Surprise family visit in Jeonju

My home base here is supposed to be Jeonju, extremely famous for food (and this bibimbap is one of their signature dishes, though I am too faint of heart to have the version with raw beef). I got here to take care of the first leg of my research as well as big administrative and logistical issues, and sorted out a few of the major things but there are still some other large hurdles to tackle.

At Veteran Kalguksu, we had lots of noodles and dumplings. We? I was shocked this morning to get a call from my cousin saying that he and his wife and child were coming to visit Jeonju and that we must eat here for lunch. What a marvelous surprise! He had never been here, and has lived in Korea most of his life. This is at least my third visit, I don't remember right now.

I love that the tree lawn has the appropriate plants to the area.

The hanok maeul is not original but built to give the feeling of the old villages.

Omokdae is higher up, so lots of stair climbing. It was fun to be with a family where one parent is super interested in history and sightseeing and another is really interested in food and drink. Also, I had a lot of compassion for the teenage child being dragged from one place to another and impressed by her stamina all day.

So many murals in this area (Jaman Mural Village), reminds me of a similar area in Chile, though there was a sign reminding people that this is also a residential neighborhood. Always good to be reminded to be respectful as this can be hard for tourists to understand.

Without the tour guide, we may never have gotten the full view from above. Look at the bird!

I can't believe flowers are already blooming. I overpacked big time, thinking of my past winters in Korea, forgetting that by the time I got out of quarantine, it would be getting to be March.

The floor here in a small building for preparing food for royal rituals at Gyeonggijeon is papered. I was pretty worn out by this point and in general am extremely tired and far behind on transcriptions, translations, and fieldwork follow-up work. I am still living between here and home, which means morning and nighttime phone calls and taking care of business even when US websites and call centers don't work overseas. Plus, my Korean phone isn't really working so it's always a race to find wifi.

Squid fritters! We walked around allllll day so this was a welcome snack.

We saw this guy after dinner in the Nambu Market. If I could only be so strong.

Now I know that the headquarters of the original choco pie is just minutes from my current hotel, so I can get a gift set tomorrow to prep for the paper mill visit. Today's weather was beautiful, crisp but sunny, perfect for a day with family! Tomorrow we go to clouds and then lots of rain when I have to travel, of course, but I did buy an umbrella so I'm prepared.