Jazz, wine and relaxation

After weeks of mad travelling, early mornings and fantastic sight seeing we realised that we were exhausted. Going away every weekend to see all of Korea's wonders can really take it out of you! And I think it for this reason that this last weekend was a good dose of exactly what we both needed.

We went to a Jarasum International Jazz Festival not too far from us in a place called Gapyeong. It is a huge festival and is annually visited by over 100,000 people. Like all Korean festivals there was a lot to do but that is not why went there. Nope, we got off the bus, walked past all the awesome shops selling and showcasing awesome things and we found a wonderful piece of grass looking onto one of the stages, we planted our arses firmly on the ground and that is where we stayed until it was home time. It was glorious!

It was a beautiful Autumn day and the place was full!

We had a picnic that kept us munching for the full eight hours we were there. We had everything from croissants, to chips, to camembert, to chicken, to kimbap. Let's not forget the other ingredient that made the day a great success....wine!!! Hmmmmm, good old red wine! We had five bottles and it was a spread from South African Cab Sav to Australian Shiraz. Bliss....

Just a fraction of the stuff we had!

The day progressed just as a good picnic in the park should with good conversation. Oliver was even relaxed enough to have a nap! With the wonderful sounds of incredible jazz in the back ground it really was the perfect setting to just let loose and relax.

Just before nap time!

Turns out Lauren and I did a little too much relaxing because by the time we were ready to leave Lauren and I were so engrossed in the atmosphere that when we saw a set of musical instruments on display for people to touch and play with, we couldn't resist. In fact, we did more than just play with the instruments, yip, we took it to the next level. Clearing our throats Lauren and I started singing our hearts out. Before we knew it a little crowd had formed and pictures were being taken of us from all sides. After finishing the song and feeling quite pleased with ourselves we were amazed that we received an encore, and to everyone's delight (except for Oliver's) we sang "lean on me" over again!!!! What fun! Oliver was mortified and disappeared as soon as we started singing so unfortunatly we have no photos of our moment of fame, booooo.

The stage!

After relaxing a lot, clearing our vocals, and having a quick squizz at some of the stalls and magic shows we decided it was time to head to Chuncheon to find some accomodation. After off loading our bags at a super cheap motel, we made our way to Dakgalbi Street. No visit to Chuncheon is complete without visiting Dakgalbi Street, so that is exactly why we had a late night dinner there, followed by a brunch there on Sunday!!! Hmmmmmm, nothing like mouth-watering Dakgalbi to finish off a perfect day/weekend!

Famous Dakglabi Street 

Although we don't know much about jazz musicians, we do know we love jazz music and the atmosphere it provides! I would highly recommend this festival to anyone looking for an awesome, relaxed day!

Post by Claudia