It took us a while to get up and at em this morning. I guess it does most days. I’m sure these types of mornings are what I’ll miss when we’re back in our regular lives: Millie begging us to read her one more chapter, us begging her to let us sleep. Then we have coffee, then another coffee, and all start to come to life.

Eventually we left and walked to the main road to call and Uber. On our way there we got distracted by a bakery that had such delicious treats in the window that we had to stop in. We got more coffee and wasted about 30 minutes drawing and eating.

Fiiiinally we called an Uber and got dropped off at blueline park. We wanted to take a little train car along the beach to see the views but we arrived too late and they were all sold out. Whoops.

None of us really minded. The moment Millie saw the beach all she wanted to do was play in the sand. Busan is an interesting city that reminds me of so many other big beachside cities. It feels somehow like both Rio de Janeiro and my mom’s hometown of Lytham St. Anne’s in England.

The city slogan is “Busan is good” Very direct and to the point. Confident yet somewhat modest. Simple. No notes.

We walked down to the beach and Millie ran around for about an hour, progressively getting less dressed and more soaked.

Nick and I sat in our full winter coats and watched. It’s that type of Autumn weather where it’s hot in the sun and cold in the shade. I started getting concerned about all of us getting sunburned. I have had weird skin issues for the last couple of weeks so I am taking a break from all products, including SPF. I sat with a jacket over my head for about 45 minutes. I thought maybe this trip would turn me into a bombshell: tan, fit from all the walking, and glowing from lack of stress. But instead I haven’t worn makeup in weeks, have developed eczema on my face, and sit around with jackets on my head like a troll. I feel good on the inside at least.

We walked along the beach looking for sea glass.

We called another taxi to take us to “Millac the market” — grammar I couldn’t get behind. It had various food stalls and cutesy shops, but looked better online than in real life. We walked around and Millie got a piece of pizza.

There are many elaborate photo booths setup around Korea with props and different themes. We saw the cowboy one and I had to try it, so Millie and I took some silly photos.

She couldn’t decide between the above outfit and this one:

We left the market and walked along a different beach to an early dinner. The sun was low and we walked through probably about 17 photo shoots.

We found the restaurant that had been recommended to me by my ex-coworker pal Eric (hi Eric!) as being one of the best places in Busan for fresh seafood. It did not disappoint! Nick and I shared the giant platter of marinated raw seafood. They are known for marinated raw crab. My favorites were the clams and octopus. I liked the spicy crab but wasn’t crazy about the plain crab. The texture was just too funky for me.

I wish I had taken a better photo of the food because it was very beautifully presented. We were too busy digging in.

Millie ate white rice, a few pieces of seaweed, and one bite of bulgogi beef. I hope that by at least seeing us eat lots of different types of food she will be an adventurous eater some day.

I will leave you with some outtakes of the photo shoot. Her lips are red because we accidentally bought a tinted chapstick.