I love travel! This year I took the opportunity to travel with a group from my university to the city of my dreams, London England. In preparing for this trip, I completed a little personal checklist of things to ensure a comfortable journey:
1. Carry a Comfortable Bag
First, I tried out all of my bags for ease of carrying, volume, and cuteness. Then I bought another bag, to add to my options. Let's just say that I packed and repacked each of these bags at least 3 times with clothing essentials, a sketch pad, a travel book, and an iPad with keyboard. I opted for my old faithful,
Gusti Leder Luca
My bags are all shoulder bags that allow for hands-free carrying, if the need to run should arise.
2. All-Weather Coat?
Next, I weighed the merits of all of my coats to see which would be best in the slightly warmer, rainy climate. I also bought a new coat to have more choice. Needless to say, I un-gifted a swing coat from my best friend and soaked it with several layers of 3M water-proofing spray (to avoid having to buy or carry an umbrella). During this process I also purchased a coat with detachable hod and sewed that onto the collar of my elegant, floral coat.
3. Plan Sights and Experiences
After that, I picked up a few out-of date travel books to help me plan my trip.
I am a frugal woman—a very frugal woman. So, The first book was written for cheap travelers who want to roam off of the beaten path (2005), and the second was Frommer's Travel London (2014). Armed with these light guides, I spent a week writing out details of the sights I would see, cost and website information. Then a couple days before we left I took a little time just following up online and seeing which places remain extant. Luckily there was only one place that had ceased to be, since 2005.
Planning is really only half of this checklist item. The second bit is that I was also well-prepared to get lost on this journey.
4. Contact Credit Cards...
Lastly, and I do mean absolutely last I contacted the bank, credit card, and phone companies. On the morning before the flight I called 3 different automated numbers and let folks know not to cancel my cards if any United kingdom purchases showed up in the upcoming 2 weeks.
