Welp! My last post was exactly a year ago today! I almost forgot the password for BRYOLOGUE but here I am again with another mega post.
Funny how I keep on posting about religiously posting but haven’t got the chance for the past 364 days. To give a recap of my year, perhaps a mega post will make up for it?
So let’s have a look back at the year that was!
At the newly-cleaned Quiapo area
We saw Mockingjay Part 1 last Sunday and on our way home, I finally got up close the display window of Rustan’s Makati.
Christmas 2014 display window of Rustan’s Makati
They undoubtedly have the best windows and they periodically change them after a couple of months. However, they always reserve the best decoration for December. This year, it looked like an enchanted winter forest that is very Tim Walker (a.k.a. Mr. Fairy Tale Fantasy) meets Narnia. Of course, Tim Walker is well-known for photographing very whimsical spreads and campaigns. However, what I do not like about these was the fact that you can no longer see the clothes. The branches by the glass were too busy or had they reduced the sides for about a foot each, it would have been much better. I still get envious of all the Ayala Avenue people because they have better Christmas decorations, compared to the bleak and sparsely decorated area of McKinley Hill. Do they know it’s Christmas? LOL Yes, I’m really claiming the Holiday Season this year, and I’m as giddy as my niece Brianna seeing glittering decors and blinking Christmas lights.
*extremely picture-heavy post*
For our last day in Seoul, we already have our itinerary in set and it was non-negotiable for us not to go to one of my must-see places. Back in October 2012, I previously expressed my anticipation of visiting Simone Handbag Museum and I could not believe that I finally had the chance to go and visit it. It was very uncommon for tourists to include a bag museum to their travel itineraries but I consider it a sin for sort-of bag lovers like myself not to drop by when in Seoul. So from Myeongdong Station, we travelled all the way to Sinsa station in the upscale Gangnam-gu to visit the museum (directions to this place can be found at the end of this post).
Simone Handbag Museum’s building in Gangnam-gu
Rainy winter – me on the bright side, while Mon in his neutral ensemble —- and I love our transparent umbrellas we bought for only KRW 3,500!
Mon and are currently drafting our itinerary for our trip to Seoul this December, and we both agree that there will be no palace tour. We have only visited two of the Five Grand Palaces in Seoul built during the Joseon Dynasty (i.e. Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, the latter was very near the place we stayed in), but we think that we have seen enough. =) We also agreed on Nami Island and Neverland because we did not see those places during our last visit. But one MAJOR destination, at least for me, to be visited will be the recently-built museum in the Gangnam area: the Simone Handbag Museum. It is NOT normally what tourists tend to visit and flock over, but as a person who loves bags, I really want to check it out.
(Photo from http://simonehandbagmuseum.co.kr/collection.php)
Visiting this place is non-negotiable, even if we have to walk quite a distance just to reach the place. the admission fee is 5,000 won, which isn’t bad at all, given that I will have the chance to see interestingly crafted bags way back from 16th century until contemporary period. And speaking of the more recent period, any bag lover can immediately identify wonderful pieces from “The Collection” page from their website. You can see the McQueen Union Jack clutch, a Kelly and a Birkin, a Fendi baguette (hello Carrie!), a Gucci bamboo top-handle, a vintage Moschino dripping chocolate, a Chanel Cambon tote, a Prada nylon backpack, Louis Vuitton bags, Missoni, Céline and Ferragamo.
But the question is, when can we squeeze the time to visit it? I proposed visiting the museum on our first day, mere hours after we landed, but I guess Mon won’t be too happy to go straight away to Apgujeong just to visit it. LOL But this time, I won’t be leaving Seoul without buying a bag. I’ve been wanting a canvas and/or leather backpack with a style similar to the one below, and as this type of bag looks popular in Seoul now, I will definitely look for one.
(Photo from upashion.com)
Update:
I finally got to visit Simone Handbag Museum last December 2012! See my entry about it here:
https://bryologue.com/2013/01/17/winter-in-seoul-2012-day-4-simone-handbag-museum/
When I first saw this new ad campaign of Blake Lively, I thought that Chanel has been recycling their concepts:
(Photo from telegraph.co.uk)
When we heard that a sequel of Kimmy Dora: Kambal sa Kiyeme was on the works, we were extremely excited because it was big hit for us. I even remember watching this on iPod when we were in Seoul last year.
And to finally hear by the end of 2011 that they were shooting in South Korea, it was definitely a must see movie.
The movie picked up from where the last one had finished. Kimmy and Dora’s relationship improved, even though Kimmy still has this abrasive behavior towards everybody.