When the boys were little, the family would sometimes travel with me on domestic travel but Suzy would always swear “never again” after she would be stuck in a hotel room somewhere with two toddlers. Fast forward to when I told her I had meetings coming up in Seoul. Seeing as she is obsessed with Korea and the culture, she quickly broke her “never again” mantra to take the family to Korea.

This was the first time Suzy and the boys had ever been out of North America (I’m counting the Bahamas as part of North America). Due to scheduling we only had a week in total for the trip. Believe me when I say, traveling halfway around the world in one week is rough but we made the most of the time we had there and crammed in a lot.

We got an Air BnB in Itaewon because of the prominence of English-speaking restaurants and shops there because of the U.S. Army base. The public transportation in Seoul is AMAZING, with clean, reliable trains and cheap taxis. Everyone was so helpful and honest, a point that was evident when Nate left his phone in the train station and we got it back within an hour!

Korea is an amazing country we had an amazing time. Our favorite spots included Insadong, the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Namdaemun Market, the N Seoul Tower, the Figure Museum, and a day trip to the DMZ. We ate as much local food as the boys could handle, including some good street food. I even developed an appreciation for kimchi mandu.

Suzy and the boys flew home right before my meetings started and I was able to tell my fellow meeting attendees all the places to visit and eat. It was great vacation and I can’t wait for them to travel with me again!