Earlier this year,
BBC showed a new adaptation of War and Peace which I missed out on as I was away on a trip. ON my flight over to Korea, the flight had all 6 episodes and thought this would be my chance to get through the story that was only 2000 iPhone pages "read'.
After 2000 or so pages, I still had no idea who was who and I was going through the motions and every page I swiped I thought this novel had to be one of the worst on record.
As Woody Allen said about this novel -
it was something about Russia.
And yet, I was utterly engrossed and certain names rang a bell and I recalled there was a war going on somewhere and things starting falling into place. I should have fallen asleep to start adjusting to the new time zone and yet Napoleon wouldn't let up.
I was so worried about each and every character up till now even though I know they are ostensibly all dead.
I was so worried about each and every character up till now even though I know they are ostensibly all dead.
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I can see why people would want to reread the book as I am going to do so as well. But this is a book or rather TV adaptation that if I had seen as a teenager I would have moved to Russia the first chance I got.
Jet lag never gets easier and I am still exhausted nearly 2 weeks on but I am enjoying the seasonal fruits which are unparalleled to any fruit anywhere.
I am trying to store up some Vitamin D stores for my return to the British winter and going on gentle hikes to the local hill.
A retiree was carving traditional totem poles to line the hiking paths. Korea is always striving forward that only old people and foreigners appreciate these reminders of a more tribal history.
But back to present day Seoul, I am amazed at the gizmos a public hiking trail is equipped with.
The picture below is a air hose to blow away dust from your shoes and trousers.
My grandmother's dog is a sweetheart and always comes to nap with me.
My family did some replanting of a cactus plant that was growing like crazy so we went and transplanted cuttings.
This noodle dish with dumplings is a Korean Chinese dish that was brought over a century ago when the Shanghainese fled. It is one of my top 5 dishes in the world full stop and unfortunately only really properly made in Korea.
The bakeries in Seoul are on another level -
London despite its bread consumption has a terrible choice of bakeries - this is a half bread/half brioche type of loaf glazed with condensed milk.
Out of this world phenomenal.
I went to the hairdressers as I would prefer to do these type of errands without rushing.
There were cultural differences that I might write about on a future post but one thing I think hairdressers should learn from Korea is the lap pillow.
I had seen these lap pillows but never used them myself but they offered me it and it is almost an ergonomic tool for your arms to rest and there is a comfort of weight on your lap that is stabilising. Hard to explain but you have to try it!
Here's to a fun and productive October! x
