Good morning, we are back from England! I have coffee brewing in my own coffee pot and a second load of laundry in the washing machine!
Since I am unpacking right now, I am going to jot down some notes about packing: what we used, what we didn’t use, what we wished we’d had, etc. When people gave us advice ahead of time, I noticed it was EXTREMELY MIXED: one person’s “Make sure you bring X” was another person’s “Don’t waste space bringing X.” My newly cosmopolitan conclusion is this: it makes much more sense to use phrasings such as “We found X essential” or “We thought we’d use X but we didn’t” (as opposed to saying OTHER PEOPLE won’t need it or OTHER PEOPLE will find it essential), ESPECIALLY if there is some information about WHY—because people vary enormously, and people’s travel experiences vary enormously, and one person’s “Didn’t need it, didn’t want it, didn’t use it” is another person’s “We relied on it for our happiness.”
For example: a coworker told me NOT to bring a dress for Tea, because their family packed dresses and never used them. Fortunately for me, she added a Why: instead of the dresses, they just wore their Nicer Clothes, like trousers and blouses. Well, I do not even OWN trousers or blouses. So I brought a dress, and I wore it not once but twice: once to a fancy tea, and once to an unexpected dinner at the kind of place where one does not wear a graphic t-shirt and cargo shorts. And I am making a resolution for the future to purchase at least one semi-dressy outfit: pants nicer than jeans or cargo shorts; shirt nicer than a t-shirt.
Many, many people told me raincoats were ESSENTIAL. And I would say this: raincoats would have been nice to have, because it rained at least a little bit almost every single day, and often rained on-and-off all day. But I was not going to buy seven raincoats for a single trip (well, six raincoats: Rob is grown and can buy his own raincoat if he wants one) (but he’s RECENTLY grown, so we were trying to help cover some of his expenses for this trip, and raincoats acquired for the trip would have been something I would have included him in), and although several times I envied people who had raincoats, I did not wish I’d bought seven (six) (seven) raincoats; and right now I am glad not to be trying to find space in the house for them. Also: I don’t know about you, but if I wear a raincoat when I don’t need a raincoat, I find it hot/oppressive. We did bring some of those $1.79 emergency ponchos, and a couple of us used them when there was a serious downpour, but most of us just got wet and/or used umbrellas. If we were to start traveling regularly to places where it tends to rain pretty much every day, I would likely buy raincoats; if any of us already owned raincoats, I would have brought them along; if only two of us were going on the trip instead of seven of us, I would have bought them.
Shoes, though. I was trying to pack light, but I should absolutely have brought two pairs, because my sneakers kept getting wet—and would have gotten wet even if I’d been wearing a raincoat. It would have been very nice to have a dry pair to wear while the other pair was drying. (Fellow travelers from my group strongly recommend good supportive sandals instead, and I can see how sensible that would be, but I cannot stannnnnnnnnnd the feeling of dusty feet, it makes me truly deep-down physically miserable, so this is from my sneakers-wearing point of view.) I was glad I hadn’t bought new special walking shoes for the trip, because sneakers were fine; again, if we started regularly traveling, I might want to invest in something different/better, but I was glad not to have bought seven (six) new pairs of shoes, or to be trying to find space in the house for them now.
I’d been planning to pack umbrellas, but I took the advice of commenters Em and Sophie who suggested buying souvenir umbrellas in England, and this was great: it was fun to choose them, and the commenters were correct that the umbrellas were inexpensive (7-10 pounds) and cute and readily available. I bought one subtle tones-of-grey London skyline and one British flag pattern, and if anything I wish I’d bought a third.
I was very glad to have a little travel bottle of Febreze, because I used it on my damp sneakers and on clothing I wanted to wear again.
I was very glad to have some laundry detergent with us (my sister-in-law put travel Tide in our stockings at Christmas), so that I could wash clothes in the sink. Even things I’d thought I’d brought plenty of, such as socks, ran out because I got sweaty/wet more often than I’d expected.
