Get Packing

I am a firm believer in packing light . . . however, I'm not always so great at practicing what I believe. I try, I really do, but I have to be REALLY mindful of it. One thing I've realized is that it's almost easier to pack light for a month long trip than for a week long trip - unless you're bringing a steamer trunk, there's no way a person can reasonably pack enough clothes to have a fresh outfit for each day for a month (I don't think I actually own enough clothing to do that if I wanted to), but it's totally possible for a week trip, and have room to throw in a couple of other options. So we're going into this trip knowing full well that we'll be doing laundry, not on a daily basis, but at least a few times. Or maybe not at all, depending on how far our standards of cleanliness fall as our trip wears on.

Here are our packing rules that we're (hopefully) sticking to:

1. Carry on bags ONLY

I'm a big supporter of only flying with carry on luggage (for a good explanation of why, see George Clooney's speech in "Up In the Air" - sums it up perfectly). First of all, it limits how much you can pack so you're forced to pack lighter than if you know you'll be packing a huge bag. Secondly, you save a ton of time not waiting around at baggage claim. Thirdly, who wants to start or end a trip with a lost bag?

The downside of this is toiletries, the whole one quart bag per person with no one container larger than 3 ounces - a giant pain if there ever was one. But there are tricks for this, too. Get solid alternatives whenever you can for what would otherwise take up precious space in your quart bag - bar soap instead of body wash, solid lotion bars instead of cream. Also, using the little refillable bottles for products is a big help (even if your moisturizer container is 3 ounces or less, will you really need that much on any one trip? Get a nice 1 ounce container and fill it up), and best of all, if you're traveling with a typical, non-product oriented boy, use any extra space in his bag for any overflow from yours.

2. Pack things that can do double-duty, if at all possible

This has never really been a worry on shorter trips, but for this one, I'm trying to get the most out of the little space I have, so I'm trying every trick in the book. Such as convertible pants that can be worn as long pants or capris/shorts, running shorts that can be worn for sleeping, hiking, or bike riding, light cardigans that can be layered to keep warm or allow you to cover your shoulders to get into a cathedral, and dresses that can be daytime sun dresses but can be fancied up a little for a nice dinner.

3. Fashion vs. Function

I'm certainly not the biggest slave to fashion (I like to be both comfortable AND warm), and maybe it's just me, but why are travel clothes so unbelievably ugly?!? I'm thinking mostly of ExOfficio, Royal Robbins, and some of the REI travel stuff. Everything is so frumpy, shapeless, and just plain hideous. I'd like to not look like I got lost on my way to a safari, particularly when we'll be visiting some of the most fashionable cities in the world. I don't care if they'll wash and dry in two minutes flat, or if you can't wrinkle them if you try, or if they're SPF 50+ - I'm comfortable waiting for clothes to dry, why would you try to wrinkle your own clothes, and we're also bringing sunscreen. I'd rather not stand out so blatantly as a tourist. Maybe this look has surpassed the white tennis shoes/baseball cap/fanny pack as the universal signal to pickpockets and scammers that a tourist has landed.

So how do you balance style with comfort and practicality? I'm not sure (yet), but my strategy so far is to have a few travel-esque items (convertible pants, ultra-light rain jacket, non-white running shoes) mixed in with regular clothes that I wear normally (sun dresses that won't wrinkle like crazy, tops that won't take 50 years to line dry hanging in the bathroom, nice jeans). I've got a mix of stuff that I know I like because I've worn it a ton, and some new stuff so I hopefully won't hate everything I've got in my bag by the end of the trip. I've also test-worn everything new to make sure it really is comfortable, and I've actually nixed a few items as a result - anything I'm constantly fiddling with or just can't get comfortable in when I'm at work is just going to cause me grief when it's one of three options to wear while traipsing all over Italy. Just not worth it, even if I love the color.

