It’s Time to Get Out the Suitcase

It’s Time to Get Out the Suitcase

I take a lot of time to pack.  I also usually pack way too much stuff.  But I like stuff.  You never know what you may need when you are away from home, and why wait to buy what you might need if you already have it and can bring it with you?  I am talking about Band-Aids and Neosporin.  Nail clippers and tweezers.  Ankle braces. A variety of plugs and adapters.  Wipes. Hand sanitizer. A hair dryer.  Laundry soap and softener.  If where you are staying has a kitchen, what about spices that you like to use?  Coffee and/or tea?  This last is pretty silly!  Why would you cook while you are on vacation?  But that’s why you booked an apartment instead of a hotel room!  Have breakfast and maybe dinner rather than spend a lot of money on meals in restaurants!  Sheesh! And the apartment is on a market street, so no need to stock up like we tend to do in America. When my nephew spent his junior year of college in Paris, I brought a huge box filled with Mexican food fixings for him.  We used some when I visited, and now I realize I was probably overly ambitious.  I also like to have a choice of clothing—what if it’s hot?  What if it’s cold?—so one of my challenges for this trip is to pack light, especially since there are a washer and a dryer in the apartment (see—need for laundry soap and softener!).

I started gathering odds and ends weeks ago.  I am trying to decide whether to put my vitamins and Rxes in little plastic bags, one for each day, or in a daily pill sorter.  When your baggage limit is 50 pounds or you are putting such things in a carryon, the weight factor can make a difference.

I am looking at a Ziploc bag full of plugs and adapters that are now just dumped on a table.  I need to match up my gadgets with appropriate plugs.  These also pack on the weight.  I bought a power strip that has places for 3 plugs and 4 USB connections, so do I really need to bring all the European plugs?  I tried out the power strip on a recent trip, and success was sketchy, but I think the problem was with the electricity in the hotel room.

Camera(s)!  Smartphones have become people’s main cameras of choice.  It is nice to be able to point, shoot, post (or not) all from one device.  Maybe phone cameras are useful for up-close and selfie shots, but I will rely on my Nikon(s) (always take a backup I learned).  Charge batteries and verify SD cards before I go!

Another challenge is to lighten the load I carry while wandering the streets of Paris with my travel partners.  I am guilty of carrying a larger bag because I figure it will carry anything I might purchase along the way!  I advised my travel partners not to use a backpack-type purse while out and about in the city.  Don't carry passports—instead, carry a copy and leave passports in the apartment.  Maybe use something small for a purse and/or something you can sling across your body so that the purse is in front of you rather than in back—carry only a camera, small amount of cash, a credit card or two (good to have two in case one is denied for some reason), and of course, whatever necessities.  My reasoning is that I stopped a pickpocket from getting into my mom's backpack purse while on the metro.  Pickpockets are usually at work in crowded areas like the metro, RER, and popular tourist spots.

A friend recently posted a news item about a new (that I know of) scam taking place in Paris.  Here is the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3007440/Footage-reveals-one-common-scams-tourists-fall-Paris.html

I have not witnessed the petition scam shown in the article but have witnessed the gold wedding ring scam several times. Unfortunately, there are a lot of these kinds of incidents going on around Paris.  On the way up or down to Sacre Coeur, there are men who have some kind of string that they tie onto your wrist trying to get money.  I have never fallen for this particular trap so I don't really know what all is involved.  When I had the opportunity to visit Florence, Italy, it was surreal to see many people trying to sell you things in the square, but if the police were sighted, all of a sudden the crowded piazzas emptied.

One final note:  Where the heck in the garage is the suitcase?