Gyeongju

Yesterday, as the culmination to a weekend dedicated to celebrating my birthday (a bit overly self-indulgent, aren't I?) several friends and I headed up the coast to Gyeongju for the annual cherry blossom festival. This past weekend is when the blossoms are at their most picturesque. The festival is well-known throughout Korea and consequently virtually the entire country makes its way to the (relatively) small city to flower-peep, turning the roads into a mess (as they are during any Korean holiday). In order to avoid what I had been warned would be little more than a giant parking lot on the highways, we decided to take the train, which only takes forty minutes. Once there, we rented some bikes and rode around the city taking in the breathtaking pastoral beauty that is Gyeonju during beotkkot season. We had lunch at a ssam bap restaurant, which Gyeonju is famous for, and then took another bike ride into the countryside before taking the train back home. Although I tend to detest touristy things and this was certainly one of the most touristy activities I've engaged in recently, it was well worth the trip and a perfect ending to what was a great weekend. Here are some more pictures of the flowers: