Provincetown, MA - May, 2012

Located at the tip of Cape Cod, this town that once was noted for its fishing and whaling and was populated by Portugese fishermen, is now noted for its tourist industry. Here's how Wikipedia introduces the town:

A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of just under 3,000, Provincetown has a summer population of as high as 60,000. Sometimes called P-town or P'town, the town is known for its beaches, harbor, artists, tourist industry, and its status as a vacation destination of gay men and lesbians.

So there you have it. It's also a great place to go whale watching, and walking around all the interesting shops and the harbor is fun in itself. 

There is still a fair amount of fishing that takes place here, but not on the Finger Piers :-).

 

 

 

The Harbor Master gets some assistance from the ever-present police.

Shops are quirky and unique.

 

 

And art and artists are everywhere.

We did not go whale watching this trip but I've posted a link from 2009

that has a few nice shots of a humpback from our whale watching boat ride. 

Massachusetts 2009 - humpback whale photos

Locals tend to avoid P-town in the summer but our niece kindly consented to take us. We had lunch near the water and were later treated to a Portugese pastry. 

 

It's a fun town, indeed.
 

Seoul, Korea - 4/5/12

After our morning visit to the Korean Village (previous post), our host, Steve, gave us a walking tour of Seoul.

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We strolled through the grounds of old Royal Buildings, learned a bit about King Sejong, and appreciated the modern/ancient contrast.

Admiral Yi-Sun greeted us at Gwanghwamun Square, where in the far distance you can glimpse Gyeongbokgung Palace, and the "Blue House," the Presidential Residence.

Walking down the square, we passed Admiral Yi-Sun,

and the American Embasssy, where I grabbed a photo before I was waved off by an embassy guard.

We approached and walked through the gate to the palace, where we just missed the changing of the guard.

But we didn't miss this, protest Seoul-style. Demonstrators were "guarded" and hidden by this police line. A few people were holding microphones over the police to record what was being said, but it was lost on us. Our host was not encouraging about me taking photos and video but I got a few off :-)

Seoul Demonstration video - mostly people & police milling about.

Along with Steve, JJ met us at the hotel to escort us to dinner, complete with plum wine and soju.

Afterwards, we found Michigan represented, and were treated to a one-hour massage. Tomorrow we take the train to Busan.