We’ve been travelling for 129 days (four and a bit months) most of which has been in the European Summer, including a horrid Italian heatwave. Now, with the leaves starting to yellow and fall, we find ourselves in the rapidly cooling temperatures of Autumn.

This blog is called ‘part 1’, because these are the mistakes I’ve discovered so far.  I can absolutely guarantee more will come to light as Winter approaches.

Despite watching countless YouTube videos on this topic, downloading packing lists, creating an excel spreadsheet, and agonising over every item (weight, colour palette, size, function) I have made some A-grade errors in my packing.  In my defence, it’s hard to pack for an extended trip that covers all seasons.

Before I get to my mistakes, for context, our European packing was governed by two guiding principles – pack light, and pack casual.

Pack light – We limited ourselves to a carry-on bag each (8kg) plus 17kg of checked luggage each (noting that the economy allowance is 23kg). Initially, this was to save ourselves from dragging heavy bags across the cobbled streets of Europe.  But in hindsight, having stayed in nine different top floor apartments, most without an elevator, dragging heavy luggage up flights of stairs is not fun either.

That’s not much luggage for 6½ months, noting that I normally take more luggage than that for a weekend in Melbourne.

Pack casual – Mutually, we decided that Europe ‘22 would not involve fancy restaurants, or planned events to attend (unlike my sister JoJo attending a wedding in the German Black Forest). There would be no stockings, no cashmere coats, no matching clutch bags.  Rosco took one business shirt (for on-line meeting commitments). Neither of us packed high heels.

So without further ado, here are my biggest errors:

Clothes that don’t fit you

This might sound like the most obvious advice in the world, but don’t pack clothes that do not fit you!  In a frenzy of optimism, I packed clothes that would fit me once I lost ‘a few kilos’ (which was bound to happen, with all the walking I’d be doing).

Yes, I finally ended up losing those kilos, but it took three months (it’s hard to know why – perhaps something to do with pasta, aperitivo, gelato, potato dumplings, waffles). As a result, I have hauled around Europe two pairs of shorts, one pair of jeans, one skort and one Summer dress, and not been able to wear any of them. Now that they fit, I have about 3 weeks of good weather before it’s too cold to wear most of them.

And to make matters worse, because I had only one pair of shorts that actually fit me (upon arrival), they disintegrated on about day 28.  Actually, all things considered, they held up well, as there were already a couple of years old, and I wore them every single day, plus regular overnight washing, plus an accidental bleaching episode that we shan’t go into here.

So not only did I drag around clothes that did not fit me, I have also carried my newly purchased, appropriately sized clothes. Idiotic!

Lesson: If they don’t fit on the day you go to the airport, don’t pack them.  If you do lose a ton of weight (or heaven forbid put it on), just buy new clothes.  The range is better, the clothes are in season, and European prices are generally cheaper that in Australia anyway.

Too much functional, not enough ‘cute’

I’m a practical person. I knew that 6½ months in Europe would be more about getting the best bang for our buck over a long-ish period of time, and less about 5-star hotels and Michelin-rated restaurants.

As a result, all of my clothes are functional. I didn’t pack a single pair of heels, not a pretty skirt, not one! All of my clothes are quick dry, they don’t crease, don’t require ironing, and they’re light weight. But are they cute?  Absolutely not.

Everywhere we’ve been (especially Lake Como) I’ve sighed with envy at the cute flowy tops, wedge-heeled sandals, sundresses, linen rompers, huge sunglasses and floppy hats – and that’s just the men!! The sensible part of my brain tells me they’re only there for a week, or even the weekend, so they can afford to be fliberty-jibbets, or influencers, or whatever else they’re doing.  But I feel drab and moth-like, next to those glittering butterflies.

I wish I had swapped out a couple of t-shirts for some impractical tops with some lace and sequins, that need ironing, and sparkle in the European sun. But I didn’t, and that’s my lesson learned!

However, I did manage to buy a couple of bright sundresses in Spain, so it’s not all bad.

Lesson: Functional travel clothes are great but include a few cute items so you can shine like a butterfly for particular destinations or special activities. It’s nice to change things up sometimes.

28 pairs of earrings

Again, this might sound pretty obvious, but there is no need to pack 28 pairs of earrings. Now I love my earrings, the dangly-er and shinier the better! I was thinking that I’d make up for my lack of pretty clothes (refer ‘functional’ above), with lots of pretty earrings. Also, they don’t take up much room.

But it turns out that pretty earrings don’t really go with t-shirts and shorts. And on the rare occasion when I pop on a dress, a choice of two or three earrings would have been more than adequate.

Lesson: Two or three pairs of earrings are more than enough for a travelling holiday. Seriously princess!!

Too much make-up

When you wear make-up every day for work, it becomes a habit, I guess. So, like an addict, I packed all sorts of make-up: foundations, BB cream, powders, lip sticks……. and I haven’t worn any of it.

On some days, when I get really dressed up, I put on mascara!  But that’s it! So, I’ve lugged a fairly substantial make up bag around Europe, and used barely any of it.

Lesson: The European Summer is hot and often crowded.  Most of those gorgeous old buildings do not have air conditioning, AT ALL. Inexplicably, many supermarkets, taxis, buses and trams are not air-conditioned, at least not at the Arctic blast that an Australian would consider to be ‘air-conditioned’. If you do apply make-up, it’s unlikely to stay on your face after a couple of hours at 38 degrees +. If you walk from place to place, which is certainly our preferred mode of transport in the cities and old towns, your face will be a river of sweat within minutes. Leave most of the make-up at home – besides, no one knows you in Europe. Be freeeeeee!

Your old favourites

I packed so many of my favourite clothes and items – treasured pieces that I’ve worn or had for years. Trouble is, when you are using the old favourites on high rotation, they wear out alarmingly quickly.  My PJ pants split within the first month, so did my five-year-old pair of sunglasses. My white shorts disintegrated through overuse and accidental bleaching, and my red hairbrush suddenly started losing its bristles, and then it broke in half.

Lesson: Make sure the items you pack are in good condition, and they will withstand the rigors of being worn and used at a much higher rotation that they are used to.

Google how to use each and every washing machine

Every washing machine in every apartment has been different. Obviously, the language is different, the brand is one you’ve never heard of before, and the symbols and numbers appear to have a sketchy relationship to the washing of clothes.   As a result, I’ve made some terrible errors with the washing machine. Here’s the abridged version:

1. I shrunk my favourite pair of sneakers by two sizes after scalding them in a hot water wash.
2. I’ve used bleach instead of washing liquid, ruining an entire load of clothes (mostly Rosco’s stuff).
3. I’ve put a load of clothes on to wash, to find out later it was a washer AND dryer, thus ruining another load of clothes through hot-tumble-drying shrinkage!

Lesson: Spend an extra 5 minutes to google instructions on how to use each particular washing machine. And Google translate the label of any random bottles of ‘detergent’ that might be in the laundry (just in case it turns out to be bleach). You’ll thank me later.

More to come……

#Travel #TravelHacks #SlowTravel #Nomads