If you know me personally, you know that travelling light is something that I’m not very good at. A one-night stay in a hotel means having 1 big luggage, 1 backpack, a laptop bag, kids’ own personal totes that looks more or less like this:
And this is just for a 1-night stay in a hotel. I know right?
To my defense, I am always ready and anticipating things. There are outfits for swimming, for dinner, for lounging around and in case we want to use the gym facilities. There should be extra shoes and slippers for all of us, toys for the kids and some books, toiletries for me, for Gibson, for Cole and Biel. All of us have different lotions and shampoos. And even for 1 night, I have to have medicines, plasters and varieties of ointments for itch and scrapes. You get the drift. So you see, it’s never easy to pack light. Imagine how it is when we travel overseas. It’s crazy!!!
Since we are planning for another holiday end of this month that requires us to take train rides around 3 times, aside from the fact that we will stay in apartments where there are no elevators and requires carrying our luggages to the second floor (or even third!), I thought that there’s no other way but to start packing light. Not very light that we will wear our underwears for a week but light enough to save our sanity and our backs on carrying our luggages.
I researched fervently and finally decided to bring below items for our 8-day trip to Vienna and Italy. There’s a laundry shop near our apartment in Florence (Day 4) and the only way to keep our stuff packed in one suitcase is to do the laundry while there.
Clothes
Mom – 1 dress which I’ll be wearing going to the airport. 2 long sleeve shirts, 3 tops, 3 leggings, 4 sets of underwears, 2 sets of sleepwear.
Dad – 3 pants, 3 tops, 4 underwears, 2 jackets, 3 pair of socks, 3 shirts, 2 sets of sleepwear.
Cole will have the same number of clothing as his dad and Biel will have more or less the same set as mine.
I thought of buying this Ziploc bags but I just run out of time. I’ll be more pro-active next time and prepare way in advance.
Footwear
We will all have to wear our main footwear on the way to the airport to save on space. We are also bringing Crocs for each kid that will serve as their house slippers. Flipflops for me and Gibson.
Hygiene
Entertainment
With so much time spent on travelling (plane and trains), kids and adults should have something to do while stuck on their seats to avoid pulling each others hair. That would be books for me, tablets and toys for the kids, and laptop for hubby. We also need to bring our camera and of course, the selfie stick!
Other Essentials
Since it’s our first to travel by train (we are even taking the night train!), I want to make sure that my kids will feel comfortable. To help them, I will bring their own small blankets and pillows.
Based on research, this is a 4-berth sleeper compartment. I hope we can be as comfortable as how this family looks like!
I am checking the weather forecast, and it seems that 5 out of 8 days of our holiday will be raining. And not just rain showers but thunderstorms! Oh my! Not only I’m thinking now of things to do indoors, I am also checking of items that is rainproof. Good thing that my kids have rain coat. I also bought umbrellas for me and hubby. But I am still hoping for sunny weather.
If only I had time to buy this pretty rain boots.
We tried packing most of our things last night to make sure we can really fit everything in one luggage, and I am happy to report that it looks possible. Yes, Gibson will carry a backpack that will have his laptop and some of his stuff but still we were able to manage.
Do you have any ideas to share? I’m not a pro at this but I’m trying. Your tips will be highly appreciated!
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