Let’s start with
shoes—comfortable shoes! I have
bought shoes to wear and when I reached my travel destination, found that the
shoes are not that comfortable. Did I
break them in ahead of time? Probably
not. Or, let me rephrase that, I took
them on a trip to break them in for another trip. I got blisters right away, so those shoes
were a no-go even for that trip.
One time, I wore a pair of shoes on a trip, and they were
the only shoes I had. I wore them
regularly, so I thought these would be the best shoes for the trip. My initial motivation for having only one
pair of shoes was that I was going on my first Rick Steves tour. If you are not familiar with Rick Steves’
travel advice, he says to just take a carry-on bag as your only luggage. I tend to pack too much anyway, so I was
going to do it! I was going to travel
abroad for two weeks with one pair of shoes and whatever would fit in my
carry-on.
Turned out to be a very stupid thing to do for a variety of
reasons, first of which were my feet!
Rick Steves tours are action-packed.
You are on your feet much of the time.
When you look at the itineraries for the tours, they tell you how
strenuous the walking will be. I am not
in that great of shape to begin with, even though I vow to get in better shape
every time I plan a trip. By the end of
the week, I could barely stand to stand.
After the Rick Steves tour, I met my niece in Paris for a week. We spent part of the time looking for
reasonable and comfortable shoes! She
dragged me up the Tours de Notre Dame, almost literally: Come
on, Aunt Kate! Only a little further! 400 steps! The view is definitely worthwhile,
as is seeing the variety of gargoyles up-close-and-personal, but I was done-in
by 6 pm almost every day. Not that much
fun for a teenager!
This trip, I now have two pair of comfortable shoes ready to
go. Here’s hoping!
The Right Clothes
—Forget it! You will never have the
right clothes. If you pack for cool
weather, it will be warm. If it is
supposed to be warm, it will be cooler than usual. The weather on my last trip to France with my
parents, end of May/first of June, turned out to be rainy and cool. We only had one day of sunshine during the
week we spent in Paris. The Weather Channel, and most weather apps, will give
you a ten-day forecast. Just realize
weather seems change from minute-to-minute these days. Pack a jacket and an umbrella, or,
umbrella-wise, you can buy a souvenir umbrella for about 10 euros that you can
continue to use at home and be reminded of your trip! I think I have enough souvenir umbrellas now
that I just need to take one with me.
Even if it turns out to be on the warm side in Paris this
trip, it is always good to have a light sweater or jacket—a sleeve as my
grandmother would say—because it will be cool inside museums and such.
Sundry—Other than the
obvious!
I have taken to carrying a packet of wipes because you never
know! Matters of hygiene are treated
differently all over the world. The last
thing you one is to get sick. My very
first time to Paris, I was already sick with a horrible cough. It only got worse during our week there. My poor nephew Trevor was saddled with me as
a roommate, and I will never forget the long, long walk my sister made us take
from the Tour Eiffel back to our hotel in the 6th,not only because I
thought I was going to die, but because my other nephew Spencer trekked way
ahead of us and got lost! He found his
way to Notre Dame, then eventually back to the hotel from there.
Band Aids and Neosporin.
Ankle braces—I always seem to twist an ankle. This has been going on since high school when
I would run for the bus and invariably twist my left ankle. Seriously, I can twist my ankle, always the left
one, just walking in bare feet!
Nail clippers and tweezers—broken or torn nails? Splinters? Just be sure not to put them in
your carry-on!
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