European Winter

Packing for a long trip is always a challenge: what will be appropriate for the weather, the culture? What will i be able to wear over and over again without hating everything after the first week? What will i actually be able to tote onto and off airplanes, busses and taxis? Even when you are sure you’ve got it right, every time you pack and unpack, load and unload, shove your bag in the overhead, you realize that you’ve been too optimistic. I’d like to claim that I can travel light, but after three stops on my journey, i have begun to leave things behind.

My first realization that i had more than i wanted to carry happened right away, as i dragged my bag and backpack aboard Iceland Air’s carrier from Seattle to Amsterdam. So soon? You bet. I left behind in my Amsterdam hotel two cotton tee shirts and that hulking sleeping neck thingy. It worked well, but it was clumsy and I didn’t need it til my trip home in February. I could buy another something then. Packing for the train to Paris was much easier.

In Paris, i discovered that the leather shoes i brought were too tight for travel weary feet and i vowed I would never put them on again. I found myself regretting the decision to bring them along instead of two pairs of tennis shoes. Adieu, old friends. I may or may not replace you later. Down to a pair of Brooks Ghost 2’s and a pair of Keene sandals for warmer climates, I was off to Portugal.

The southern coast of the Algarve gave me a chance to wear cotton clothes for the first time. I was wonderful to pack away my wool shirts and do laundry in a real laundromat. I hung up my winter coat and didn’t use it again until the airport in Lisbon. In the Algarve I left behind my insulated water bottle, the one i had been packing in the pocket of my backpack. It was heavy and clunky, and usually empty. I was using lightweight recyclable plastic bottles. Adeus, heavy bottle, i hope someone on staff will enjoy you as much as i did before i had to carry you in and out of loading zones.

Here I am in Porto, in the north of Portugal on a blustery winter day. It’s not as cold as Paris and Amsterdam, but i am happy to have my wool shirt and winter coat available for winery tour. I am headed to Southern Spain next, and wondering what I won’t need when i get there that i can leave behind here in Portugal.