Hello from Santorini, Greece! I still have some processing to do of my trip to London, but needed to share about the art installation at the Tower of London, "Blood Swept Lands & Seas of Red". Why? Because it ends soon and you need to buy your ticket to London NOW. (Or if you are conveniently there than head to the Tower of London NOW.)
What is this exhibit? Well in a bit you'll get to see some of the pictures. This exhibit marks 100 years since Britain's involvement in World War I. Outside the Tower of London in the moat are 888, 246 red ceramic poppies that represent each British fatality during the war. There's really no words to describe this exhibit and I'm not sure my pictures do it justice. To learn more about the exhibit, visit their website: http://poppies.hrp.org.uk/ For now, take in these photos. Look for some more pictures and updates on London soon! By the time you read this, I will have landed in London and begun a tourist adventure prepared by my friend, Kristin, and fulfilled by friends of friends that I'm only just meeting. Until I have a chance to post an update on other travels, I'll leave you with these pictures from my roadtrip down the west coast from Seattle to Southern California. (Click read more) OregonCalifornia - Bay Area and Southward"Higitus Figitus zumbabazing I want your attention ev'rything! We're packing to leave come on let's go books are always the first you know Hockety pockety wockety wack abracabra dabra nack Shrink in size very small we've got to save enough room for all Higitus Figitus migitus mum pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!" - Merlin in The Sword in the Stone (In case you have no idea where that is from, you can watch the clip from The Sword in the Stone here.) If I could be Merlin right now as I pack, that would be magical. Since that is not possible, it's been a full day of packing, repacking, cutting out things, and a little (or a lot) of cramming things into my bags. What do you pack for an unknown amount of time and multiple countries/seasons? Below is my packing list based on research of other travelers' blogs and some explanations of why I chose what ended up in my bags. What to WearLet's start with clothes. People are usually most curious about how many and what clothes you bring on a trip like this. Most of my clothes decisions were based off reading the blog - Travel Fashion Girls (http://travelfashiongirl.com/). I won't add too much more, but encourage you to check out their website. My goal for clothes were items that were comfortable, cute, durable, and compact. I partly succeeded. I'm sure my wardrobe and items will change as I go.
Medicine and First Aid KitI'm somewhat of a hypochondriac. I am at the pharmacy or doctor at the slightest throat tickle with fear of strep. I mention this because I may be somewhat over prepared with medications and antibiotics for this trip. It's probably the one area I could cut down on some supplies. BUT WHAT IF MY BLISTERS BURST OPEN, BLEED OUT, AND GET INFECTED BECAUSE I FORGOT MOLESKIN. Welcome to my thought process. With that, here is my overly prepared medication and first aid kit list:
Note: For over the counter medicine I purchased, I put them in a ziplock bag and taped the label on the bag. This saves space and still gives me the instructions and labels the medicine. Tip for Seattleites: Visit the UW Travel Clinic for immunizations and personal medication/travel kit recommendations. Super awesome because they take insurance (or they can bill your insurance for you) and were just an extremely helpful resource. Bathroom SuppliesWith my toiletries bag, I stuck with the necessities and, cross-my-fingers, plan to find anything else I need on the road.
Note to women: Instead of tampons, pads, etc., if you can use a Diva Cup... you just saved room for an extra dress or souvenir in your bags. Millenial Tools aka ElectronicsThis is really up to each individual person and your needs. I plan on blogging, storing pictures, and making travel reservations on my tablet. It also doubles as an e-reader so I don't have to lug around books. I also have a T-Mobile plan which has international text and data in most of the countries I'm visiting.
PaperworkI have hard and soft copies of all my documents. Where do I save my "soft" copies? Well there's a few options in the cloud. Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box.com are just a few. You can also email the documents to yourself. Why is this important? If your credit cards get stolen, what are the chances you have the phone or card number memorized? If you have a hard and/or soft copy of the documents, there's a better chance you can access the numbers and get it resolved.
Etcetera, Etcetera, EtceteraThese items don't fit into any other category, but are based on my previous travels and from other people's recommendations.
Where does it all fit?I have the back of a 60 year old woman. Probably worse. While I'd really like to be that young, hip world backpacker, I don't think my back could take it. My friends were SO kind and gave me a carry-on sized backpack that I partially filled. The rest fit into a rolling carryon sized luggage, pictured below. It took me awhile to settle on a final decision, but if you do get a carry-on sized luggage make sure to research INTERNATIONAL sized carry-on requirements. They are usually just a tad smaller than US domestic flights. My research led me to the size - 21" x 14" x 9". That's it! Going from a studio apartment for 2 years, to my parent's house for a month, to the world for a year in two little bags. Here goes nothing! |