Monday, September 17, 2018

I'm Back From My Trip! Here's What I Learned.

HI HI HI. I am back from the best vacation of my life and thanks to all of you who checked out my IG stories on my personal account and the blog account. Also, again, I really appreciate the advice, recommendations, and suggestions I got from all of you! We only had 2 1/2 days in each city so, while we covered a lot of ground, it still feel like we barely scratched the surface. My thoughts:


London. London is totally my kind of place and I felt right at home (even if everything is backwards and I almost got run over by a bus because I looked in the wrong direction.) Such an great city! I loved the tube, I loved the style and vibe of the city and it was so beautiful. And efficient! I don't know how else to describe it but it was an easy city to navigate. Everywhere we went we were blown away by the history and architecture.


And London fashion tip: leather jackets are the thing. Everyone was wearing beautiful leather jackets so obviously I marched right over to Allsaints and bought one like the fashion zombie I am. I am not even kidding. Also, if you visit London you must go to Liberty. It's the most charming tiny department store full of beautiful things and the people who work there are extremely friendly and helpful. I didn't buy a tote bag but I did buy this little zipper pouch. Apparently it's for sunglasses but I'm using it as a wallet. Carnaby street in general was really fun and charming.


Paris. From the second we got off the train I was basically losing my mind. IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE THAT. Like walking back in time! And the light was unreal!  Paris exceeded all expectations and we both fell in love and are already planning our next trip because two days in Paris is not enough days. Marianne asked what my favorite part was and this was my reply:
Favorite things: Wandering around the tiny medieval streets in the Marais district; French breakfast (carbs on carbs!); coming up from any metro station and gasping every single time; walking up the tiny staircase in Sainte Chapelle and being breathless at how fucking beautiful it is; sitting next to the chicest woman I’ve ever seen in my life at a cafe on Île Saint-Louis and being like, THIS IS MY LIFE TOO; making a pharmacist beam when I attempted to speak French while making a purchase. 


It's pure magic, you guys. I didn't buy much in Paris because we were either trying to see everything or we were sitting outside at various cafes recovering from seeing everything. I do want to mention that learning a bit of French before we left was super valuable. Everyone in Paris was very kind and made it easy for us because we made an effort. (We did witness some terrible American (and other) tourist behavior and were both moderately delighted when the crêpe stand guy assumed we were Dutch.)


Packing: How Did I Do?

Now, I knew that I was really overthinking the packing process but you guys stuck with me and I'm going to write a whole aftermath post about it tomorrow. Also, we checked our luggage and it was fine. REPEAT: We checked out luggage and it was FINE. Don't be afraid to check your luggage! (I mean, if you have three flight connections maybe don't but for direct flights or one connection, you'll be good.)



Stuff: How Did It Work Out? 

I bought a fair amount of stuff for this trip and here are my quick reviews:

Travelon Anti Theft Classic Backpack. My backpack worked okay though in retrospect I think it's a bit too small. I appreciated the many pockets and used it mostly for the traveling portions of our trip. However, I'm glad I didn't pay more than $45 as one of the locking zipper pulls broke almost immediately and the lack of double zippers was immensely frustrating. It's fine for a day pack but I think I'll find something a bit bigger and better quality for my next trip.

Turtl Travel Pillow. I used it and it was...okay. I am bad at sleeping on planes and I'm not convinced this thingy is the answer to my airplane pillow prayers but I used it and it was fine. I did like that I could shove it in my backpack when I wasn't using it.

LL Bean Personal Organizer Toiletry Bag. This is the BEST EVER. The medium bag fit all my crap for a week, even my tiny travel flat iron! It held up like a champ and I was grateful for the hook because European hotel bathrooms are the tiniest. I also loved the detachable shower caddy. This bag is probably the best $30 I've spent in a while.

Nike Free RN 2018. These were great! I wore them all over London and Paris and they were comfortable and lightweight. Nike generally fits me well so I wasn't surprised.

Athleta Soho Jogger. Soooo, yeah. Confession time. I have been thrifting on the regular to find things for my Poshmark closet and I found the lined version in grey (slightly older style) in my size for $4. FOUR AMERICAN DOLLARS. So, I returned the Soho joggers but only because why pay $89 when you have perfectly good $4 airplane pants? And they were perfect! I was warm and comfortable.

Vince Camuto Gally crossbody. I bought this on Posh because my MBMJ crossbody was way too small. The VC bag was perfect for what I needed during the day - just big enough for my giant phone, lip gloss, tissues, money/cards and sunglasses. It had two zip compartments and felt secure. Nobody picked my pockets is what I'm saying. Definitely a keeper!

Banana Republic Silk-Cotton Pointelle sweater. Don't buy this. I panic-bought it in black a few days before we left so I'd have a super-light sweater option. It's cute and comfortable and pills so badly that after one wear it looked like total shit. I am going to try to return it because what the actual hell, BR. You're back on my list.

THIS IS A LONG POST. More tomorrow!

18 comments:

  1. Long time listener, first time caller, if you do plan to return to paris, I would suggest downloading an app called mapstr and adding megmcg49 (me). It has all my restaurant recommendations for paris. I have a ton.

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  2. Your reaction to Paris brought tears to my eyes. My husband and I will be making our eighth visit in December. There’s no such thing as too much time in Paris. May I ask if the narrow cobblestone street in the photo is Rue Rollin? That’s where we stay! So happy you had a wonderful time.

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    1. Yes! Good eye. We were staying on Rue Monge.

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  3. If it is not too much to ask, would you relay in your upcoming post (or maybe a different post?) where you stayed and what you thought of the accommodations? I feel like this is one of the most confusing/intimidating things about planning travel to Europe and would love to hear what you thought! So happy to read that you had a great time!

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    1. Oh, yes, totally! I didn't even think to do this because I'm such a newbie but I'll be happy to write a post about the hotels.

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  4. 😊 Did you get to Pharmacie Monge? If not, put it on the list for next time!

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    1. I did hit up a pharmacy but not that one! Damn it, it was on the same road where I was staying.

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  5. lolol the last time I was in England I panic bought a faux leather biker jacket from French Connection because it was very necessary that I fit in. I feel you and I support you.

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    1. Hahaaaaa. My purchase is indefensible but...vacation.

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  6. I'm laughing so hard b/c I totally get it, but three leather jackets in a few months is just batshit in the best way. I feel that, hard. But now you're set and they are all fantastic. Glad you had a wonderful time.

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  7. I’ve been eyeing Allsaints leather jackets for so long. If leather jackets are all the rage in London clearly I should just pull the trigger!

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  8. Replies
    1. I think it varies a bit depending on the style but I seem to take a US 8 in Allsaints leather. Leather jackets are supposed to start out a bit tight (they'll stretch) but I found the 6 to be too snug.

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  9. So much to say on this one! But first and foremost, I bought that same BR sweater. Dammit. Returning.

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