The Journey Begins...
Really, this trip began a full calendar year before the tour even started. Since Sean and I didn't kill each other on our first trip together, we decided to try again. Sean's a big fan of countries that speak English as their first language - I will just go anywhere, so we settled on Scotland. We threw a few ideas around as to what else we could include and decided on London for a few days.
I booked our tour the day the early releases became available - May 2018 - and started planning. And waiting (patiently?).
I prearranged a few items: Hotels, Train Tickets from London to Edinburgh,
We also booked tickets for Scotch Whisky Experience and Edinburgh Gin Distillery in advance. These were some things we knew we would want to do while on our own.
Now, on to the packing:
You really do want to pack light. You also really can go to Europe for two weeks with a simple carry on bag. Europe is not a remote location - they have laundry that you can access. I've found that some of the hotels on tour will even wash a load for you at a reasonable rate. This will allow you to not worry about your laundry while enjoying your day. I tend to just hand wash a few items in hotel sinks and let them air dry, but will send some stuff to the laundry, as needed.
Here is what I packed (which is probably still too much): 6 short sleeve t-shirts, 2 long-sleeve t-shirts, 1 sweater, 1 lightweight cardigan, 1 pair pajama shorts, 6 pairs of pants (Columbia Anywhere Pant, I LOVE THEM), 8 pairs of underwear, 7 pairs of socks, extra bra, pair of shoes (my lightweight ones), toiletries, foldable tote bag, raincoat. All of this fit into my carry on size bag.
In my backpack, I had the following: iPad, iPhone, important documents, guidebooks, camera, chargers/adapters, purse, passport, wallet, gum, water bottle.
Here are some packing pictures:
I booked our tour the day the early releases became available - May 2018 - and started planning. And waiting (patiently?).
I prearranged a few items: Hotels, Train Tickets from London to Edinburgh,
We also booked tickets for Scotch Whisky Experience and Edinburgh Gin Distillery in advance. These were some things we knew we would want to do while on our own.
Now, on to the packing:
You really do want to pack light. You also really can go to Europe for two weeks with a simple carry on bag. Europe is not a remote location - they have laundry that you can access. I've found that some of the hotels on tour will even wash a load for you at a reasonable rate. This will allow you to not worry about your laundry while enjoying your day. I tend to just hand wash a few items in hotel sinks and let them air dry, but will send some stuff to the laundry, as needed.
Here is what I packed (which is probably still too much): 6 short sleeve t-shirts, 2 long-sleeve t-shirts, 1 sweater, 1 lightweight cardigan, 1 pair pajama shorts, 6 pairs of pants (Columbia Anywhere Pant, I LOVE THEM), 8 pairs of underwear, 7 pairs of socks, extra bra, pair of shoes (my lightweight ones), toiletries, foldable tote bag, raincoat. All of this fit into my carry on size bag.
In my backpack, I had the following: iPad, iPhone, important documents, guidebooks, camera, chargers/adapters, purse, passport, wallet, gum, water bottle.
Here are some packing pictures:
Flight to London
Sean and I drove from Springfield to Chicago. Luckily, my college roommate's family lives near O'Hare and they graciously let us park my car there and take us to the airport. We had a direct flight to London Heathrow from there.
The flight was thankfully, uneventful. I learned on this trip that it is possible for me to sleep on a flight (YAY!). I got a couple hours sleep, but Sean was not so lucky. After an hour and a half in passport control, we were ready to ride the London Underground into the city and find our hotel!
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