Article by Kim Eun-jung, Ten Asia
Image Credit: EBS 'Gwak Jun-bin's World Culinary Restaurant 3'
In the latest episode of EBS's 'Gwak Jun-bin's World Culinary Restaurant 3', Gwak Jun-bin encountered a series of misfortunes right from the beginning of his trip.
On the broadcast that aired on the 4th, Gwak Jun-bin's journey took him to the gourmet country of France.
Upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, Gwak had planned a three-hour buffer for his layover. However, due to a delay in his previous flight, he was left with only about one hour to make his connection.
Gwak expressed his frustration, stating, "I have a layover to Toulouse, but time is tight. The airport is large, so transferring is quite complicated. Various misfortunes hit right at the start." To make matters worse, he mistakenly headed to gate 2E instead of 2F, necessitating a frantic dash through the airport.
After searching around the Paris airport for some time, Gwak commented, "It took about 15 hours to come to Paris from Korea. I wanted to get to Toulouse comfortably, but I ended up sweating profusely. It feels like a blessing in disguise." He also joked, "Now that I'm in France, even regular bottled water is Evian."
Choosing the southern French city of Toulouse as his first destination, Gwak explained, "It's a region bordering Spain. I wanted to meet truck drivers. I decided to meet a truck driver in Carcassonne and spend some time with them."
After approximately 30 hours of travel, Gwak found himself standing on a train to Carcassonne with no assigned seats. He remarked, "Without any announcements, I need to keep an eye on the stations," but shortly after made the audience laugh by being dubbed "the travel YouTuber who doesn't know Europe well" due to the unexpected announcement.
Upon arriving at the station, Gwak asked a taxi driver if there were any decent restaurants nearby. The taxi driver pointed to a restaurant close by but advised, "It's nearby, so don’t take the taxi."
Due to the 35-hour workweek of French restaurants, most were closed, and Gwak couldn’t hide his urgency. When he attempted to order a course meal at one restaurant, he realized, "In Europe, you have to wait until your order arrives," and shot a desperate look.
However, just ten minutes before the break time, the waiter informed him, "The kitchen has already closed. You can only order drinks." Having failed to place his first order, Gwak headed to a nearby café and ordered a jambon-beurre (ham sandwich).
Regarding his first meal, Gwak noted, "The ham is delicious, but there's too much basil. The milkshake tastes like warmed-up milk," while grimacing at the taste.
Meanwhile, EBS's 'Gwak Jun-bin's World Culinary Restaurant 3' is a travel program that focuses on visiting eateries abroad and the process of befriending locals.