Friday, January 23, 2015

Recapping Packing: What I Wore Part I

All this nostalgia about our trip has me looking back at alllllll the pictures we took. Allllll those pictures have got me thinking about the clothes I packed. I made a list of what I was taking with me, but never checked back in on how those clothes worked out, what was useful/what wasn't, what I wore most, etc. 

I know that when I was planning this epic trip finding what to pack was one of the things on the forefront of my mind (that and $$. I was SO curious how much something like this would REALLY cost. I kept a detailed list of EVERY.PENNY. that we spent, but I'm still not sure I want to share that yet or not. For one, it would be tedious and time consuming and for two, I'm not sure if that's something to go waving around about...which is probably why I had a hard time finding much info on that topic. Plus, my grandmother would probably have a heart attack. She is quite a proper lady (something I aspire to be!) and discussing money is something you do. not. do.) . I scoured the Internet for 'what to pack' lists for a trip such as this. It was especially difficult, because we were traveling along the gamut of weather conditions and trying to keep it carry on, to boot. 

Ultimately, I'm really happy with what I packed and I thought~why not share my own packing list for that next lucky lady about to embark on a trip? That is, of course, assuming she would somehow find my obscure blog :P

ANYWAY-as I said, I'm really happy with what I packed. Almost everything was really comfortable. Since I packed a lot of the same colors...I could mix and match different things. The colors that I stuck with were: black (of course), brown, teal, mango, a blueish/purple, white, yellow, and gray. EVERYTHING I brought was one of these colors. :D 

There were a few things that I packed that I definitely could have done without. For one, I brought entirely too much jewelry. It was all fake and colorful-for accessory purposes. I'm not really sure what I was thinking. Most days it was just Pres and me out in the wildnerness of the country or a city. For absolutely sure...I wish I had somehow taken less. I have zero idea how this would have been possible, since I wore EVERYTHING A LOT and the laundry situation often got desperate enough as it was. And I'm not talking like, "Oh I wore that once and I should wash it". I'm not even talking about, "Oh I spilled something on this and I should wash it". I'm talking about, "Oh. My. God. If i wear this one more time...it will be OFFENSIVE to anyone I come into contact with". :P

Once we got to Europe, I did feel decidedly unstylish. The only REALLY appropriate walking shoes I had were sneakers (which, at this point, were pretty worn looking) or hiking boots. Neither of these scream PARISIAN STYLE, but I made due. I'm not all that stylish anyhow and it doesn't bother me too much. ;)

Our bags were HEAVY. It sucked. We checked them every time (and amazingly never lost a bag or even a single item over 21 flights and 18 countries). It sucked to drag them up staircases on ferries, in airports, in train stations, and in hotels. It sucked to walk all over cities dragging them behind us. It sucked to squeeze onto a bus or metro with GIANT bags. It sucked!! 

I KNOW there is A way to have packed less...or packed better, but I don't know what it is. I have no idea what I would have gotten rid of without being a total vagabond. Maybe, though, that's what we should have done. Though-I'm not sure I would have been very happy and I would have probably been cold. 

We picked up a few things along the way. David gave me a tshirt in Australia, Liz gave me a sweatshirt to keep warm in Italy, Mara loaned us dozens of sweaters and scarves, which were invaluable in Iceland, and somehow-rather than getting rid of things in Chicago, we ADDED stuff for the return to Europe. WHAT?!

I'm going to break this into a few posts so that I don't bore to death even someone who could be mildly interested in my ramblings, but here is a quick reminder of what I packed:


Black Fleece Jacket
Black Rain Jacket
Jean Jacket
Black Blazer
Gray Zip Sweatshirt
White Wrap (can double as beach cover up)
Black Long Sleeved (wool blend)
Brown Long Sleeved
Teal Hoodie
Purple/Blue (ish) Long Sleeve
Yellow Long Sleeve
Black T-shirt
Gray T-shirt
Purple/Blue (ish) T-shirt
Mango T-shirt
White T-shirt
Black Camisole
Gray Camisole
Mango Camisole
White Camisole
Yellow Tank
Teal Tank
Purple/Blue (ish) Tank
Jeans
Gray Zip off pants
Black Yoga Pants
Black Leggings
Gray Half Pants
Sweatshorts (for sleeping)
Jean Shorts
Khaki Shorts
Mango Shorts
1 Black Convertible Dress
1 Black Skirt
1 Gray Long Tank for the beach :D
1 Gray/Black Scarf
1 Teal Scarf
Brown Hiking Boots
Gray Sneakers
Brown Toms
Black Ballet Flats (Tieks!!)
Black Flip Flops
White Flip Flops (for showers)
5 Pairs of Underwear
2 Bras (one black, one nude)
1 Sports Bra 
1 Bandeau Bra
4 Bathing Suit Tops
2 Bathing Suit Bottoms
5 Pairs of Socks




To be continued...

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