Seoul's Secret Garden

Our original plans are to tour Changdeokgung Palace. However, when we arrive about 11:15 a.m. for the 11:30 a.m. English-language tour advertised on the
official website and elsewhere, we learn that the new time is 10:30 a.m. Oops.

We return after our filling lunch and Brian buys tickets. Through some misunderstanding, what he buys are tickets for a tour, not of the palace itself, but of Biwon, the Secret Garden, a World Heritage Site, comprising acres and acres of beautifully landscaped grounds and buildings of great historical significance to Koreans.

The fact that the only tour available at this time is in Japanese doesn't deter us from following our charming guide as we wend our way through the private back yard of centuries of Korean royals. The palace interior will top our list of priorities for a return trip.

Along with the aesthetic pleasure, it's a good way to walk off lunch, especially since we're undertaking our four-hour Seoul Eats food tour in a few minutes.