Back from the dead?

WOW, I can't believe it's been six weeks since our last post! Our camera broke, so that put a chill on things, but still...I guess we'll have to make up for it with some really awesome new posts. Right after this one, I promise. Ha ha!
In May we went to Chongduk Palace here in Seoul, in an effort to soak up some local culture before our move to Italy in the fall. We had seen one other Korean "palace," and were not really that impressed; this one did little to change our minds. However, there was a nice pond area:


Here is another picture of the main building of the palace:

It's kind of cool with all of the painting detail and peaked roofs such, but these are replicas of the actual buildings- the Japanese burned down what remnants were left of these old wooden buildings during WWII. Also, growing up with the image of Cinderella's castle created a very high expectation in me of what constitutes a "palace." Still, we had a good time walking around and had a wonderful lunch for under $15 for all of us at a noodle/sushi place around the corner. Can't beat that!