The Essential Packing List

Boy, I hate packing. I hate the planning part even more. But, if I had to rate anything lower than either one of those two it would busting my butt with a bunch of overloaded bags as I travel across the continent of Europe. Gosh, just the hassle of getting all those bags to the baggage counter at the area causes me to wake up in cold sweat, never mind the nightmare of getting them up the stairs at a B and B.

In our last post we wrote about our philosophy of packing. One bag is all you need, even for longer trips. Women this works for you too. Now, I suppose if you are headed to a swank resort for a week and you’re into the nightlife and such more than one bag might be necessary. That sure doesn’t describe us though.

So you understand the philospophy, now you want to have a better idea of just what to pack to keep that bag light as a feather. Well, that list is a bit long for this entry to my blog, but here is a link to a very good list that will give you everything that you need to know about packing for that great trip. See you in Europe. Hopefully much lighter afoot.

Packing Essentials for Your European Trip

What to Pack? What to Pack?

I have to shake my head as I walk through the airport, or train station while traveling through Europe. It’s an amazing sight really. One person schlepping four or five full-sized pieces of luggage. My gosh, what a pain the …

Avoiding a hernia while traveling is just a matter of planning and packing the essentials, and that doesn’t mean the kitchen sink. Now, I understand that we all have slightly different standards for what we call “essential”, but my wife and I manage to make our way around Europe for a month or more at a time with just one bag and a daypack each.

Yes, you read that right. One!

It isn’t hard at all if you make a fundamental shift in your thinking. Do you really need to wear a new outfit everyday? After all, the people you meet today will more than likely not be the people you meet tomorrow. The only ones who will know that you are wearing the same pants today as yesterday is your traveling companion. Just a fresh change of underwear and socks each day and a hand wash to get them clean and you’re good to go.
More of this article can be found at Planning Easy European Travels.Com

See Adelaide Australia

This is an article about Adelaide Australia.  We offer contributing editors a venue for posting their thoughts on travel destinations around the world.  We hope you find this article to be both interesting and entertaining.  If you have thoughts you would like to add, please feel free to add your comments below.

Adelaide, Australia

You meet a lot of people online, and these people are usually from different places all over the world. Once girl I met, but donít know very well, was a regular on the same message board as I was. She was a nice girl, but she complained about her hometown. She was from Adelaide Australia, and she always said it had to be the most boring place in the world. According to her, there is nothing to do, and nothing exciting ever happened there. She made it sound like the place is a ghost town. She was always complaining, and this went on until she eventually disappeared. I assume she still lives in Adelaide Australia, but I hope by this point she has become more at ease with where she lives.

I want to visit Australia one day, but my choices of destination do not included Adelaide. It’s not because I don’t want to go there, it’s because I have friends in Sydney and Melbourne and want to visit them. Adding Adelaide Australia to my itinerary would just be too much. There is a television show filmed near there, and I would love to go see where the show is produced. Perhaps on a later date I will visit Adelaide Australia, but until that day, I will just look forward to the cities I will be visiting.

If you want to see the land down under, don’t forget to add cities like Adelaide Australia to your list of places to go. There is also Perth in the western part of the country that many people forget to visit. These cities arenít as popular as Sydney, but they have just as much to offer. The show I mentioned, McLeod’s Daughters, was and is still filmed around Adelaide, and you can go see some of the town where the show takes place. If you love this show, this would be a great reason to visit Adelaide Australia.

You may get better deals on hotel or motel if you visit Adelaide Australia instead of the more common visitor sites like Sydney or Melbourne. They don’t have as many people coming in, so they can keep their prices lower. You could also make Adelaide part of a tour of the entire country if you really want to see it all. Look online for great travel deals to Australia and you may find that Adelaide is one of the favored options that pops up.

Megan Simpson contributes articles on a variety of different topics.  She loves to travel and to watch McLeod’s Daughters. 

You can’t tell me you haven’t dreamed of an Australia Vacation.

This article is about an Australia Vacation. We hope that you find this article both interesting and informative. If you have thoughts you would like to share about visiting Australia, please feel free to make comments below.

The Great Barrier Reef, Perth, and the Outback are a few of the the exciting places on the Australian continent that draw visitors year in and year out. I have yet to make to Australia yet, most of our traveling is in Europe.

I have a wish list of destinations I would like to go to and Australia is high on that list. I like the idea of the country being a large island, where there are lots of animals and plant life only found there and no where else. An Australia vacation for me conjures up images of lively cities, fascinating countryside, superb beaches and friendly people. The only problem I might have is coping with the heat in the interior regions. Christmas would be a good time for an Australia vacation just to see how weird it feels to eat Christmas dinner under the blazing sun.

