Changdeokgung (palace)

The top thing on my "coop list" was to visit a Korean palace during our final trip to Seoul. Based on a number of recommendations, I chose Changdeokgung, which was just a short walk from Insadong, where we were staying.

You can read all about Changdeokgung elsewhere on the web, but here are my thoughts:
*palaces in Korea are very similar to temples (as my friend J.E. pointed out) in architectural style, just a lot bigger
*an English tour might be more interesting (than the Korean one we took), but unless you're right up with the tour guide, it probably wouldn't make much difference
*the last tour of the day is pretty lame, because the staff is trying to lock up behind the tour group. It's not really a relaxing stroll.

I won't try to narrate the pictures, because I couldn't really tell you what anything is. Even if my Korean was good enough to understand the tour guide, I lagged behind most of the time after having to take Liam to the bathroom right after the tour started and staying behind at another spot to nurse Rowan.







Matthew & his mom -- in the background, you can see N'Seoul Tower on Namsan.