Our friends, Michael and Kristin, were hosting a New Year's Eve Fondue & Wine Party! We all had a great time cooking our meat and veggies...and dipping it into the delicious cheese and chocolate fondue they made.

Jason & Anna

B & D
The Girls: from L to R: Anna, Rebecca, D, Stephanie, and Kristin!

Michael and Kristin --the hosts!

We love fondue!

You can barely see the little house in the background that houses the city bell. Due to the old main city gate being burned down last year by a crazy farmer, many policemen were protecting the bell. Bosingkak in Insadong houses the city bell. It is only rung on New Year's Eve when large crowds gather to celebrate. According the Lonely Planet, "In Joseon times, the great bell was struck 28 times every night at 10 pm to ask the heavens for a peaceful night and to signal the closure of the gates and the start of the nightly curfew, which was enforced by club-wielding watchmen. It was struck 22 times for the 33 Buddhist heavens at 4 am, which signalled the start of the new day when the gates were reopened. It also sounded when fire broke out."

Anna & D waiting for the countdown!

Cheers!

It was a super chilly night!

B trying to talk to the guards.

B & J about to shake up the bottle!

Whoohooooo~

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1--Happy New Year!

Taking a walk by the city stream!

A video of the countdown! B shook up the bottle of cava to clear the crowd. I felt bad for the young policemen who were covered in it. It was even legal to light roman candle fireworks in the city--It was a lot of fun! There's really no city event here that takes place without a protest. Check out the huge flags in the background. I'm not sure what these guys were protesting.