#hanoks

Snow in South Korea 🇰🇷 💙

In the land of Samsung, Hyundai and Kia, almost everyone is semi-permanently attached to their smartphone. Just take a metro journey and watch them all, immersed.

In this same country though, you’ll find dozens of little back street workshops where they’ll try and fix your failed toaster, or put a few stitches in your now just a little saggy bra.

On the one hand there are clever, highly qualified whizz-kids working away in their state-of-the-art studios. On the other there’s a little old lady squatting on the roadside with a handful of vegetables to sell, or an old man with a cart or bike amassing discarded cardboard.

On the one hand, there’s Starbucks, Dominos, MacDonald’s et al. On the other are little family food businesses feeding locals from tiny one room restaurants, street stalls, or places in the market. We all love the tasty traditional food they provide, but will they survive into the next generation? Who would want such a gruelling life for their child? The food sellers of today make sure their children are educated for different choices.

I could go on. High-rise living versus traditional hanok: those traditional homes, till recently the homes of the poorer classes are suddenly desirable again. Here in Gyeongju, new hanoks are going up, built of fine materials – quite state-of-the-art, right next to their shabbier antecedents.

I wonder how Korea will change its habits over the next generation or so?

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A marquee, a couple of hundred people, and who knows how many bowls of cassoulet at this meal at Villasavary

A lucky find at a vide grenier?

Fontargent: the Pyrenees near the Spanish border

This sheep’s currently off milk-for-cheese duties

This sheep’s currently off milk-for-cheese duties

The snow covered Pyrenees are just about visible…

A view on our upward climb

Near the refuge

Spring gentian

Saxifrage

Our first view of the lake at Lanoux

…and another

The barrage

An ancient mountain hut – le Carlit beyond

Streams descending to the lake

Gentians

A carpet of tiny moss campion

A not-very-good photo of a very good evening

Walking through the snow: a June morning

A delta of streams

A horse with her foal: we saw so many

Not my photo: but I wanted to see a marmot close up too.

Henna-decorated hands the modern way: the henna paste’s applied through pasticised stencil grids

Our continuing nightmare: all that concrete too deep to dig up

First: lay an edging

Mix more cement….

Lay more setts…

Lay a gritty undercoat to hold the gravel in place

A window at night

A house at night

A night-time window

Harvest Festival

English cuts of beef

This shop sign’s been turned off at the end of the day for the last time.

Last day at the shop.

Black pudding and hams.

Marcel’s been busy…..

…and busier still….

…and even busier.

A few of the extras Marcel and Mercedes sold.

The Sagrada Familia is, as ever, under construction

You see? We’re fine now. Emily’s placed our order and I’m free to take a photo.

There we are: A container load of oranges. All I have to do is ask for a box….

Mount Grace Priory viewed from the cloisters

The monk’s bedchamber and personal chapel.

His sitting and dining area. There’s a large hearth here too.

His upstairs workroom, with weaving loom and table.

His privy.

His vegetable garden.

The writing equipment a monk was issued with on arrival at the priory.

This is the Manor House as it appears today, viewed from the garden and fishpond.

The simple, unadorned architecture of the priory.

One of the several fishponds.

Man at work

Sourdough for breakfast.

We officially ‘opened’ the NPR Seoul bureau this week, with a visit from NPR’s CEO Jarl Mohn, Executive Editor Madhulikka Sikka and International Editor Edith Chapin. (Also known as my bosses.) 

We only had two full days together, which we packed with visits to the past — hanoks from the Chosun dynasty, and the future — SK Telecom’s T.um Museum and the Samsung showroom, which welcomed us with giant screens with NPR logos and a Jarl welcome on them. 

Cómo encontrar el mejor alojamiento en Seúl, Corea del Sur #Seul #CoreadelSur #Alojamientos

Una de las mejores opciones para encontrar un buen alojamiento en la ciudad de Seúl, capital de Corea del Sur, es visitar la página oficial que no proporciona el ayuntamiento de la ciudad: Seoul Stay

¿Qué ventajas nos vamos a encontrar al buscar un hotel, hanok, un apartamento o una casa local en esta página? Pues que van a cumplir una serie de requisitos de calidad, y que con total probabilidad…