Sydney is an obvious choice to visit. The Harbor with its distinctive Opera House is famous all over the world, and is always used to promote an Australia vacation. I’d like to do the climb on the Sydney Harbor bridge. There’s some quiet beach and coves along the Bondi Beach, where I could work on my tan and drink a few tinnies. The Chinatown area looks pretty good too.

Melbourne is another city I’d like to see. A lot of Brits, me included, are hooked on the Neighbors soap opera which is filmed in the city. Infact, I think that Neighbors is more popular in Britain than it is in Australia. We have watched the soap for twenty years and an Australia vacation would not be complete without going on the coach tour to Ramsey Street. This is a real cul de sac street, albeit with a different name, where they do all the exteriors. There’s also some more cultural attractions in the city! There’s an aquarium and an old gaol that you can visit. The National Gallery of Victoria has a respected art collection and the Melbourne Museum houses an excellent natural history exhibit.

I would also like to explore the Gold Coast with its great beaches and golf courses. There are also Winery Tours here. The other major city I’d see is Perth. The Botanic Gardens have hundreds of examples of Australian plant life. I’d also visit Shark Bay which has a beach, marina and nature reserve.

My trip would have to involve going into the outback and seeing the heart of the country. Ayers Rock would be amazing and no Australia vacation should be without a trip to Alice Springs. There is so much to see there, including kangaroos, bats and ostriches if you’re lucky! I was surprised to learn that there are many museums here. There is one dedicated to the history of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, an Aviation Museum and a Museum for Pioneering Women. You can also visit the Reptile Center, the Aboriginal Culture Center and ride a camel!

As you can see, the thought of visitng this wonderful, far off land is never far from the top of my brain.  And if you have read this article through to the end, I’m betting that your interest is as strong as mine.

International Travel is a Mind Opening Experience

Have you spent any time giving thought to the joys of international travel? This is something that my wife and I keep as a focus in our lives. We just can’t get enough of visiting Europe. We feel there is nothing better than to spend our time and money wandering the backroads of Europe. Maybe you feel the same. If not, possibly the following article will have you thinking other thoughts.

This article was submitted by one of our contributing editors. Chris Nugent is an avid traveler, and like us, she loves to share her thoughts and experiences in international travel through the written word with others. We hope you find the following article to be both interesting and informative. If you have pertinent thoughts you would like to add, please feel free to submit you comments below.

International Travel

International travel opens your mind to the diversity of humanity. Does a foreign vacation seem an impossible dream? It isn’t. Come see why.

You need not be rich to engage in international travel. A well-planned itinerary is as close as your computer keyboard. You can find a good airfare if you plan ahead and travel in the so-called ìshoulderî seasons, generally in fall and spring. You’ll find the cheapest fares in winter. If you’re traveling to Italy or Spain, this can be a plus, with mild winter temperatures. If you’re really adventurous and footloose, look into courier deals. Airfare on international travel can be free!

Think outside the box when booking accommodations. Whether your trip is for a week or a month, look online for housing for rent on a daily or weekly basis. Rentals may include kitchen equipment, linens, telephone, internet connections and laundry facilities.

Having a kitchen lets you prepare some of your meals yourself. You can save a bundle of money and time just fixing your morning coffee and breakfast before going out sightseeing. Laundry facilities also save time and money. Send email postcards to friends and family with a click of your mouse. More time and money saved, letting you make the most of your vacation time.

Experiencing a different culture is a great adventure. It’s the little things that really reach out and grab you. For example, European society is similar in many ways to American society. Yet, daily priorities are different. Food is a much more drawn out event than our eat-and-run habit. Meals are enjoyed slowly, seasoned with the camaraderie of your companions. And it’s actually quite safe to go out at night in any major European city!

Try new things! Walk around your neighborhood and discover the bookstore, grocer, hardware, night club or restaurant. Neighborhood businesses reflect the tempo of life in your chosen destination. Jump into the culture, and rejoice!

International travel exposes you to new cuisines. You may never taste an authentic Spanish Paella, empanada, French Pistou or Italian pizza unless you take the leap and immerse yourself in your international travel destination of choice.

Part of the experience of international travel is getting around. Be adventurous! Large cities, such as Paris, have inexpensive and ultra-efficient access to anywhere you want to go.

With today’s many restrictions on baggage, plan for only carry-on luggage. You’ll avoid lost luggage, and walking and waiting time at the carousel.

You can pack everything you need for a month’s stay anywhere in a carry-on. It’s easy to find a foreign equivalent of an American drugstore and pick up any toiletries you may need. These items take up space in your luggage and tend to leak under cabin pressure. Shop duty-free shops at the airport for perfumes, colognes and the like.

International travel is a blast! Wherever you’ve dreamed of traveling, do an ‘armchair’ search. You may find it’s within your reach!

Keep in mind that traveling to other parts of the world is a way to gather new perspectives and to realize that there is more than on way to view any issue and that ours is not always the best way. Best wishes on all of your upcoming voyages.