4. Shoes HAVE to be comfortable, not just cute

This is where I thought I would have an easier time, as I'm probably in the 99th percentile of women in that I hate shoes. I hate shopping for them, I hate high heels, and I hate being uncomfortable, because I walk a lot. So I'm really not the person who's sweating over whether or not I can cram in that cute pair of espadrilles or 4 inch platforms, or hoping gladiator sandals will be comfortable enough to walk around in all day. No, I'm wearing my trail running shoes and packing my Chacos, but I'm wavering on whether or not to bring another pair of (super light and flat) nicer shoes for nice dinners out. And a pair of casual but not sloppy black slip ons Privos. All four pairs are comfortable and broken in but not broken down, but . . . Four pairs of shoes will definitely not be packing light. I think I'll probably compromise and bring either one or the other extra, hopefully I won't cave at the last minute and bring all of them. At least I'm not a guy, since my shoes are small they won't take up half my bag or weigh 20 pounds.

5. Leave the library at home

I am a reader. Always have been, always will be. I can read anywhere from 1 to 4 books in a week depending on the book and depending on how much longer my commute is made because of traffic. Unfortunately, this volume of books is not an option. I will be bringing (gulp) one book. I will also be making Geoffrey bring one book, which I will read after I finish mine. I've heard a lot of hotels/hostels have book swap shelves, so with that in mind, I bought a second-hand copy of "Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James - I've never read it, it's over 700 pages long, and it cost me all of $7 so I won't feel bad about parting with it if I can swap it for something new. We've also got a bunch of audio books we can load onto our iPods (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series, and a few other random books) so I can always listen to a book if I run out of paper options.

6. Thank God for the iPod

I am also a music nut. This is now much easier of a need to satisfy than on my first Eurotrip, when I brought a bunch of mixed tapes and a Walkman (I know, it was a gazillion years ago). This was an easier option than bringing a bunch of CDs and my Discman, but still bulky especially if you factor in extra batteries, and in the end I probably ended up with 10 hours of music. Now, in the age of iPods, I can bring a tiny device packed with many, many hours of music, books, and podcasts, with only a small charger, which all together weighs less than half a pound and I can fit in my pocket. I love it.

With these ideas in mind, hopefully we'll be able to keep a good balance of packing light and bringing everything we need. Any other helpful tips?

Countdown to Spain

Five weeks and counting until we leave for Spain, our starting point. (Random side note: there really isn't an image or building that is instantly, internationally identified with Madrid - no Eiffel Tower, no Big Ben, no San Marco, no Sagrada Familia. The photo above is of Museo del Prado, courtesy of their website, which is one of the best museums ever, but I would guess most wouldn't recognize it without a bit of prodding. Kind of strange.) We'll spend two nights at a "hostel" a few blocks from El Prado, hence the photo. This will be the first of a few hostels we'll be staying at, though I'm not exactly they're hostels instead of hotels, since we'll have private rooms, even with private baths, at both of the ones we'll be staying at. I usually associate hostels with dorm style rooms and shared bathrooms, but neither of ours even have those options.

Something thing I've noticed while making travel arrangements is that staying in Europe (Spain & Italy, anyways) is really pretty cheap - keep in mind we're not staying at the Ritz, just centrally located hotels where we can sleep, shower, and keep our stuff when we're out and about. The "hostel" in Madrid, which is the capitol of Spain and a major city, and located a few blocks from a major tourist destination and Madrid's equivalent of Central Park, is only €55 a night. I think you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere to stay in New York City near Central Park and Museum Mile for under $100, probably even $200. It's pretty amazing, for roughly 29 nights of hotels, our average cost per night is $85. That includes 3 nights in Venice, where there really are not a whole lot of budget deals to be had, and 4 nights in Rome, also a little on the pricier side.

One of the ways I've managed to keep the cost down is going for rooms with a shared bath. Most rooms have a sink and mirror, you just have to go down the hall to use a shower or a toilet. And we will have a few bathrooms to ourselves, some places don't offer shared baths and/or were good enough bargains that I didn't feel the need to look around for a better deal. Plus, we'll be needing to do some laundry, which really is easier with an actual bathroom instead of just a sink.

So, we start with Spain - Madrid for two days, not much planned besides hanging out with friends who live there, visits to a couple museums (el Prado, la Reina Sofia), walking in Parque Retiro and checking out el Palacio Cristal (which is right in the middle of the park and I somehow managed to miss last time), eating some great food, and hopefully getting rid of our jet lag. After Madrid, we head on to Toledo for two nights, to see a stage of La Vuelta (Spain's answer to the Tour de France) which I know is a major highlight of the trip for the husband. After that, we head on to Italy, via a flight leaving at 7AM. Needless to say, that's the part of Spain I'm looking the least forward to.