We begin the descent

Last day of the tour. We wake early and get on the bus by 7:40. The weather is cloudy and foggy. As are we. 

Nice view from our room, but a foggy morning

 After a bit of a drive, we arrive at Seongsan Ilchubang, an extinct volcano. They give us one hour and we begin the climb.

So many people--can you find Mom?

The steps are at a pretty steep incline and it is crowded. We huff and puff and make our way to the top. The view from the top is nice, but again, it is foggy.

 At the top it is also windy, which nicely dries out our sweaty shirts. We begin the descent. We get back with about 15 minutes to spare before it is back on the bus and away we go.
Next a folk village. We tour around a bit and it is time for another sales pitch. This is some kind of miracle tea. (I have to say I expected to enjoy folk villages more. Maybe we went to the wrong ones.)

On to our last lunch of the tour. Pork barbecue. It is tasty. I haven't mentioned this before but I think every restaurant that we have been to has these little machines which dispense about a dixie cup's worth of creamy, sugary coffee, which everyone has for dessert. Yum!

Now we are winding down and some of our group has left already to catch planes back to the mainland. We tour a little historical 'theme park' (memory lane for everyone over 40) of how everyday life in Korea used to be. The dioramas and mannequins are amusing. 

Our plane leaves at 4 pm for Seoul, and before we know it we are back at our Seoul hotel. Last night in the city! It is raining unfortunately, but we have dinner at a street cart, watching people hurry past us with umbrellas while we munch our tteokbokki. Dinner, for the three of us, for roughly $7. Can't beat that. Afterward, some last minute souvenir shopping wraps up the evening.

Take your pick!

I can't believe it is almost over. I feel like we have been here for much longer than two weeks. It has been very easy to forget about home here, and just concentrate on the next tour, the next subway, the next meal. 

Everything else seems (and really is, I suppose) so far away. But it is time to go home.

{FYI: We have taken over 700 pictures...don't worry, no one but my mom and dad will be forced to look at all of them....get ready Mom and Dad! ;)}