11 years ago Today, 17 years and happily ever after…
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August 29, 1999: The early morning our time alone together before our wedding and the small ceremony with family and close friends in Valebenedetta, Livorno in Italy. The Catholic ceremony and Korean tradition of after wedding ceremony: Pe Beck (Blessing time for new life together among direct family members)
I strongly believe in happy marriage. But there is something much more important beneath “Being married or Being together”. It’s “Living our Life together”. Creating our Life together. Sharing our Life together. Compromising our Life together. Healing our Life together. Making the Room for our Life together. Respecting each other’s individual Life together. Understanding 2 of us in One life together. Knowing how to Free the other half in One life together. Only “Being in Love” is not enough. Love is actually already given. The “Marriage Certificate” does not do it either. We both need and needed two deepest hearts and patience to contain the love, hate, pain, joy, envy, and anything else that can rise in any moment.
I cherish every moment with you Emi for last 17 years together and 11 years married to each other’s body and soul. I love you Emi. Happy Anniversary to us…..!
Birthday lunch, Livorno, Italy
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My Birthday lunch on August 10 in Livorno by the sea with Mom and Dad in law, Emi, Gael and me! As you can see we breath and eat sea food. What can we say?!! We are from the ocean and also as a Korean myself, I am raised on eclectic mix of fish and sea food as much as meat and all the vegetable we sport on every meal of the day. By the the way, it’s a really hot day in Livorno (I mean this crazy Heat Wave is happening all around the world)…! Gael’s hair is getting longer and longer and it’s so hot so I gave him a nice pony tail, ( he hates it though! He feels like he looks like a girl with a pony tail he says! haha)
Gosh, Gael’s appetite grows bigger and bigger. This is Gael’s only starter! He has pasta dish coming right up next.
Here’s my dish! Fresh Tagliorini ( more of linguini on this dish, Tagliorini should be bit thinner) with sweet scampi, musseles, vongole with tomato sauce with chopped Scampi meat. I think adding chopped scampi meat was super successful in this. It added ton of more flavor and great texture. Fresh chopped parcley, garlic… Yum Yum YuuuummmmMMM!
Emi’s. 2 grilled scampis and 2 grilled shrimps. Simple and delicious! Mom and Dad’s got grilled squid too.
Patiently waiting for Emi and Gael to be back…. See you next year Livorno!
Arriving at Isola Capraia, Italy
This small and beautiful Island Capraia is one of the seven sisters of the Tuscan Archipelago belonging to the province of Livorno (62KM) and the third in sizes after the Elba and Giglio and is also close to Corsica Island ( 30KM). The small port is full of little boats that work as ” daily water Taxi ” if you don’t have your own since there are no specific beaches on this island to walk to. So you need to rent one kind ( either that is 3 m boat or a rubber boat for some skin diving in most amazing crystal water rich in life and oddities) to get around the Island to do swimming and sight seeing.
Just 2 hour ferry ride from our home, Livorno ( 30 euro for both way), you can have an amazing day trip here even though I thought it would have been much better we stayed at the Island for one more day to also check out the little village on the top of the island. We only planned for a day trip in time for the return ferry. Well…now we have an excuse to go back to this little perfect Island next summer…!
Such a classical looking Bar/Gelateria at the dock. Blue awning is just perfect for the beautiful summer port…
Just right amount of people visit here. Not crazy touristy as Capri or Portofino. Low key and just beautiful.
Getting a day taxi (boat).
Woo Hoo! Leading the boat…! It feels amazing! Emi driving…! and the safety first for Gael even though he lost the vest half an hour later. Why? Caz we are swimming..!!!
My boys.
This volcanic Island Capraia also produces wines and is a center of the anchovy fishery. It is small yet packed with flourishing vegetation and full of Mediterranean species such as oleanders, asphodels, daises…
There isn’t any sand beach here on this Island and it makes Capraia quite special and it really encourages for you to have the boat for the day and just hang out on the boat at your perfect spot you love. It was a whole another kind of experience for me and Gael. Don’t forget to bring a cooler packed with paninis, fruits and chilled drinks. It’s literally a day picnic on the ocean!
We don’t even own a car so it feels very far away from us, but it wouldn’t be bad to have a yacht or even a tiny little boat for us one day. Go swimming with a picnic basket. Watch the sunset…. I think my brother would have really liked it….
That’s me jumping into the water, My hair standing… hahaha!
It’s deep deep water but its so crystal clear in this most amazing inky blue shade, you can see all the way down to the sandy bottom. The water is so amazing here. It’s different kind of transparency that you see from the Caribbean ocean. It’s crystal clear then also very silky and smooth then again so so clean. It feels like this… If you make sea salt out of this water, you would only get super fine sea salt not the rock salt… This extra salty Mediterranean water almost feels like sweet fresh water from a lake from a mountain somewhere…
I am so proud of Gael. Look at him how good he is at swimming in this deep Mediterranean ocean. He mastered swimming this summer! I didn’t swim until the 4th grade!
Too bad we didn’t think of bringing a underwater camera. There are ton of beautiful fish, more fish, Medusa….! SO amazing!! Medusa scared us bit then we were fascinated by them too. So beautiful!
