Garosugil

There's a street in Sinsa, which is near Apgujeong, the ritziest part of the city, that draws a significant amount of attention.  A lot of the architecture is made to look European, there are many small and expensive boutiques, and there are tons of coffee shops, all on this one long street.  (Now I'm curious: I have got to count these coffee shops!  I wouldn't be surprised if there were more than 60!)  The nature of the street and its cozy, modern atmosphere makes it a couples hotspot.  The guys take their girls shopping here, then to dinner, then for coffee, then for waffles... There's a couple clubs here, too, and, for those who want it, live squid tanks around the corner.

Olivia had a birthday recently, and we were all in Sinsa anyway for a church function, so we headed out for a night on the town stopping first for curry at Namaste then scouring the area for a coffee shop that had enough room for 5 people to sit at one table.  Let me tell you, it took us probably 15 minutes and 5 coffee shops to find one that wasn't completely full of lovey dovey couples who'd already occupied every table.  Oy.

The first picture was an attempt to capture some of the vibrant color the autumnal ginko trees added to the scene.  They really were stunning.

And that five story building ahead is my beloved Forever21.  It has Western sizes, fitting rooms, and everything!  This is where I do most of my shopping; the H&M's too far away.

The decor at Namaste is spectacular.  Here's Felicia being too distracted by the ornate fabric on the walls and the intricate wood carving partition to decide on what to share with me for dinner.

This is our curry and our nan.  Would you believe it?  I've had Indian food more since being here in Korean than in all my life before now?  And I've only had it twice here!
The verdict: I love it.  All of it.  All the time.
Also, on a somewhat related note: I've finally had Vietnamese pho and it is amazing.  Thank you, Seoul, for letting me have so many amazing cuisines!

Everyone enjoyed.

Joe and Karlan.
And another amazing partition.  Seriously, the atmosphere at this place is totally awesome.

Here's more of the lovely street.

And from the other side!

Finally, we made it to a coffee shop.  Amid all the legit couples, Karlan and I decided to do what we could to fit in.

Olivia, Felicia, and Kara were having a blast on the other side of the table.

Here my companions yelled at me for the second time of the night about taking the picture before we eat the food.  Ah well.  Here's what remained of our gelato dessert.

This was a total paparazzi shot.  Without turning around and looking at these love birds, I steadied my camera over my shoulder toward them and had Olivia guide my aim.  Too bad I didn't catch them smooching all over each other.  I'm afraid this is all you get.

The gelato was heavenly.  Here (clockwise from the top left) we have strawberry, cheese, vanilla with chocolate pieces, yogurt, cheesecake, green tea, chocolate something, and coffee.  We got the cheese, the vanilla, the chocolate, and the coffee.  All of them were fantastic (the coffee really tasted like coffee), but the cheese was my favorite.  Call me crazy, but it was delicious!  Sweet and mild, not cheddar-y.  If you come and visit, I'll totally take you out for some!

I know I risk sounding like a compete nerd, but it made me inexplicably happy to find this magazine in the coffee shop.
Those bold yellow words over the meerkat's left arm?  They say "Meeawket."  Aha!

And that's my story.