We leave tomorrow and it has been a frantic time of finishing up everything that needs to be done. And this includes the packing. But I think I’m there! A lot of love came my way from my last post! Thank you so much for the great response, and all the questions and feedback!
So, in case you were wondering …
Questions and Answers
What is your itinerary? Our general itinerary has us visiting England, Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Wales, Scotland, possibly Ireland, and Iceland, though not necessarily in that order. The goal of this odyssey, as my husband so aptly called it (maybe he is more excited about this trip than I give him credit for), is to experience, enjoy, live and be … in whatever place we may be visiting. The time of year means less tourists and more choices and flexibility. We leave out of Seattle on the 3rd and arrive London where we will stay for a week. We found this cute little place through www.vrbo.com and look forward to making it our home-away-from-home during the short time we have in London. We plan to visit some museums and take in some shows and attend the London Youth Symphony.
We have one-way tickets to Seville, Spain on January 11th and will be staying here until the 16th. However, considering that the weather in Seville is currently in the mid to upper-60’s and we will be departing our part of the world where the temperature has been in the single digits and is currently 17 degrees, we reserve the right to stay longer than the aforementioned five days. That is the beauty of trying not to do too much and having lots of time … we have lots of options.
Did you get the Nomatic Travel Pack or Bag? I purchased the Nomatic Travel BAG. The bags are cleverly designed and have a variety of outside pockets for things like shoes, water bottles, travel documents, chargers and the like … things you want to be able to get to fast without having to open up your bag and rummage through your clothing and unmentionables. The strap system also easily converts from backpack to duffel bag.
Can you get the utensils set through security? and Why are you bringing your own utensils? Both very interesting questions and more than one person has expressed the same concern about the feasibility of getting the utensils through security. When doing research on must have items for this trip, a packable utensil set was on the list, but admittedly, most suggested a hard plastic or bamboo version. I thought I was being extra savvy when I found these on Amazon.com. And when I found these stainless steel straws, I thought I had reached a whole new level of genius (plastic disposable straws are a huge environmental issue). I think having our own utensil set could come in handy plus I like the idea of reducing our consumption and waste of disposable items. This is the main reason why I purchased them and packed them. I admit that trying to take a knife, albeit a butter knife with a serrated edge, through security, could pose an issue. And, as we are not backpacking through the wilderness nor are we foraging for our own food other than at nearby eating establishments and/or local markets … it raises the question … do we actually need them? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Will you each have a 2nd personal/carry-on item? Yes! Although the Nomatic Travel Bag is made with all those clever outside pockets making it easy to store those items you would normally carry in a small backpack or purse, I couldn’t do it! I have to have that second bag! Hubby and daughter each have one of those cinch sacks and I have a standard backpack and an even smaller sling purse for exploring that I can store inside the backpack, if necessary, for when we are traveling.
Books? I assume this question is asking either A.) are we taking reading material or B.) are we taking any travel book resources with us? We have two Kindle’s between the three of us on which we can checkout books from our local library or download purchased books. I am wondering how much time will be spent reading because we will be too busy experiencing! I am bringing ONE travel book … Rick Steves’ 2017 Western Europe Guide. Rick Steves recommends ripping a travel book like this apart and taking only the sections that pertain to your trip. I cannot do it! I can’t! So the whole book is going with us. I will suffer with the extra ounces. And read up on where I want to go next.
What airline(s) are you flying? Because we don’t have a definitive itinerary for our entire trip, the only airlines we currently have reservations on are Alaska, Iceland Air and Ryanair. I have done research on the different airlines that fly to our proposed destinations and it is likely we will fly on British Airways and Olympic Air at some point. This question came from a place of the weight of our carry-on luggage. While the Nomatic Travel Bag was made to, dimension-wise, accommodate any airline carry-on policy, weight is another matter. Of the airlines we will be or likely be flying, the most restrictive I have found is Olympic Air which restricts carry-on baggage to a weight of 17 lbs. (8 kg). I doubt we will be under that and may have to check our luggage on that flight for a small fee if we do it online at the time of booking.
Do you have a small travel towel? We do not. We will be staying in VRBO’s and towels should be provided.
Suggestions
I got a lot of amazing suggestions for additional items we might want to consider taking … everything from diaper pins to bandanas, all of which could be very useful! The following items are things we are taking that I neglected to mention in our list and that some commenters suggested might be handy.
- an electrical adapter for UK and EU countries – a necessity when traveling with any kind of electronics. This is the one I got from Amazon.
- a small journal for jotting down observations and information as we explore.
Another suggestion made was to make copies of important documents and take photos of those documents in case something were to happen. We have done this but it is an excellent reminder of good travel practice.
Reconsiderations
I decided that the telephoto lens for my camera was unnecessary so that has come out of my luggage. That was easy.
The utensil dilemma, however, has kept me awake the last few nights trying to decide what to do. Upon further research, I have read that “round-tipped butter knives whether or not made of metal” are actually allowable but that was from a 2013 regulation and things change too quickly in the airline travel for me to assume that this is still accurate. Further research indicated that NO metal cutlery of any kind would be allowed … but that was from an Australian government website. A good friend and travel aficionado insisted, upon seeing for herself, that the utensil set would get through security, reminding me that knitting needles get through with no problem. Since I don’t knit, I had to take her word for it and if I ever decided to take up knitting, I now know I can carry them on the plane, with confidence.
I have officially decided to err on the side of caution and have REMOVED the knives from each of the sets and will resolve to eating any locally purchased produce in its whole form.
It’s too late to do anything about whatever I don’t have and might need. But as I was reminded by several travel-savvy friends and family, we can buy virtually anything we might possibly need, so I will try not to lose any sleep over it tonight. The odyssey begins tomorrow!
Cheers!
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