Summer in Gangneung and Yangyang (강릉 & 양양) - Day 3 and 4

Third day: FoOOood and Relaxing on a Rainy Day

Our third day in Gangneung wasn't really the brightest (literally) to be spent outside. So we decided to spend our day in cafe and restaurant. We started our day in a cute cafe by Sacheonjin beach called 곳; (Got) which means more or less "the place" in Korean. This cafe had a wide selection of cakes, pastries, and sandwiches. We tried one of their sandwiches, their creame brulee, and their potato and sweet potato bread. My favorite has to be their potato and sweet potato bread!

clear view of the East Sea from the rooftop

dessert galore

Before it started raining, we spent an hour or so hanging out at Sacheonjin beach. Soaking our feet in the water and watching people passing by. Surprisingly, despite the weather, there were still a lot of locals around the beach swimming, snorkeling, and fishing with their families. 

When it finally started to rain, we left for a late lunch at an Italian restaurant nearby and then back to our hotel to chill and watch Street Man Fighter together ♡

the Italian restaurant

                                    our hotel's rooftop                                        chillin' in our hotel room

Fourth day: A Day in the Sun

At last! The sun was finally out and the clouds were almost nowhere to be seen!

We left our hotel pretty early and took the bus from Jumunjin to Yangyang for about an hour. We headed to Hajodae beach and spent almost the entire day there. The sun was really strong but thankfully, a nearby GS25 rented out parasols for 10k each and it was an absolute lifesaver for us! 

      

                                            Nothing beats a good day in the sun with my girls :)

A couple of hours before the sunset, we took a bus back to Gangneung and headed to Yeongjin beach to have a cute little picnic whilst watching the sunset as a closure of our trip ♡

Until we meet again, Gangneung and Yangyang!

Summer in Gangneung and Yangyang (강릉 & 양양) - Day 1 and 2

In the last week of August, my housemates and I took a bus and went to the northeastern part of South Korea to enjoy our last days of summer break somewhere else other than our house. We chose to visit Gangneung and Yangyang.

The northeastern region has other great places to visit too such as Sokcho and Donghae, so why Gangneung and Yangyang? Simple answer: other than the fact that both are currently the most famous regions for beaches, they're also next to each other. Traveling between both places is easy and convenient even with public transport.

First day: For all the K-Pop and K-Drama Fans

Our first destination was Gangneung. Though we were staying in Gangneung for three days, the weather wasn't the friendliest - especially on our first day there. It was drizzly and very cloudy. Fortunately, we didn't let the gloomy weather depress us. First stops in Gangneung: BTS 버스정류장 and 도깨비촬용지 주문진 방사제!!

us three minus Isabelle :)

not letting the weather stopped us from exploring!

The weather got better as the day went by, so we got us a picnic mat from CU for 5k, some sparklers and drinks. We sat by the beach near our hotel, lit up the sparklers, and enjoy our drinks whilst listening to the waves. It was a very special moment indeed ♡

sparklers by the beach

Second day: Cute Ride by the Beach

Today was a fully cloudy day. From our hotel in Jumunjin, we headed down to a famous tourist attraction 정동진레일바이크 (Jeongdongjin Rail Bike) and found ourselves in a queue with many other tourists that were mostly foreigners. Apparently, you could book the tickets online to avoid long waiting time. Well, lesson learned :)

After around 2 hours of waiting, our turn finally came! It was really refreshing and definitely one of the cutest rides I have ever been on. Here are some cute pictures and a hilarious meme of us.

somehow accurate lol

With our trustee public bus, we then headed to a Korean restaurant called 큰기와집 and ordered 전복순두부전골 for our early dinner. It was really good! Romana was actually really looking forward to this dinner because she loves seafood, but unfortunately, the soup was a little too spicy for her so she could not have too much of it. Meaning: more for me :)

                                     큰기와집 restaurant                                          전복순두부전골

Before the sun was setting, we managed to reach this beautiful rooftop cafe named 카페 젠주 (안목해변 / 호텔헤렌하우스) overlooking Anmok beach. Although it was very cloudy all day long, we could still get a little glimpse of that beautiful warm-orange sunset. 

To end the day, we visited a very interesting gelato parlour; 순두부젤라또, specialised in tofu gelato. Yes, TOFU. How interesting?! Martina and I tried the tofu gelato but Romana wasn't feeling adventurous enough so she opted for their chocolate gelato instead. Overall, we approved this tofu gelato. It was definitely unfamiliar, but we didn't hate it at all. It was surprisingly good and I can understand why people like it. 

                                                                            순두부젤라또

This tofu gelato is on my highly recommended list :)