Jeju's Teddy Bear Museum, Pacificland and Lotte Hotel's Volcano Buffet

What an eventful day we had on our first full day on Jeju Island.  After finishing a quick breakfast at our hotel, we traveled 45 minutes by rental car to the Teddy Bear Museum.  It's one of the top recommended places to visit in Jeju and it was a pleasant way to spend the morning.  Elizabeth really enjoyed looking at all the teddy bears, but the displays are really geared towards adults.

Of course at the end of our tour, there was a gift shop and we took home two teddy bears, one for each child as a keepsake of our trip.  Elizabeth picked out a plain brown bear and Daddy picked out a pastel baby bear for Vincent.  Afterwards we went for a nature walk and saw this waterfall.  Elizabeth took a nap during this time so she didn't get to see it, but the landscape was beautiful.

On the drive to Pacificland, we passed by this temple and took a picture of it for its awesome architecture.

Pacificland is a small 50 minute attraction, consisting of three different animal shows: monkeys, dolphins and sea lions.  It would have been just a plain animal show, but Elizabeth got called from the audience to be a guest star.  We credit Tim's long arms and his bright green shirt for standing out in the crowd.  Elizabeth personally met a sea lion and a dolphin.  Wow!

Monkey see, monkey do...

Elizabeth was too scared to greet the sea lion so Daddy shook his flipper.  Afterwards, Mommy and Elizabeth met a dolphin.

After the show, we had some time before our dinner reservations at the Lotte Hotel, so we walked the famous Joongmun Beach.  The water was incredibly clear and it was still warm for this time of the year.  Many people were swimming, but we just dipped our feet in a bit and collected some polished volcanic stone that Jeju is famous for.  Elizabeth carried her three volcanic stones back to the car and packed them in her suitcase.  Later, we saw a vendor selling the same stones for 2,000 Won each.  We got ours for free!  We left our camera in the car, so that it wouldn't get wet, thus no pictures of this picture perfect beach.

We had dinner at the Jeju Lotte Hotel, famous for their Volcano Show Buffet.  Most of the food was average (Western style), but the sashimi was extraordinary.  Freshest tuna and salmon we've ever had.  We made reservations and were seated right in front.  It would have been better if we didn't have reservations and sat near the back.  The show was a bit scary for the kids, but Elizabeth didn't cry.  I think Daddy covered her ears and eyes most of the show anyway.  Vincent decided to cluster feed during dinner and the show, so you can imagine where he spent most of his time.  I gently covered his ears during the show too, so he wouldn't be distracted from his main event. -S