When Summer meets Fall | A day in Gapyeong County

One week in South Korea? I thought it would be a long vacation for me, but as I fly to that beautiful country without having a detailed plan of the places I'll visit, I realized that a week was a little short to explore different places. I was so busy at work that I thought I could just plan my itinerary on the plane, well, to the best of my ability, I was able to plan the day that I'll spend in Gapyeong county. The place seems so unfamiliar, that's me when I was doing my "research" of the place. Well, the county is very famous, for it is where Nami Island, Garden of Morning Calm, and Petite France are located. There are a lot of beautiful and known places to visit in Gapyeong but those three are the places [I thought!] I could visit in a day. To save you the trouble, I'll just be sharing my experiences and the good things I have seen in Nami Island and Petite France. Since I was not able to factor in the possible changes of the bus schedule within the county, I had to leave out the Garden of Morning Calm. 😔 I promised myself I'd be back and maybe spend a few days in Gapyeong. The place was just so beautiful that I mean to go back.

August of 2019, I already had some fair share of Korean dramas I have watched and loved dearly. That's why I was so excited when I booked a flight to the land where those dramas where filmed. Also, I am such a friend of Nature, that's maybe why I wanted to travel from Seoul and ride a ferry to Gapyeong county.

The first stop. The place was like a warm embrace for me, it was literally an island isolated from the county. I had to ride a ferry to go and leave the place, although, you can choose to go back to the bus station through a zip line. Lanes of trees adorned the island, a copy of the map was given as we alight at the port. This place was famous for the scene in Winter Sonata that was filmed here, unfortunately, I haven't really watched that drama. There are a lot of activities you can enjoy in the island like riding a bike/scooter, watching the busking musicians, eating [there are a lot of good restaurants you can choose from], walking and just enjoying the fresh breeze of the lake. As for me, I just took my time and walked around the island.

Summer was supposed to end at the time of my visit. When I arrived in Nami Island, what I noticed at the instant was the color of the leaves. The color was starting to change. Some leaves were turning to yellow and some were already in the shade of orange to maroon — the colors of Fall. As I enjoy the sight of the trees changing their colors, I realized that at that moment, the bright summer is about to meet the tranquil fall. It was a beautiful sight to behold. How I wish I could see the meeting of two seasons at a longer period of time.

Even those lane of trees that are still basking in the the summer's sunshine looks so beautiful with their lush leaves. On some areas on the island, I saw gardens where little flowers bloom. The view of the mountains on the other side of the lake was so good to stare at, if I remember, I spent a few minutes just admiring Nature from where I was standing.

The place was just so lovely that even though I wanted to stay longer, I had to move to my next destination. After having lunch, I went back to the bus station only to find out that we missed the bus by a few minutes. I went to the nearby convenience store to quench my thirst and buy one of my favorite drinks — the banana milk shake. I think I chug a lot of those during my stay in South Korea. It was still quite warm during the day and the banana milk shake did a great job as a refreshment.

The last stop. I haven't finished reading the Little Prince when I went here (and I'm still reading the book until now), but I had a few times of reading the first pages of the book. Even with just a little knowledge and fondness of the story of the Little Prince, I still enjoyed everything that I've seen in Petite France. The place looked like a tiny French village with the view of the lush mountains.

I was welcomed with the ambience of a small town where you can buy some good finds on the street. The place was much colorful compared to the French villages I've seen from the Internet. The whole place made me feel like a little kid being welcomed to her own village.

Aside from taking a leisure walk around, you can also watch shows in the theaters within the village. I was able to catch a show about musical instruments and a terrific performance of a puppet master. There was also a museum within the village where miniatures and antiques were on display.

Everywhere in the village, I saw traces of the little prince. I even bought myself a post card and sent it to my address at my home country. I've been doing that on my travels, having something I'd be able to keep and remind me of the wonderful times I had when I went to that place. It's actually so fun since it takes a few months before I receive the post card that I send. You may want to do that too, it's like a gift you give to yourself.

A few months later my travel, I started learning French. One lesson led to another and I found myself buying a copy of the Little Prince book in French. 😅I've been having fun reading the book and of course I'm having a hard time understanding the story. Nonetheless, this travel, pointed me to another destination. Someday, I hope I could travel to France and see some French villages, just like this one in Gapyeong county.