his own swing.  He is a very independent soul.

Mama and her boys!

Mount Hallasan.

Next we went to the Jeju Cultural Village to learn how people in Jeju lived.  It was a fun experience filled with interesting huts and villages, a flower filled maze, and some local food. 

Teddy demonstrating how people used the toilet in Jeju.  I'm being totally serious!  The pig pen is behind him.

A traditional hut where a shepherd would live.

Every time we saw a field of yellow flowers we also saw tons of tourists getting their pictures taken.  We thought we better get in on the action!

Learning how people in Jeju make their clothing.  They would use these wooden sticks to beat the fabric to make it soft and durable.  Ripley thought this was the most fun activity at the cultural center.

And Teddy thought that grinding the wheat was the most fun thing to do at the cultural center.  Ripley loved to help too but we think that Teddy could have stood there all day.  He kept asking to go back!

We all found our way into the flower maze but I think Ripley had the most fun because he could walk by himself.  He never found his way out on his own but had a great time trying.

Michael loved the traditional boat and did his best at being a pirate.

We ended the day at the place that Teddy really wanted to go to, Ripley's Believe It Or Not.  Right across the street from the Teddy Bear Museum, Teddy really thought that Ripley should see this museum.  We loved learning more about Ripley who was an adventurer (like our Ripley) but Teddy was a little nervous about some of the exhibits, especially the scary African death masks and the description of people being impaled by poles.  No kidding!

Ripley by the front of the museum!

Ripley's favorite exhibit was a room with all mirrors.  I think he could have played inside it all day.  Here is the whole family inside.

And just Ripley hanging by himself.

Jeju Island: Day 2

While there is a lot of kitch on Jeju Island, we decided to take advantage of the natural beauty as much as possible.  Jeju was formed entirely of volcanic eruptions two million years ago.  The most famous things on Jeju are the volcanic lava tubes in several places on the island, although only one is accessible to tourists.  These natural conduits through which magma once flowed are now empty caves that are some of the largest in the world.

This site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The entrance to the lava tubes is through a caved in ceiling of one of the tubes.

It was very difficult to take photos in the tubes without a tripod, but we were able to take a few of the interior.

A collapse at the end of one of the tunnels.

The boys inside the tunnel.

After the lava tubes, we tried our hand at some Korean food without a menu in English.  I think we did really well, especially since Teddy was able to order the mandu (dumplings) that he wanted in Korean!

Ripley and Teddy wanted to sit together and both have "big boy" cups.

Ripley was totally wild about the mandu but didn't really understand the concept of chopsticks.

Finally, a fork!

We then decided to follow the rest of the tourists up Seongsan Ilchulbong , which is a mountain that leads up to a porous volcanic crater.  BUT before we started the climb, Teddy wanted to ride the horses and he was a total natural!

 

We then decided to follow the throngs of other tourists up the mountain!

Teddy walking up the volcanic stone pathway.

The crater at the top of the mountain.  It is porous so there is no crater lake, but it has a spectacular view of the ocean!

The top!

The boys at the top!

Back down at the bottom looking up at the crater.

My silly boys!

 We then got to enjoy a local treat, a Honeycomb Roll, which was more like a cake shaped like a honeycomb and rolled up with cream and cranberries to look like a cannoli.

The nice lady who made our dessert!

The first bite!