Friday, August 15, 2014

Traveling the World...Around Your Home

"...‘home’ must always be the loveliest spot in the world, no matter what fairer lands may lie under alien stars."   L.M. Montgomery


I'm sure by now you've heard the word "staycation", if you haven't, it describes a time of vacationing around your own home town.  I have been doing this before the word became hip, and what a fun concept it is!  Ok, my home happened to be in exotic places, but if a vacation at a far away land is out of the question, why not try seeing your city with new eyes?

This summer I spent time around the D.C. metro area, recently named by Forbes magazine, the coolest American city of 2014.  And I agree, what a cool city it is!  Even though I used to live in the area I approached my time there trying to see the city with new eyes.  I tried to walk paths I hadn't visited before and used my acquired exploration skill back home.

One of these very important exploration skills is: TALKING TO PEOPLE.  Yes! As simple as that!  No matter where you are, locals know best!  During my time in D.C. I was using a dry cleaning service often and started talking to the clerk, who happened to be Korean.  Since my family loves Korean food I asked her about a good Korean restaurant around the area.  She pulled out this D.C./Korean yellow pages and gave me names and addresses of a couple of her favorites.  Needless to say we tried her advise and had a fantastic meal at Yechon Restaurant, which is open 24/7.

If you don't know what to order at a Korean restaurant try Bulgogi, their BBQ meat which comes with white rice and several small bowls of pickled veggies and other yummy things.  Or try their Bibimbap, a meal in a bowl, containing rice, fresh mixed vegetables, meat and a signature fried egg on top. Makki rolls were also great.  The waitresses wore authentic Korean costumes and that just made me feel I was in a place far away from home, at least during lunch time.



I love the diversity you find in the U.S. not only because it makes us better, but also because I certainly love trying different ethnic foods and learning about interesting cultures.  Why am I always talking about food?  I don't know, but, do you know of an ethnic restaurant around your area you haven't tried yet?  What are you waiting for!  It's like taking a trip without the plane ride...

Enjoy life around your home or in the destination of your summer travels.  Do you have a useful traveling tip to share with me?

Best,




1 comment:

  1. #staycation #washdc #koreanfood #traveling #virginia #annandale

    ReplyDelete