The Cafes of My Dreams

Actually! They don't have to only be part of my dreams anymore! Korea is home to many weird things... they embrace certain things and they shun others... God forbid you blow your nose in a restaurant or cafe.. but PLEASE put on wedding dresses, entertain the cats and don't let them eat your snacks or drink your coffee!!! Beware, the latter is easier said than done!

Cat Cafe, Jeonju

No, you do not drink cats at this cafe. You do eat them though.

Calm down, I'm joking!

So at the cat cafe, you buy a coffee, smoothie, tea or waffle and pet cats for as long as you'd like (err... until it closes and employees kick you out!). Sounds strange.. and it kind of is. There were

cat houses and scratch posts and toys and heaters everywhere. It was a very tiny cafe and not as froufrou as the ones in Seoul or 'legit cities'.. but it served it's purpose and we got to swoon with

all of the kitties. I've honestly never been around pure bred cats and these cats seemed so.. rich and snotty compared to my stray lovebugs I used to have! They didn't even PURR! It was crazy.. I guess they get so much love from the people who come through the cafe every day, that it's old news to be petted!

Soon.. I will venture to a dog cafe (and a nicer cat cafe).. I know where one is in Myeongdong, Seoul.. so it's a must the next time I go up there!!

The picture below was a prime photo-op at snack time... they weren't like this the whole time. They were more spread out, and wandering around.. getting into mischief of course!!

Wedding Dress Cafe - Party Princess Cafe, Seoul

I surely didn't type that one wrong folks! I know what you're thinking.. trying on wedding dresses before you're engaged is bad luck.. so I suppose I jinxed myself but, how can you resist the opportunity! I find myself saying this A LOT in Asia!! This part of the world has so many things to offer, SO many things to try and I for one am going to take full advantage!

Korean girls (::cough:: and boys!) LOVE to be girly, dressed to the max and have their picture taken! WHO doesn't like that?! ...erm.. every once in a while!!! My friend Chelsea first told me about these alleged Dress Cafes a week or so ago... and I fully didn't believe her... we researched it, and found a few in Seoul (I'm sure they have them all over!). I found a couple of blogs about people's adventures there, and it looked beyond enticing! We were SO excited to go. I still didn't quite 'believe' you could actually do this, until I had a wedding dress ON!

So we took the subway to Euljiro 1 Station, found the Ibis Ambassador Hotel, beside the hotel there was a connected building with restaurants, cafes, shops.. and within that there was Party Princess.

AMAZING!

That's what we kept saying, anyways.

So here are the steps we went through:

1.) Relax

2.) Order a bev.. strangely enough they had zero coffee, but they had teas, smoothies, hot chocolate, etc.

3.) Drink your drink, relax, sneak pictures of the cute Korean couples that are dressed in a bridal gown and tuxedo, taking ridiculous pictures together

4.) We were ordered to finish our drinks, use the bathroom, do our hair and do our make-up pre-wedding dress... so we followed orders

5.) Choose a dress from the $4 (2 dresses to choose from), $10 (6 dresses to choose from), $15 or $30 category(lots of dresses to choose from, also some formal dresses)

(we all went with the $10 dresses of course, a little worn/dirty, but served their purposes.. and of course the PRETTIEST dresses were the $30 ones.. that's what all of the Korean girls went with!)

6.) Go to the fitting room and be pinned into the dress (none of them had zippers.. so they were one size fits most! Superb idea!)

7.) Add a tiara

8.) We were told the store was our playground.. so play we did!

I can't even begin to describe how much fun we had! I don't know why people don't do this more often.. although I'm sure those who live in Seoul take full advantage!! I'm definitely not in a rush to put on a 'real' one though.. glad I got any sort of desire out of the way, so I can take full advantage of my youth!!! :) Amazing! It literally felt like Alice in Wonderland.

And the Korean couples that were there were SOO adorable. They don't really show PDA (especially no kissing) in public.. so when this 19 year old couple asked me to take their picture (while he was in a tux, and she was in a gown), I offered to take a few more, they did a super cutesy one.. so then I said, OH! Idea!! KISS!! and the boy immediately went blush, said no no no no no (and I'm thinking.. what are you brother and sister then?! Of course forgetting about the whole cultural difference thing) and finally after a minute of convincing, and the girlfriend wanting to.. they do.. he blushes like crazy and turns around in the corner hiding. It was HILARIOUS!

The Hello Kitty Cafe

This cafe was EVERYTHING Hello Kitty.. from the cups, to the napkins, to the seats, to the mirrors, to the wall cut outs, to the figurines, to the tables... I think you get the point! :)