I will have to go back and look, but I don’t think anyone mentioned that we should bring allllllll the less-drowsy Dramamine we thought we’d need plus perhaps two extra bottles. We ran out (I had budgeted for the plane, but had forgotten to budget for bus excursions), and I went to half a dozen stores and could not find it. All I could find (and I had to ask at a pharmacy for it, because they kept it behind the counter) was something called Stugeron 15 (cinnarizine) which one kid said did not work well and made them very sleepy. Fortunately I’d brought plenty of motion sickness patches, which I originally tried only because Chrissy Teigen said on Twitter that they worked, and they DO seem to work; they don’t work as thoroughly as Dramamine, but I can use them for shorter and/or less problematic travel.
I was glad I’d brought plenty of benadryl and melatonin; the jet lag was rough, and also some of us have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places. I was glad some commenters mentioned that we would not be able to buy hydrocortisone cream in England; I tossed a tube into my suitcase, and we DID end up using it: one kid got some sort of mystery hive, and another kid got a little rash on their arm.
This is just going to have to be a series of posts, because look how long this is already, and all I have covered is rain gear and laundry stuff and medications and shoes.
Welcome back! I’ve been wondering how your trip went and can’t wait to hear all about it.
Welcome home! I’m excited to hear more about your trip, all the ins and outs!
Welcome back! I’m intrigued that none of you already own raincoats, but if I were in your shoes I would have probably only packed/bought umbrellas too. We only do carry-on and a rain jacket can take up a lot of precious space, especially for a trans-Atlantic flight where I’d want to bring home souvenirs.
When we went to Vancouver for a long weekend this spring though, we knew it would rain heavily and brought our rain jackets and umbrellas, even though we only took personal items on the plane. And we were glad we did!
As a person who lives in (near) Vancouver, it did not even occur to me that someone might not own a raincoat! Indeed my most used piece of outerwear by far.
I didn’t own a raincoat FOREVER. Even living in New Orleans for years. But then I started working Jazz Fest (it always rains once) and instituted pandemic walks (still going both the walking and the pandemic) and before that refused to DRIVE the children to school so everyone owns at least one.
Welcome back! I hope it was a wonderful trip and I look forward to hearing more about it!
I’m glad someone else advised you to buy souvenir umbrellas, because I would have suggested that if I’d thought of it. On a trip to London with a relative a few years ago (while I was still living in the UK but no longer living in London), we forgot to pack umbrellas and predictably got caught in the rain. I got one with a photo of Abbey Road on it, which I gave to my Beatles-obsessed dad after the trip was over.
I’ve lived in the UK/Ireland off and on since 2017, and would you believe I still don’t have a proper raincoat? I do have a lightweight windbreaker-type thing that I found at a thrift store awhile back, and it’s pretty good for rain protection if I wear it over a hoodie or sweater. Plus it weighs next to nothing, so I can put it in my bag if I don’t end up needing to wear it.
As luck would have it, I’m currently packing for a trip of my own right now, and this post reminded me to bring laundry detergent.
But wait – was it FUN?
Questions! How long were you there? What kind of luggage did you allocate for the family? Did you rent a car?
We recently went on a 16 day European trip that included a 7 day cruise. For our family of 4, three of us packed in medium sized suitcases and one in a carry on size. 3 of us had backpacks as well. It was manageable for all our modes of transportation, but curious how your larger family managed!
Can’t wait to hear more!
I recently traveled to the Netherlands and brought laundry soap sheets (dry) to do laundry in the sink. They worked great and I didn’t have to worry about something spilling in my luggage. I am in awe of you bringing only one pair of shoes. I brought two, and that was a struggle, but I was happy to have something different to change into after a long day of walking.
Yay! Welcome back! I feel like every trip my husband and I have ever taken to Europe has involved copious amounts of rain, and so a waterproof coat is always an item we find essential. But I can see how buying seven (six) raincoats for one trip would be QUITE an undertaking. (This makes it sound like we go to Europe All The Time, which, I WISH, but is not true.)
The Dramamine situation sounds very alarming and I’m glad you had alternative helpful options.
Was it just the seven of you, or did you go with other family? Was there A Reason (wedding, concert, art exhibit) for the trip or was it Just Because? How long did it take you to get pas the jet lag? Are you jet lagged now, back home?
Looking forward to more trip posts!
