"The world isn't in your books and maps, it's out there." J.R.R. Tolkien
We are lucky to live in the beautiful Seattle Metro area, just a few miles from the Rick Steve's Travel Center in Edmonds, WA. Therefore, we could easily stop by for information, travel bags, and accessories as we prepared for our tour. We started with Rick Steve's packing list. For us there was an extra challenge, not only we would be spending two weeks on the tour, but then we would spend another six weeks travelling through multiple climates. Tank tops for Italy and down jackets for Norway.
We bought packing cubes to help us manage our clothes. I was skeptical that they had actual value. I put tops in one cube, bottoms in one cube, socks and underwear in another, and my spare sandals in one. Thinking that I'd have to open every single cube with every outfit change, made me question their value. However, I am a convert! On this trip, we moved hotels every 2-3 nights. I never fully realized how much easier it is to open and close the cubes and throw them back into the suitcase than having to reorganize the entire suitcase every time we moved, as on past vacations.
Items I'd emphasize from Rick's packing list:
Bring extra plug adapters! It's super easy to leave one behind plugged into an outlet. We started out the trip with everyone in the family having either a European Adaptor for Italy, Germany, France and Switzerland and a UK Adaptor for Great Britian and Ireland or an adaptor that worked for both regions. Total we brought 8 adapters and made it home with 6. For the last few days, we had to take turns charging electronics. For doing laundry, we brought detergent sheets, a 2-gallon Ziploc bag and travel clotheslines. For on the bus and in our rooms, we brought journals and travel art supplies to recharge and capture our adventures. We also brought two decks of playing cards. These were great for train rides.
Travel adapters
Laundry supplies
Art supplies
Packing light is important. Each of us would trim down our list for a future trip. As you travel around, those bags go with you up and down stairs, over cobblestones and if you're travelling independently on and off trains and buses. The buses and trains don't always have a lot of storage available. Some of those overhead racks are small or non-existent.
"I would like to travel light on this journey of life, to get rid of the encumbrances I acquire each day." Madeleine L'Engle