From Seoul to California...

Despite spending nine nights in California, there’s very little photographic evidence of what a great time I had. Somehow I failed to get a single photo with my parents, who spoiled me by taking me to lots of amazing Asian restaurants, shopping and to the movies, nor with Eden, who took me to a nice Korean restaurant. 

At least I managed to get a few photos of my beer tasting with Mike.

Leigh joined us, but opted for wine instead...

...but was happy to accept a new shirt from the beer distributor.

Another Trench Coat Shoot...

The Biern crew clearly liked seeing Ashlynn in this trench coat as they posted lots of versions on Istagram.

While I Was in California...

The following day, Ashlynn had a shoot for a new ready-to-wear company called Biern with the motto: Simple, Versatile and Creative.

These first two are behind-the-scenes shots.

These are just a few of the final shots chosen for the lookbook.

Final Moments in Seoul...

There was an incredible assortment of affordable face masks available in Seoul, so Ashlynn and I did several during my stay.

On our last night we did these incredible foot masks.

For my last lunch, we went to a dumpling place...

...which steamed the dumplings outside.

It was a really great visit and it was hard saying goodbye to Ashlynn when she walked me to the airport shuttle stop. Along the way to the airport, I saw this cool example of old Seoul meeting modern Seoul...

...and this big red bridge. Traffic was light so I got to the airport very early. Luckily it was a very nice airport complete with performances by live musicians. Next stop: California

Everyday Life in Seoul...

It’s always fun to take photos of everyday life, such as this beauty salon customer taking a walk while waiting for her hair to dry...

...funny little cars parked on a roof...

...deep-fried whole chickens...

...seaweed and wasabi fake Pringles...

...the local cardboard recycling company...

...and an overflowing bike store.

Interesting Bathroom Signs...

It’s always fun to see how different cultures explain their bathroom customs. This sign wasn’t the only one to show what to do with toilet paper...

...although this one was missing the happy toilet. 

All of the subways stations had free, clean restrooms, but I only saw one that was apparently “safe.”

There were also signs reminding people not to step on the toilet...

...and not to vomit (although I spotted this on a fence in the restaurant district in Itaewon instead of in a restroom).

The Most Amazing Library...

That night Ashlynn and I went to Coex Mall, Asia’s largest underground mall which also contains COnvention centers and EXhibition space, in Gangnam.

We walked all over the giant mall in search of dinner, but vegan options were pretty limited. Rather than having Korean food on my final night, we had Thai. After dinner, Ashlynn was thrilled to have a stroopwafel made the traditional Dutch way.

By far this was the coolest place we came across.

At first glance it looked like a bookstore, but it was actually the Starfield Library, housing over 50,000 books.

Especially cool was this huge sculpture made out of books.

Imagine our surprise when we happened upon the magazine section and found the newly published Noblesse magazine featuring Ashlynn’s A Strange Show editorial that had been shot only two weeks earlier.

Even more lucky was that the library’s copy had a sticker on it from a bookstore in the mall, where I was able to purchase their only copy of the magazine.