Warm sun caresses your back and the gently rocking boat is the best situation you can fall in a sleep. Sweet delicious nap…. Ahhh… it is so relaxing hearing birds, clear sea breeze… It’s quiet and so peaceful…
Travel Buddies…
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My best friend, husband, love, travel buddy, Emi
The last afternoon at Barcelona!
La ruota panoramica: Effetto Venezia, Livorno
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It’s all about making up some time up with Gael and we are having many great little moments together and another year of Effetto Venezia in Livorno (a week long of important festival of performance, night market, food, art and people to celebrate the canals that remind Venice in Livorno) is just happening right now! And this time, Gael and I are determined to get on the Ferri’s Wheel! Hey, He’s a big 7 and I’m also about to be 38 so we both are big enough to do this and most of all our reunite in Italy after 2 weeks of not seeing each others, it’s a perfect thing to do together!
Bright orange lights and pink cars are just festive as the Effetto Venezia! And We are going to have good old hand made cotton candy for a after ride treat! So excite!!! Hand in hand, we are in the line for our exciting ride!
No worries… Gael’s right next to me holding my arms tight! We are going up!!!
Now watch Gael! Ohhh he’s scared and also excite!
We got on it 3 times in a row and had much much laughs together!!
I missed you so much Gael, mommy loves you…!
Home Coming; Livorno, Italy
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It doesn’t matter either I just landed or it has been like 2 years, Italy always feels like home. Italy IS my home. Including my mom’s house in Korea, or 5 star over the top amazing Park Hyatt in Seoul or my own home in Brooklyn last 2 week, I had the best sleep here in Livorno in my in-law’s humble home. I have this terrible jet leg from last 2 weeks of city hopping in Asia and New York, but I finally had real descent sleep here in Italy.
After 2 days of feeling like a zombie, now I finally feel like myself again, and after delicious Mediterranean well salted grilled fish and a big bowl of arugula salad, We are heading out to our little secret spot, ”Scogli the smooth rocky hill” for a peaceful afternoon at our home, Livorno.
Livorno got it all in terms of swimming spots from typical sand beaches with all the facilities like warm shower and tennis court, more exotic beaches like “Torre Mozza” where you need to walk along the longest trail of pine bush, white water beach ” Vada” or tucked in little natural rocky pools along the cliffs of coast line of Livorno. They all got their own charm and different taste. Today here we are at the rocky side where we can have all the relaxing afternoon with quiet sun and warm smooth rocks to lie down.
The water is crystal clear here with ton of sea creatures like Sea Urchin, Baby crabs, fish, star fish and anything else you can imagine. You can see Gael goes nuts over anything that moves under the water or over the rocks! It’s the best real wild life education for Gael.
The rock is so nurturing. It’s so so warm after refreshing swimming in the pool. The nature is the mother. Here me and Gael… and Emi enjoying the sun…
Over 40 hours of flight last 2 weeks, I felt fragile and much tired… Fresh salt water and amazing sun over the bed of smooth rock in Livorno WAS the exact thing I needed. Feeling much recharged. Love you home…!
Seoul Story 4: Sulong Tang!
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Rich milky beef shank and bone broth, “Sulong Tang” with Mom and Dad. We come here at least once when I’m in Korea now. The broth is simmered and prepared in enormous iron pots for days and nights sitting on traditional wood burning fire pits. There are multiple pots simmering and brewing this rich broth separated by parts of the cow this restaurant uses.
Here we have a core table of Korean Sulong Tang! Kimch, young green peppers and rustic miso paste to be dipped, finely chopped fresh scallion. Check out the soup! How milky that is. Sulong Tang is never served already seasoned. The broth is just water and cow bones that are boiled forever. You will need to season by using good old simple rock salt. Here this restaurant uses Bamboo Baked Sea salt which comes in bit of grey shade. What’s in the soup? Bits and pieces of meat, slices of Ginseng, mushroom. Clean and rich flavor. Actually this soup is ideal for cold winter days, it will fill you up and heal your soul…!
Gael turned to 7. Today. June. Twenty Eight.
I can’t believe the little one I squeezed out 7 years ago is now 45″ tall and speaks fluent Italian, ties his shoe laces, does his witty jokes, lost his first tooth moving onto the second one right next to it, has the heart full of love and all the coolness I don’t have to ask for… Truly blessed kid you are. Mom and dad love you. So much. Be who you are as much as you wish to be and how and why or whatever that would be. You will be always my Gael and our Gael. Like grandpa from Korea wrote you, fly as high and high as just like a helicopter he sent you would…!
August 29, 1999, Valebenedetta, Italy
I love you dad…!
Waaaaay, It’s so hot!!! A quick simple lunch in the garden! Yum Yum Yum!
2 organic graded Zucchini, half cup peeled and chopped shrimp, 1 organic whole egg, half cup flower, 1 cup seltzer water, sea salt, pepper. Make into a one big batter and pan fry into a individual size on a hot griddle with olive oil until the edge gets crispy and brown. Deeeeelicious! The dipping sauce here is mixture of water, soy sauce and white vinegar. Mix them into 1:1:1 ratio.
1 shaved cucumber, 1 table spoon white vinegar, drizzle of olive oil, sea salt and couple of ice cubes. This is So summery, crunch and delicious!
Enjoy the Summer!