Contrary to what we had planned, we weren't able to set out early for our trip to
Petite France. We woke up pretty late -
around 10 am, I reckon - and it sort of took me forever to get dressed and put my makeup on. I was feeling pretty sluggish when I woke up on our first morning in Seoul; I guess my body was still feeling the effects of the very turbulent plane ride from the
previous day. Thankfully, my husband took over the chore of getting Yue dressed while I did my makeup.
By 11:30 am, all three of us were good to go. But first, breakfast at the nearest
E-mart. Well, brunch, actually.
 |
| You can never go wrong with McDonald's. |
Yue opted for good ol' Chicken Nuggets and french fries at
McDonald's, while my husband and I each had a serving of
tonkatsu and
omurice. This meal costs
8000 Korean won, fairly-priced if I may say, since the servings are huge and the food tasted great. I wasn't able to finish my meal though, because my stomach was still feeling a bit queasy.
 |
| Tonkatsu and omurice. |
To relieve my nausea, I took a bottle of
Bengdelong solution which I bought from the E-mart pharmacy
(think Watson's or Boots or CVS). I asked the pharmacist if they have something for
'meolmi' (motion sickness) and she gave me this 30 mL bottle with
'Bengdelong solution' written on it in English. Each bottle costs
500 won. This stuff is wickedly effective, I tell you. I was feeling good after thirty minutes of taking it. :)
 |
| Pan Cold on the left (for colds and cough) and Bengdelong Solution on the right (for motion sickness). |
After our tummy-fill, we made our way to
Gapyeong Terminal to catch the 1:30 pm ride of the
Gapyeong Tour Bus.
 |
| The Gapyeong Tour Bus. |
The tour course of this shuttle bus covers thirteen areas, including
Petite France,
Nami Island, and the
Garden of the Morning Calm. Passengers can get on and off the circulating course with just one ticket. Each ticket costs
6000 Korean won for adults and
4000 Korean won for kids and teenagers. It took us about an hour to get to Petite France, and when we got there...
 |
| Petite France! |
Pictures galore!
 |
| We made it to Petite France! :) |
 |
| Here's the entrance... |
 |
| And the entrance fees. |
Petite France is a theme park featuring small European-style buildings and characters from my favorite book of all-time,
The Little Prince. I first fell in love with
Petite France when I saw it on
Running Man, and made a promise to myself that I would visit the place if and when I go to Korea.
 |
| My little Prince meets The Little Prince. |
The dream finally came true! :)
 |
| Enjoying the sights and sounds of Petite France. |
 |
| Lovers in Paris (with a kid in tow). |
 |
| Lovely buildings become even lovelier at night. |
 |
| Hello from Planet B612! |
 |
| Bring on the baobabs! |
There are so many things to see and do at the Petite France. For starters, the Marionette Performance, which started a few minutes after we arrived at the place. Yue enjoyed the performance a lot! Too bad we weren't able to get close to the marionettes because the Ampitheater was already filled with kids when arrived.
 |
| Marionette Performance. |
For fans of antiques and figurines, there's the
Antiques Museum right across the Ampitheater. We didn't stay inside for too long out of fear that Yue might break something. Haha!
 |
| Antiques! |
They also have a
traditional French game house where Yue got to play pinball and table football with other kids. Can you see the big smile on his face? :)
 |
| Playing games and making friends. |
If you're a Kdrama fan
(like me), you'll be happy to know that the
Beethoven Virus Filming Location is kept the same way as it was in the drama. Here's the office of Maestro Kang Mae, complete with music sheets and all.
 |
| "You are all just my instruments!" - Maestro Kang Mae |
 |
| Maestro's music sheets. |
For fans of the hit drama
My Love from the Star, you can channel your inner Do Min Jun and Cheon Song Yi with this photo standee - one of the many so-called '
Photo Zones' inside Petite France.
 |
| We've been photobombed! |
 |
| Cinderello? |
 |
| Say fromage! |
 |
| My boys! :) |
There's also the Fountain Square surrounded by the Souvenir Shop, the Beyond Cosmetics shop, the European Doll House, and the Art Experience Room, where kids can paint their own Little Prince dolls.
 |
| Fountain Square. |
Oh, and if you love The Little Prince as much as I do, don't forget to swing by the
Saint-Exupery Memorial Hall while you're there!
 |
| Paying homage to Antoine de Saint-Exupery. |
I read somewhere that the CEO of Petite France is also a big fan of
The Little Prince, which is exactly why this theme park was built. Petite France is actually the only entity which has officially executed an international license agreement with the
Saint Exupery Foundation in France. How awesome is that?
 |
| Inside the Memorial Hall. |
And if you're finally tired from all the walking, sight-seeing, and picture-taking, you can sit back and relax at the
Outdoor Cafe or at the
Petite Terrace.
 |
| Petite Terrace. |
Much as I would want to enjoy the view of the
Cheongpyeongho Lake from the Petite Terrace, it was too damn cold outside. I reckon the temperature was around 6 or 7 degrees when we were there. Pretty cold for someone who grew up in the tropics!
 |
| Chillin' at the Maestro Gang Cafe. |
We opted to stay indoors at the
Maestro Gang Cafe where we had coffee and tteokbokki before heading to our next destination - Nami Island!
 |
| Coffee and tteokbokki! |
Petite France
Traveling is always so much fun. I love it when other bloggers share their journey's with content AND photos. I feel like I get a better feel of the area when photos are included and I love all of yours.
ReplyDeleteEven if you had a pretty off start during the morning, looks like you had fun especially when you got to Petit France! So nice!
ReplyDeletePetite France looks have a lot look alike place in France, I love your pics in Eifel tower.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had a wonderful day. I hope to visit it one day too.
ReplyDelete