100 Things I Love About Korea: #75 - Alameda

As far as I know Alameda is the first restaurant in Cheonan to serve western style breakfast food.  Not to knock McDonalds, but a McMuffin can only go so far in restoring the feelings of home.
Alameda is a small, owner-chef cafe near the Galleria.  Look across the street for the Cafe Bene and keep walking in a straight line.
The atmosphere is simple-chic, and the food is very good.  The owner serves as chef, and his girlfriend is the friendly waitress.
Sarah ordered the Alameda Brunch - with pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, and - oddly - a small garden salad.  Even giving it the bonus of being the only place to get Western breakfast in Cheonan, this was still a very good meal.  Everything was well prepared and well presented.
I ordered the grilled mushroom salad, and I have to say that it was the best restaurant salad I've had in Korea.  (I have to add that restaurant caveat because my sister-in-law makes a mean spinach-pecan-strawberry salad which may be the best I've ever had anywhere.)  The greens were varied and fresh.  The mushrooms were also varied and well seasoned.  There were even chunks of fresh cheese.
Even the music was great.  The only downside to Alameda is the price.  Plan on paying around 15,000 a person.  At that rate, it's a little to much to become part of our regular circuit, but when we get the hankering for pancakes, waffles, or knock-out salads, now we know where to go.

100 Things I Love About Korea # 46: DaeCheon Beach

It's not Hawaii, but we like it.  DaeCheon Beach is a nice little beach on the west coast of Korea.  It's easily accessible by train or bus for anyone from Seoul to Daejeon.
We have been going a few times a year for 8 years, and we always stay in the same place: Gaemi Chon Pension (개미촌) - literally,  "Ant Village." But don't worry; we've never had problems with ants.  It's a quaint little family run condo with about 8 private rooms and one small house for groups.  The owner operator is a sweet old woman, and they always take good care of us.  You can stay late if needed, and they will set up the barbecue grill for you any time you want it.  Prices are very reasonable, and this is on the quiet side of the beach.  
We always try to visit in the spring or fall.  Summer can be kind of crowded unless you go on a weekday.
Also, don't forget to walk on past the ends of the beaches.  On the north end, there is a quaint little fishing village, and you can pick up all kinds of sea glass on the rougher beach there.  On the south end, you can hike over picturesque rocks with crashing waves.

If you like festivals and parties, you'll want to come during the Mud Festival.  But when we vacation, we're usually trying to get away from crowds, so we've skipped this one - despite the allure of a good reason to get muddy.  Instead, we hit up the bathhouse at the south end, where one of the options on site is a private mudding, where you can drench your whole body in the famous DaeCheon Mud and then let it bake in the sun.  You've got to get the sand off before making the trip back home, so you might as well relax in a hot tub along the way!
Good times.