Ha! – I’m with you on the essentials/recommendations etc, it’s much like having a restaurant recommendation, you definitely have to know the parameters and how similar you are to the recommender! Just to say for anyone else coming to the U.K. though – you absolutely can buy hydrocortisone cream over the counter. The key thing with any medication is to find its main ingredient (Dimenhydrinate in the case of Dramamine, for example) and ask a pharmacist to match it.
Very true. We don’t have Dramamine in Canada – here dimenhydrinate is found in Gravol.
Welcome back! And thank you for this post–I’d love to hear all of these kinds of details, as many and for as long as you can stand to write about!! Hope you had a wonderful time!
The is was fun to read as my middle son and I just got home yesterday from our own trip to London to visit friends. I had a similar issue trying to find Dramamine for him, but went into a Boots and showed the empty bottle to the pharmacist who then sold me a packet of Kwells, which I was surprised was only like 3£ since everything else was so expensive.
I’m intrigued that you had so much rain. We only had one day of showers for about an hour (but we mainly stayed in West End Surrey with two days in London proper).
Also, I live outside Seattle and am kind of shocked that Rob lives here without owning a raincoat! I swear no one in this area uses umbrella but raincoats and rainboots are an absolute necessity. We lived here for 9 months before I finally broke down and bought myself a good raincoat and I was so glad I finally did. Maybe that’s something to put in a Christmas/birthday list for Rob.
I grew up in Seattle…stopped carrying an umbrella after I destroyed a few because of the wind. (My mom was from Wyoming so in her mind an umbrella was essential) I switched to raincoats, hoodies anything but umbrellas, since they had a strong desire to turn inside out. Yes I too am surprised Rob doesn’t have a raincoat, or maybe he just didn’t think to bring it on the trip. I moved to Colorado and am back to an umbrella, but we hardly ever need one.
I like your advice on giving the “why” behind packing choices. I’ll try to do that from now on!
Welcome back! I can’t wait to hear whether you enjoyed the trip! I hope so! I’m sure you’ll also enjoy sleeping in your own bed again too :-)
I am obsessed with the idea that you live in a climate in which none of the 7 of you need to own a raincoat! MIND. BLOWN.
But then I live in an extremely rainy part of a rainy country (north west England) and my kids wear winter coats to school all winter and then switch to raincoats for the summer term ;)
Also: while it IS typical I feel bad for you that you had so much rain! We had at least a month of super warm super dry weather right before you arrived. It’s always the way…
Looking forward to more of this Travel/Packing Review content! Glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks about packing before AND after a trip.
These are my absolute favorite type of posts because I love planning and hearing about planning and all things organization and with reasons!
And sandals- my god yes. I hate them. I wear them only to and from the car to the pool. My feet need socks to keep some distance from the world which is trying to get horrendous dirt and dust on them.
Search for Meclizine 25mg generic on amazon. It’s less than $10 for 300 pills and they are the same active ingredient as the dramamine less drowsy. I use them a lot due to severe motion sickness and it’s way cheaper to buy in bulk.
Welcome home!
Welcome back and thank you for sharing so many details about your packing. I am looking forward to hearing all of your thoughts and musings about your experience. The only thing that could make it better is if we could share a ‘spot of tea’ on a cozy porch overlooking a quiet lake while you filled me in about your experience.
“my sneakers kept getting wet—and would have gotten wet even if I’d been wearing a raincoat”
hee!
This post drives home the point for me of how personal ‘what to pack’ really is. We live in Florida where it rains, so I own a lightweight rain jacket that doubles as a wind breaker. I always pack it. While I’m used to getting soaked on a warm day by our afternoon monsoon, I don’t want to be rained on all day or get cold. And the windbreaker aspect makes it a layering piece that has saved me on multiple occasions when it was colder/windier than expected. It rolls up small and even if it never leaves suitcase I’m not sorry I have it.
On the other hand, I have been known to leave the sneakers at home for shorter trips. My feet swell when I am hot or do a lot of walking. It’s so little that I barely even notice it. Unless I’m wearing sneakers, because swollen feet in sneakers results in blisters. I usually take sandals and a soft leather shoe.