It was SO nice to catch up with Simon and Martina in Seoul. Although Simon isn’t in this video we did see them too (and Spudgy and Meemers). We definitely need to visit them in Japan.

The places we ate at were ‘Spicy Bite’ and ‘On Ne Sait Jamais’, both in Itaewon.

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We had a bunch of meetings and then we had dinner with our friends Simon and Martina from the very famous Eat Your Kimchi. Although we stay with them often, we are both usually quite busy and don’t actually get the chance to go out for dinner that often, but this time we did!

And here is a vlog combining several days. We actually had a lovely relaxing time over Christmas so there wasn’t a whole lot of stuff to film.

So this really happened! Simon and Martina have recently moved to a new apartment and when we came to stay they wanted Hugh to check the ondol heating because it wasn’t working. We ended up getting the apartment guy to have a look and there was a problem. While he had his head under the sink, this gross brown water suddenly started spurting up. But it wasn’t poo! Don’t worry. It was rust water. Apparently the previous owner had never cleaned out this thing. It was pretty bad. The sink was about to overflow and the dishes in the sink were getting covered by rust water and the animals were waiting to get fed. But while all this was happening, Simon was in the living room uploading videos. Now, he could see us, and he could hear us, but he ignored it all! And then finally when we wanted a reaction from him, he was more excited about finding the remote under the sofa cushion. You are no help at all Simon!

So as most of you know, we went to Seoul for the opening of the You Are Here Cafe. We went to support Simon and Martina (Eat Your Kimchi) because they are our friends and it’s a huge thing opening a cafe! Wow, we realise now how stressful it is! The You Are Here Cafe is not just Eat Your Kimchi but also Talk to Me in Korean (and also third party investors). So we got to meet Hyunwoo and some of the other Talk to Me in Korean people, which was great because we’ve known each other online for a while but hadn’t had a chance to meet yet.

We really really respect Simon and Martina for all the work they put in for this cafe. Those that were there on Saturday would have seen how busy they were all day. They didn’t have much sleep the night before, got to the cafe early in the morning and I think it was after midnight when we left. Then they had a meeting with Soo Zee and Leigh into the early hours of the morning. But it all turned out amazing! I heard there was over 1000 people there on Saturday. I can’t believe how many people were lining up! Some people waited 4 hours to get in? It was amazing just how excited people were about this.

It was great for us as well. We got to see some of you guys and we really appreciate everyone that said hi to us. What is really cool about the cafe is that it is a space for creative people to come together as well. In our video you’ll see a bunch of other bloggers. Often it’s hard for bloggers to meet up just because there isn’t anywhere good to hang out, but the You Are Here cafe is perfect for this. It also means it is easier for us to see you guys as well. When we are in Seoul we can let you know on the social media if we are going to be there and anyone who wants to see us can just come by.

Simon and Martina are so involved in this as well. They didn’t just leave everything for other people to do. Things like, some of the recipes are Martina’s own recipes, both of them are so involved in what goes on the menu (and it’s difficult catering to both international and a Korean customers), and even down to mundane things like it was so rainy on the Sunday when we went into the cafe, both Simon and Martina were out on the front lawn at different time putting away chairs and putting down lawn umbrellas in the rain and the mud. No matter how successful and popular they get, they are still just down to earth people.

On the Friday night there was the smaller, private opening which was really fun. We got to meet Brad from Busker Busker and his lovely wife. Hugh was too shy to talk to him for half the night because Busker Busker is huge in South Korea. But later they had a good chat.

We also invited Prince Mak from JJCC who I’ve been chatting to for a little while because we are both Aussies. Yay Aussies in Korea! Kpop stars’ lives are very very busy but he managed to get the night off and came and hung out. JJCC are going to be doing something very soon I think…. so make sure you check them out.

And now here are some photos (most of these are from Instagram):

There may be more of these vlog style videos coming soon as we’ll be travelling with my brother and sister.

Our video of the Eat Your Kimchi meet and greet!

IS THAT REALLY WEIRD?

I also mention Simon and Martina to my parents sometimes. Luckily my parents know who I’m talking about now. Because my husband and I are planning on moving to Korea at the beginning of 2014 sometimes we are discussing our plans at the dinner table and I’ll say “Simon and Martina said…. blah blah blah.”

Oh and their kitten is so cute!

Is there anyone that you talk about or mention in conversation like you know them but actually don’t?

Also: I’ve added a FAQ section.