Hi folks:
So the weather is finally breaking here in Korea and that means I’m back out exploring as much as I can.
My friends and I decided to head out to Seoul to check out a few rooftop cafes that we heard about. The first stop of the day was to a small but very picturesq place called Seoulism. It was initially a little hard to find especially since there is a lot of construction going on aroung it. I took the subway to the Songpa stop (exit 2) and then had to catch a cab from there. You can also walk. (it was about a 20 minute walk but it was so hot) The sign on the front just says coffee and it’s mixed in a small strip of other businesses along a main road. (Address Songpa-gu, Songpa-dong, 48-7, Seoul)
There is usually a small wait since the rootop area is very small. They let people up as other people come out. In order to have access to the rooftop you have to first purchase a beverage. The beverages are a little pricey as far as cafe drinks go. (6,500-8,000 won) I purchased an iced caramel macchiato, my friends had the berry ade and the cookies and cream smoothie. The berry ade was really good so I highly recommend that. Once you are given your drinks you are allowed to take the elevator up to the 6th floor.
When you get upstairs, you think that you are in the wrong place. But once you walk throught he curtain to the left you are taken to the small terrace like area to enjoy your drink. You can then walk up another set of stairs to find the gorgeous photo spot with the lotte world tower in the background. To make your photos even better, there is a really cute “SEOUL” backdrop and even a chair to sit in. Luckily the photo area wasn’t crowded when we were there, but then again it’s not that big anyway.
We literally only spent our time taking photos and then we left.
Out next stop was on the opposite side of Seoul so we had about a 30-40 minute subway ride to Hongdae.
We made our way to the Sangsu stop (exit 1) to get to Contoyner cafe. It was about a 5 minute walk from the station to the cafe. Just like most cafes in Hongdae, it was a little hard to find since it is in one of the smaller alley ways. (Thanks to my friend’s naver app we didn’t get lost)
Contoyner is a super cute cafe that sells all types of trinkets and memorabilia from your childhood. In addition to this, they have a really adorable rooftop as well. Just like with Seoulism, you have to purchase a drink to get access to the rooftop. The drinks here are a little more reasonable in price. This time I had the lemon ade, my friends had the grapefruit ade and a green grape smoothie.
We made our way to the rooftop and WOW!! It was a rush of pastel colors and cute props perfect for a photoshoot with friends. We could barely stop to enjoy our drinks before we started taking photos. Again, there wasn’t a crowd when we went so we were able to take lots of pictures.
We spent about an hour or so here just taking pics and coming up with random ideas for new poses. I highly suggest this place for the photo opps alone.
We worked up quite an appetite after this, so we made our way back toward the Sangsu station and stopped at a cupcake shop called Chikalicious. We stumbled upon it on our way to the cafe, so we had to make our way back. They had a large assortment of cupcakes from salted caramel, red velvet, and even earl grey. They also serve banana pudding. We sat at the small bar and enjoyed a cupcake and the banana pudding. It was probably one of the best desserts I’ve had in Korea especially since Korean dessserts aren’t usually prepared the same as Western desserts.
Even with our cupcake tasting, we still needed to eat real food. Just like the cupcake place we stumbled on the Hongdae location of Nekkid wings. I had never been to the Itaewon location, but according to my friends this location has more options on the menu.
I decided the nuggets as my meal. The nuggets come with a choice of two dipping sauces. I had the smokehouse BBQ and classic buffalo sauce. We all were really impressed with the tastes. Getting actual Western flavor is very hard in Korea since they love to put their own spin on most things and it tends to mess it up. But this place reminded me of an upscale chick-fil-a! My taste buds were very happy.
As you can see we had quite an adventurous day. I have about 7 weeks left here in Korea before I return to the states. I plan to explore as much as I can between now and then. There is still so much to see before I leave so stay tuned.
Thanks for reading and Happy Traveling!
Broke And Abroad 