Charleston, Experience a mood of the South

On the way to Washington D.C in last December, I stopped over at Charleston, South Carolina. As you can see in the map from my posting dated February 5, 2009, Charleston is slightly East from I-95, the highway which I took to Washington D.C.. I don’t know why I should visit Charleston even though I had to take a roundabout way to my final destination. Maybe it’s because of romantic sentiments which come from the images of great cotton fields and passionate people of Sounthern cities. Charleston was an origin of Civil War and the center of the South at that time. I just wanted to experience an atmosphere of the South in Charleston.

I walked around Historic District in Charleston. The views of Charleston which I saw during walking were just beautiful. I could see lovely houses or beautiful churches on every corner and every street of Charleston. The most unforgettable scene is the European mansions along Copper River which has preserved the style of pre Civil War. They looked so antique and made the street views more attractive.
The first image is a picture of East Battery in Charleston and the second is a photo taken in the garden of one beautiful mansion in Charleston.

Have you ever met any celebrities?

Who is the most famous person among the people you have met so far?

As for me, it's Tom Cruise!!!
Several years ago, Tom Cruise visited Seoul, Korea for promotion of his movie."Vanila Sky" with his girl friend, Penelope Cruz. That was Saturday afternoon and I was on the way back to my house after work. I saw many women gathered in front of COEX, one of the largest convention centers in Korea and the reason why they got together was Tom Cruise!! I saw him just in front me and even shook hand with him. Although he was smaller than I expected, he was very very handsome and kind to fans gathered to see him. After that afternoon, I became a big fan of Tom Cruise :)

And last December, I saw another celebrities in Washington D.C. and took a picture with them. Guess Who? There is a hint in the picture. The white building behind us is White House. Yeah~~ Bush family!!!! We didn't know who they were when took a picture. Seeing the enlarged image, they looked like Bush family. My husband and I believe that we took a picture with Bush family :D

Beignet of Cafe de Monde in New Orleans

What comes across your mind first when you think of New Orleans

Jazz? Gumbo soup? Mississippi River? Mardi Gras Parade? Or POPEYES?

As for me, it's Beignet (French Donut) of Cafe de Monde in French Quarter, New Orleans. Cafe de Monde has been there for more than 50 years and it only sells Beignet and cafe latte.

I knew this donut from a Korean TV program named "Walk into the World" in March. This was my favorite TV program in Korea and New Orleans was introduced in March of the last year. Anyway, I can't forget the moment when I saw the reporter bit Beignet. The donut looked soooooooo delicious!!! I really hoped to taste Beignet some day but didn't know when it would be. The time comes earlier than I expected!

Last Decembr, on the way to Washington D.C. I stayed New Orleans for two days and went to Cafe de Monde early in the second morning to taste the unforgettable Beignet and I finally ate it. It was sweet and tasty but the taste was not special. Actually, Beignet was a plain donut covered with a mountain of sugar powder. Anyway, it's one of the funny memories in New Orleans to go to Cafe de Monde.

The Longest Travel in My Life

My husband and I came to Austin last September from Korea and have stayed here for 5 months. Before we came here, we have one wish which we can do only in the United States. That is Trascontinental travel!!! South Korea is such a small country as compared to the United States that it only takes about 5 hours to cross the country from West to East and 6 hours from North to South by car. We wanted to feel the vast of land in the United States, one of the largest country in the world.
In the mean time, we got a chance to realize our dream finally. My husband’s aunt in Washington D.C. invited us for Chirstmas and New Year’s holiday and we decided to go there by car not by flight. Although it is only half of the entire length of the continent from Austin to Washington D.C., it was enough to experience the vastness of the United States.

We traveled to Washington D.C. by car and it took two weeks for us to come back to our home in Austin. During the trip, we stepped on 11 different states: Texas, Louisiana, Missisippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Tenesse, Alkansas, and Texas again, stayed in six cities: New Orleans, Jacksonville, Charleston, Fairfax (surburb of Washington D.C.), New Port News and Dickson, and total distance we traveled was about 3,900 mile. That was longest travel in my life. Some details of this exciting travel will be posted in this blog.