I seriously love to travel, but I even more seriously need to learn to pack! I just got back from an amazing three-country trip and my back is killing me. Not only did I have a mid- to large checked bag, but I had my carry-on roller bag, a duffle bag, and a handy backpack!
It was ridiculous.
We were on planes, buses, vans, trains, and more planes, and everywhere that Julia went, all those bags went too.
I felt like a pack mule. And probably looked like it too! Thank heaven for the chivalrous men who offered to lift all that stuff into the overhead compartments because I’m not sure I could have. There was a fella on the train from Paris to Amsterdam who helped me when I got on, but boy, did he hightail it out of there when that train stopped. I think he may have pulled something with the duffle bag!
In my defense, when I checked the weather for the three cities we were visiting— Paris, Amsterdam, and Venice, every source said the nights got really chilly and down to the low 40s. So out came the coat and sweaters for nights.
Two nights in Paris were cold enough for sweaters and I think I only wore the coat once when it rained.
The rest of the time it was around 75-degrees so naturally we had to shop for lighter clothes. And those lighter clothes had to fit into our already overstuffed luggage for the rest of the journey.
I don’t know what happens to me when I’m traveling…I guess I try to prepare for anything, which is also insane. It’s never outer Mongolia I’m going to…I’m always going to cities with shops and drug stores and places that will sell me anything I may have forgotten. But…an ounce of prevention, as my dear granny used to say, is worth a pound of cure!
And speaking of “cures,” I’m getting really tired of these MEN giving out “Ted Talks” and “YouTube” videos on how to pack light. I watched one where the fella, a man of about 50 or so, went on and on about how he traveled for a week with just a backpack.
Of COURSE a MAN can do that. This backpack guy was going to several conventions, so he wore his suit on the plane. He stuffed his freshly laundered and cellophane packaged shirts into the backpack hopefully along with some fresh undies. He had NO TOILETRIES! He even bragged about how he just “used the shampoos and soaps provided by the hotels.”
WHO does THAT?
I want to see a woman “of a certain age” do one of those packing seminars. I want to see someone over 50 who wears makeup and does her hair and has an entire morning and evening skin care regime show me how to travel with a backpack!
HA! I need the backpack for just the lotions and potions and hair care products! I have SERUMS for crying out loud! Hair serums, skin serums…BODY serums! Serums and lotions and creams and toners and that’s not even including the eye shadows and lipsticks!
I only take my carry-on case FOR my toiletries— and, well…my accessories. My husband, Marty, says I don’t need “all that shiny stuff” when I travel and he may be right…but as Olympia Dukakis said in Steel Magnolias, “the only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.”
And accessorizing is my specialty! I just love a good earring/necklace matchup or how the right scarf can just perk up any outfit! A cheerful hat placed just right on the head can change a pair of jeans and a turtleneck into quite “the” outfit!
Marty sauntered into our bedroom as I was sorting out my jewelry, scarves, and hats for this trip and looked at the bed where I had everything all laid out in nifty little sets. He began to count the necklaces.
“So…eight long necklaces and four short ones, Julia? Really?”
“Well yes, Marty…I mean I have to think ahead you know…three countries is a lot. I want to be prepared.”
“Prepared for what? A jewelry thief?”
“Noooo, Marty…prepared for looking my best in each country. After all….the styles may be different in each one.”
“Oooh…so I see now… you need different accessories for each country, right? And I’m assuming different outfits as well?”
“Well…yes. I don’t want to be wearing the same thing for the entire trip. If it works in Paris, it may not work in Venice, don’t you see?”
“Oh yeah…absolutely. I get it. You think that if you wear something at the beginning of the trip in Paris that maybe the Italians will tell the French if you wear it again at the end of the trip in Venice? And then what? You’ll be kicked out of the country? Banned from ever going to Europe again?”
At that point, I escorted him out the door with a kiss and a hug and returned to sorting and sifting of my jewelry and scarves. If he couldn’t understand the importance of accessories, there was NO WAY I was going to let him see the toiletries I was taking!
His idea of travel-hygiene maintenance is a toothbrush, a razor, and a bottle of Three-In-One bodywash/shampoo/conditioner.
I’m just saying…
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