Travel Essentials for October in Europe

Travel
Written By Jeannine Kennedy

We are heading to Greece in less than two weeks!  We are so incredibly excited, this will be our first trip to Europe just the two of us.  We have been to Italy twice now and we just absolutely fell in love.  The first time we went to Italy, we also went to France for a few days. Our hope is to do international trips every two to three years until we retire and then we plan to buy an RV and travel all over the US.

Back in January, we found a great deal through Exoticca and we practically booked on the spot.  We had some Delta credits from our last Europe trip so we were able to apply that to the airfare.  Now we are in the home stretch of finalizing our details and much of that has to do with packing.

We have learned so much from our last two trips.  On both of those, in addition ot our carry on luggage and personal items, we checked a large suitcase that contained items belonging to all three of us (myself, my husband and our adult son). That way we knew that we had some room for any purchases we made during our travels. 

This time Corkey and I are trying our best to only take carry on luggage.  This will be a challenge for me, especially.  I like to travel with lots of outfit options, and I don’t like to rewear my clothes.  For this trip. I am cutting way down on what I take, and I am going to rewear a few outfits.  I am also trying to limit myself to three pairs of shoes.  I’m honestly not optimistic about the shoe situation!

The especially tricky thing for me is that the weather is starting to get cold here in Georgia, but it will be in the mid 70’s in Greece, with the lows in the evening in the high 50’s. So here at home, I have been changing out my closet, putting away most of my summer stuff and pulling out my fall and winter items, but I am packing summer clothes for the trip.  My brain keeps wanting to add sweaters and jackets to the suitcase!

Since we are preparing for our trip, I thought it would be a good time to cover some travel essentials for anyone planning a trip to Europe.

Carry On Rolling Suitcase:

First and foremost, I recommend a hard side rolling suitcase.  There are so many on the market, and you can find some great deals online, at Wal-Mart, and places like TJ Maxx.  We got ours from Amazon. They are the correct size for carry on luggage, have built in pockets, thoughtfully placed straps and a lock on the outside.  We bought these for our first trip to Italy in 2017 and they are still going strong!

Carry On Bag:

Next is a good carry on bag.  I had been looking at a Luna bag from Cal-Pack but couldn’t bring myself to pay the $100 price tag, so when I read review on Amazon for a Cal-Pack dupe, I double checked the measurements and hit “Add to Cart”!  It came in last week and I love it! 

It is a soft sided bag, with lots of pockets inside as well as a sleeve on the outside to slide through your rolling suitcase handle. This allows you to set your carry on bag on top of your carry on suitcase while strolling through the airport! 

One of the inside pockets is also called a “wet pocket” so that you could put a swimsuit and towels in there. 

There is a small outer pocket for your passport and ID, but my favorite feature is the shoe pocket on the bottom!  There is a large zipper pocket on the very bottom of the bag that opens when you lift up the bag to expose space for at least three pairs of shoes. 

The carry on bag came with three additional bags inside.  One is like a men’s dopp kit bag, one is a crossbody bag that I may carry when we are out sightseeing, and one is a cosmetic bag.  I plan to utilize them all!  This will be a great way to ensure that my toiletries don’t leak all over my clothes.

This bag truly has so many features.  I’m excited to try it out!

Clear cosmetic bags:

I purchased a set of four clear toiletry bags for Corkey and I to share.  I normally carry a rather large toiletry bag with all my products and make up in it, but it is too large for the carry on luggage.  Essentially, anything that could even possibly leak will go in one of these!

Packing Cubes:

We purchased packing cubes for our first Italy trip and it really helped condense our things down, which in turn makes it easier to close your suitcase!  This go round, I’m hoping to pack complete outfits for a few days in one cube, so that I don’t have to unpack everything.  We are island hopping from Athens to Mykonos and Santorini, not spending more than two nights in any location, so ideally I can grab one cube that will include what I need for a few days.

Converter:

We took the wrong converter to Italy the first time, and I almost ruined my favorite blow dryer!  Now we are on the right track, and I can blow dry and flat iron my hair to my hearts delight.  A universal converter is the way to go.

Jewelry Case:

Until recently, I just put my jewelry in a small, velvet bag and packed it in a suitcase pocket.  I got a travel jewelry case last Christmas and I love it – no more bags!  It has a way to enclose your necklaces so that they don’t tangle, space for rings, earrings, a little pocket and it holds a lot!  I don’t travel with lots of jewelry, but this one holds all my hoop earrings and more so it’s going with me!

Charger Cord Case:

I got this in black for Corkey this year, as he always carries our cords for us and he has used it several times already.  Even a dunce like me can look inside and easily find their phone charging cord and Apple watch charger!

Travel Makeup Mirror:

In my Navarre Beach Travel Guide, I shared our little studio condo that we stayed in. The condo was all that we needed, but it was small! I ended up bringing my make-up out to the kitchen to do each day so that the bathroom was available and also for some natural light. I didn't have this travel mirror at the time, but I do now! If our spaces in Greece are small, or lacking natural light, I can do my makeup almost anywhere with this mirror.

Vital Proteins Packets:

We went to Dallas, Texas in June and I forgot to pack my Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides.  By the end of the week, my hips and knees were sore and I was got very stiff when sitting for the flight home.  Believe me, I bought the single serving packets and they are already in the carry on bag!  I wont make the mistake again of traveling without these!

Dramamine Non-Drowsy:

I tend to get carsick and seasick when we travel by car or boat.  As I said, we are island hopping to Santorini and Mykonos, so there will be ferry rides.  The bigger the better, I don’t seem to get sick on bigger boats, but we just don’t know what we will be on, so I’ve just ordered this to help me if needed.

PRO TIP: Make sure you check the weather while packing for where you are traveling in Europe. In 2017, we flew into Rome for a few days in late September and the weather was unbelievable! Sunny and 75, with nights cool enough for a light sweater. We then flew to Paris during the first days of October and it was much colder and rainy in all of France, with Fall colors in full force on the trees while we were at Versailles and Normandy. I was very glad I packed layers!

Did I forget anything?  Of course I did!  Let me know what I should add to my travel essentials in the comments below or email me at hello@kinshipandvine.com

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Jeannine Kennedy

Event/Floral/Garden design. Woman owned, licensed and insured business serving northwest Georgia. Enjoy a new blog post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

http://kinshipandvine.com
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