Lessons Learned

19 November 2017.

No matter how many trips we take, we learn something new to apply to the next adventure. Just last week I learned I should have a packing list even going to Portland for two nights as I managed to pack the car and forgot to bring a jacket. In Oregon. In November. Hello, Columbia store! I did get a nice, new winter coat out of it.

Lesson 1: Packing

Packing is always a work-in-progress. I was very pleased with how much I managed to fit in my suitcase and keep the weight reasonable at about 22 pounds. For an eight-week trip I had 2 blouses, 2 long sleeved tees, 3 short sleeved tees, 2 jeans, one black pant, a lightweight cotton pullover sweater, khaki jacket, cardigan, jammies & undies. [See: It Fits.] One of the tees died in the first two weeks and I had to buy a fleece in Munich because I was sick of being cold. That heavy fleece made for some packing challenges as we moved on. And I found myself grabbing the same blouse, one L/S tee, and my two remaining SS tees over-and-over. I wished I’d had another cardigan instead of the khaki jacket. So, next trip, I already have a revised packing plan.

My wardrobe is about layering: 2 blouses, 2 long-sleeved tees, 2 short sleeved tees, 2 jeans, one pullover sweater, khaki jacket, jammies & undies. Wear on the plane: black stretchy pants, tee, & lightweight jacket.

My intentions were to class up my act and wear make-up more often. I wore make-up daily from the age of 13 to 62, so in retirement I seldom put it on. This trip was no different. Next time a little CC cream and mascara and nothing more for “dress up.”

We did take trekking sticks and were so happy we did. Definitely worthwhile and they do not weigh much.

Lesson 2: It’s OK to ship

We don’t buy too much when we travel, but I did acquire some nice table linens in Ortisei. Along with the fleece I bought in Munich and the one Ric bought in Ortisei when he hit a level of cold intolerance, the linens pushed us over-the-top and we had to break out the packable duffle. Ric had to schlepp that thing to Venezia and again to Assisi, along with his roller bag and day pack. Luckily it only weighed about 10 pounds. In Assisi we took the Umbrian oil we had purchased at a farm, the no-longer-needed trekking sticks, and the acquired linens to Mailboxes, Etc. Yes, it was pricey, but well worth getting rid of any weight we could since we still had a month of travel ahead of us. [See: Assisi is more than San Francesco for our shipping adventure.]

Not the stairs we had in London, but this staircase at Palazzo Braschi in Roma is rather dramatic, don’t you think?

Lesson 3: Check for stairs

We decided a few of years ago that we would no longer climb more than one floor with luggage. I think it was specifically during a trip to in 2014 when we had a place on the 4^th floor (5^th American) in Porto Santo Stefano. [See: By the sea.] It’s one thing to walk up-and-down without luggage, but if there is not an elevator we no longer stay where we have to walk up more than one flight with luggage.

Our last trip threw us two curves.

In Paris, the description for our “apartment on the 5^th floor with elevator” did not mention the elevator was for one person at a time! Whenever we returned from an outing (three or four times a day) we had to take turns going up one at a time. It was no problem to walk down, but up five flights (6^th floor American) was a bit much along with walking 7 to 10 miles per day.

This was our elevator in Roma when we lived there. It is HUGE compared to what we had in Paris this year.

In London I had reserved an apartment in a modernized building with an elevator. We stayed in the same apartment in 2015 and knew what we were getting. However, the landlord had to switch us to a different property [See: Wrapping up the Grand Tour.] when a problem caused by another vacation rental caused the condo board to change the rules. The new apartment was lovely except for the entry stairs (steep and narrow with a shallow tread) and the apartment stairs (twisting spiral with grab bars) which made it an adventure every time we exited or entered. It was only 37 steps, but it felt like exercising in the gym.

Always ask about the stairs.

Lesson 4: Never go more than 4 nights without having a kitchen

We made a last-minute change in our itinerary and instead of a week in an apartment in Roma, we spent 4 nights in a 5-star hotel in Pesaro and 3 nights in a B&B in Bra. Both places were enjoyable, although remarkably different, but what we missed was being able to dine in. We were forced to go to restaurants. That gets old. When we changed plans I should have worked harder to find an apartment in one or the other.

Lesson 5: Minimum one-week stays

It is not practical to spend a week everywhere. I would kill myself if I had to spend a week in Paestum, for example, as we found two nights too long there. [See: We have time.] We enjoyed getting to see Pesaro and Bra, but one-week stays might have been a bit much without a car. Still, we moved around too much in our eight weeks. We will endeavor on our future trips to pick bases and stay at least a week even if it means renting a car to take better advantage of the base. That would have been a good solution in Le Marche as well as Piemonte, had we stayed in one or the other for a full week.

Lessons learned in past travels

Long ago we adopted the practice of using a taxi upon arrival if our digs are not within a 10-15 minute walk of the station. We cling to this practice to make arrivals and departures less stressful.

Cooking (simple meals) while traveling is highly desirable. It saves money, but also calories and sanity. Restaurants get old and it is tiresome to have to find one every single night. In some countries it is damn hard to get enough fresh vegetables in a day. We relish having an apartment with even a miniscule kitchen so we are not forced into restaurant food for every meal. Salads and pasta are favorite limited-ingredient meals when we are traveling.

My brother and sister-in-law flank my favorite Roman tour guide, Sonia Tavoletta.

We use guides or guided tours to make the most of our time. We had only one day in Munich so having a guide was a perfect choice. A guide is also valuable to help with complicated sites (Pompeii, the Louvre, the Foro Romano) or to give the tour guide (me) a break. We used London Walks for the latter this trip and have used Paris Walks as well. Worth every centissimo or pence.

Feel free to skip something or change plans if our energy or interest level is just not there. We planned to go to Hampton Court Palace while in London, but we had been very busy and when I got down to the details of planning for the day trip, it was going to cost £75 for the train to-and-from and entry to the site even with a 2-for-1 deal. That and the better part of the day. We found our interest level in the site for that much money did not equate so we stayed in London and enjoyed other sights.

Sometimes we take a day off when we are traveling. Just do something little – maybe simply shopping and lunch – and then relax with a book or a movie and do the laundry. It is not a crime to do so. It is not a waste of time. It is “living local.”

Time to plan another trip! It remains to be seen if I can follow all of my own rules.

Tags: Packing, Travel Lessons