As the holidays approach, many of us will be traveling. Whether it be by land, sea or air, the seasons influence the way we pack for travel.
Even Santa will most likely trade the sleigh for the plane. It’s faster!
For us, it’ll be by air and by car. There are pros and cons to both. Via air, you must deal with checking baggage, the long lines at customs or TSA, someone inching in on your overhead space, delays, and a plethora of other annoyances. However, flying across the pond to get to Europe or any other long distance is a lot quicker and a lot less expensive than sailing across or trying to swim and feed the baby sharks.
Honestly, many of us would rather feed Baby Shark to the baby sharks!
Traveling by car? We’ll be doing that for the Christmas holiday. As of today, my husband, my son Roman and I will be driving from Philly to Cincy. The plan is for Roman to rail it from NYC after work to here, we’ll all sleep for a while then get up to face the 9-ish hour drive.
This will be my husband in the car giving his opinions to my playing Christmas music the entire way to Cincy!
The cons to this are that my husband truly believes he is a LeMans speed racer. He believes our vehicles, a Toyota Rav 4 and a Toyota Venza are a Ferrari, Porche or Beemer fitted with motors that can go up to 200 MPH. The anti-acid tablets are in the glove compartment.
The name is changed to “Vincent” but the rest remains the same. My husband really tries to get away with sonic boom speed!
The other con is that my Frenchman thinks I am the bad driver. I have no other comment to make on this accusation except he is not correct.
The pros to traveling via automobile? I can bring baked goods. The baked goods that I have made. I can freeze them, place them in a cooler and transport them with ease to Oona and Sam’s. It is also possible to bring more gifts than anticipated. As of today, I have had one gift for my grandson, Owen, sent to the house. When we head to Paris, we’ll be picking up some cute outfits. Luckily, I also have the Amazon toy catalog to peruse.
Okay, so these aren’t exactly baked goods but I froze these wontons that I made. I will be making more to transport to Cincy.
Let us not forget Gougeres..and cookies…and other edible items!
But let us get down to the packing. Because, for me, that’s a critical component of travel. Summer travel is a different ballgame than winter travel. In summer, you pack lighter clothing. Bathing suits. Shorts. Sundresses. Sandals. Let’s face it. It’s easy. If you are a pragmatic packer, you can fit two weeks into a carryon (I believe I can but my husband thinks otherwise and I usually end up overpacking).
Two months-worth of packing clothing into a carry on. Then you’re going to attempt to use MY overhead space. I don’t think so! Get a bigger suitcase and check the luggage!
Winter? Late Autumn? Packing can be daunting. I’m not referring to going away to a tropical island or a very warm climate—that’s summer packing. I’m talking about traveling to points North—from the USA to Europe or wherever cold or damp or rainy conditions might apply.
You must be prepared for all sorts of precipitation. This means you need to pack appropriately.
It is so upsetting to me that rain would stop someone from traveling. I’m not talking monsoon. I’m talking about rain. You would not believe the amount of people on travel forums who allow rain to ruin their trips!
That means packing a coat, lighter outerwear such as a blazer or denim jacket or puffy vest. Some may opt to bring a trench coat that can be layered from underneath with sweaters. Heavy sweater or light sweater? Boots? Shoes v. sneakers? Gloves? Umbrellas? Purses? Yada Yada Blah Blah Blah.
Paris 2021. I wore this coat that I purchased a year prior at Galeries Lafayette. The little Coach bag is coming with me this time around because I don’t want to lug a bigger one around!
With an upcoming trip back to Paris during Thanksgiving week, I’ve started to, in my Ambitiously Lazy (you know I’m going to overuse that phrase –don’t you?) way, plan and try to figure out which clothing to bring.
And I will bring this carryon. However, I’ll have a much larger suitcase to fit my coat, blazer, boots….
For me, the best tip—and this is good because it’s a visual, is to try different outfits on and take pics with your iPhone. Or, if you are not up to changing clothing, lay each “outfit” out on the floor and take a pic. I find this to be a tremendous help because you can see how you can mix and match!
This Jude Connally frock was purchased on Poshmark for $12. It’s coming with me because we like to dress for dinner.
Jeans, loafers and a blazer. All getting packed. This could be for a warmer day.
I’m EXTREMELY comfortable in a skirt, sweater, tights and loafers. This gets packed.
Another way to wear jeans on a dressier level. Worn with ballet flats.
Jogging pants, ballet flats a tee shirt and cropped puffy vest will be my air ensemble. Exception. I’ll wear long sleeves.
Another possibility is this. Blazer and skirt purchased separately from J. Crew factory. The boots are over ten years old but I love them. And they fold!
Another possible ensemble is this very comfy skirt. The boots are like sock boots and fold into the shape of regular shoes. These are coming!
The Paris weather (as I’m sure all through Europe and the UK) can be unpredictable during the late Autumn. It rains. It can be freezing one day and incredibly mild the next. This means you gotta be prepared for anything.
Place Dauphine. Autumn. 2021. It was warm enough to walk around. But cold enough that we needed winter attire.
For me, it’s bringing an umbrella, boots, hat, gloves, scarves and, in the mild weather case—a blazer.
I headed into the garage early this morning to decide which Hunter boots to take. I’m going with the blue because it’ll lend itself more to my clothing choices.
A few years back I learned my lesson in connection with shoes. I wore my favorite suede flats and they got soaked to the point I had to bring them to a shoe repair. Never again. This time around, and I don’t care how cumbersome they are to pack—I’m bringing my Hunter rain boots.
These shoes by J. Crew were thrifted for seven bucks. It cost me a lot more to have them repaired after walking around Paris in torrential rain. I learned my lesson!
The point is, pack for the weather.
As a follower of many “travel” forums on social media, I’m always flummoxed by those who boast about packing for four weeks in cold climates with a carry on. I honestly don’t know how these travelers do it. Perhaps it is my love for clothing blended with the fact that I adore any chance to dress. And I’m talking about “dressing up.” I mean to dress. You know. Put nice clothing on your body. Looking a tad fashionable.
An example of how you can dress casually nice and not look like a slob.
It behooves me. People—and these are people who travel. Will say in one sentence that they do not want to look like a “tourist” then in the next sentence will state. “If I want to wear leggings and a sweatshirt, I will” in a rather aggressive tone. You cannot have it all.
True. People don’t want to look like a tourist but they will defend leggings and a sweatshirt. No thanks. I’ll dress.
November slightly over a week away. And that is the month when Autumn hits like a punch in the face. It gets colder. The sky is gray. We run the chance of snow at any given time from then until March. If you are traveling—for crying out loud, pack for it! I just don’t understand that mindset.
Yup! Holiday Season can be cold. It can also be mild. Bring clothing for both!
Yes. I realize that waiting for luggage is a pain-in-the-ass. You just got off of a possible 7 to longer flight. What is an hour of waiting on customs and up to an hour for luggage going to do to take time from your trip? Honestly, I would rather be warm if I’m walking around a big city or countryside than be cold and uncomfortable.
And I cannot omit this. Please don’t dress in pajamas. It’s fine for young children. But adults? No. These pj’s are for home use and hotel use only.
Regardless, we all have our way of traveling. Whether bringing a large wardrobe or the bare necessities—the Holiday Season is just around the corner so plan and enjoy to the fullest!