During our recent group trip to France, I made note of those things I packed that proved invaluable to me. We always prefer to carry on (because dragging tons of luggage all around France for 3 weeks is not fun) but I knew we would be dealing with flying overnight, trekking over cobble stones, some hiking and biking, and the likelihood of some variations in weather so I had to pack wisely. Since many of you will be out and about in the coming months, I thought I would share my top 5 clothing items that were lifesavers to me; you may want to pack some or all of them for your next trip overseas.
1. Dansko booties: Ladies, this is my fourth trip with these fabulous shoes and I can’t say enough about them. These incredibly comfortable and sturdy booties (made by the company that makes nursing shoes) have protected my feet from blisters and soreness and inclement weather during long days of walking miles over cobble stones in quaint villages, climbing up and down hundreds of slick and uneven stone steps in the rain during castles tours, and even in the desert sand in Jordon and Israel. I wore them every single day during our 3-week trip and my feet felt great! (And yes- I also brought cute, low heeled shoes for dinner in the evening).
2. Silk Long John top- Like us, you may encounter some chilly and rainy weather on your next adventure. My silk long johns live in my luggage (silk ones don’t take up any room at all) and kept me warm and toasty under a sweater and jacket, even on the chilly beaches of Normandy.
3. Warm, turtleneck sweater- for those days and nights when the temps drop, you will be so happy to layer up. There were days I layered a spring top with a sweater and jacket for the morning, by mid-day had the jacket around my waist and the sweater in my backpack and by p.m. was layered back up – thus I was comfortable for a full day of touring.
4. Puffy Jacket- I have one of those jackets that come in a small bag (think sleeping bag) that has traveled the world with me. It doesn’t take up much space in my luggage but is very effective at keeping me warm.
5. Water resistant rain coat- I forgot to pack this item and found out the hard way that my puffy jacket can only repel just so much rain (insert sad face here). Thankfully, we were in the medieval walled city of Saint Malo and the shops were filled with cute, water-resistant rain coats because it rains a lot there and I was not the only tourist who forgot her raincoat. So, I have a cute and useful souvenir from France
Remember dear friends, “Packing light is packing right!”