HERB ISLAND

About an hour's drive NE of our place, tucked under the watchful eye of a military observation post, is Herb Island.  It is an odd place, hard to describe and really fun to visit.  It is a conglomeration of shops, restaurants, greenhouses, and oddities, all related in some fashion to herbs. 

 It works hard at having the atmosphere of a European village/amusement park, but it doesn't really feel European at all, despite valiant attempts, such as this fountain and classical facade, which seemed to contain replicas of figures from a number of famous Roman fountains.

The Swiss Chalet effect was also a good attempt. The things that look like blossoming trees (they aren't - at the time of this post, it is negative one and falling - no spring blooms here!)  are really trees decorated with little flower blossom lights - very cute.  Very Korean.  So, this is the outside of the restaurant, and...

...here is the inside.  The ceiling is lined with dried flowers, and the interior wall is the natural rock of the hillside.  While the ambiance is a bit odd,

the food is delicious!  This is my friend Tracey, who knew just what to order - kalbi. This is a very popular Korean meal which features marinated ribs, grilled at the table and accompanied by a variety of side dishes, which includes salad, soup, several types of kimchi, and samplings of other vegetables.  Our kalbi was marinated in fresh herbs, and had rosemary and even edible flowers!  It was really delicious.

This is me and my college roommate, Maura.  She is here visiting, and we ended up at Herb Island because the road to the historic temple site was closed due to icy roads.  Maura and I have managed to eat in restaurants in a number of places around the globe - it is fun to add to our collection of dining photos.

After eating, we headed up the hill, past the frozen waterfall, to the shops.

 

On the way, you may need to stop at the restroom.  These signs leave no doubt which is which, regardless of the language you speak!

 

The shops were delightful!  They had all sorts of things.  This one featured more dried flowers on the ceiling. Candles and potpourri were a specialty, but they had quite a range of gift and novelty items.

Items such as these, which I call "yarn heads" and which came in a range of character choices, from devils to angels,  These are the two I brought home - Ninja Yarn Head and Soldier Yarn Head.  Clever concept - why didn't I think of this?!

There was also a lovely tea shop with a wide range of great herbal teas and other products.  And, a bakery which specialized in pastries, breads and ccokies with herbal ingredients.  Yum!  No flowers on the ceiling here - instead they have cookies, rice buns, and other bakery goods.

The great outdoors was decorated as well - here is the Santa village, complete with garden gnomes and a very large rooster.

My favorite oddity - a life-size St. Bernard statue with blue flower earmuffs and a Hello Kitty facemask.  Only in Korea....!