This will be my first cruise! I had a stockpile of leave, and Hans' mom needed a travel buddy. As soon as my new passport came in the mail after the holidays I called Maury and asked where she wanted to go. Seriously, I was willing to go anywhere. Many of Hans' family members have been on river cruises with this company, so I had faith that we'd have a good time no matter what trip we picked. I am especially excited that there will be only 46 people on the boat. Only 4 people (including Maury and I) are arriving early for the extension in Nice. It will be nice to ease into this trip rather than hit the pavement at a blistering pace, like I usually try to restrain myself from doing.
Presently I'm killing a few hours at Heathrow before my last flight to Nice, so I'd like to mention two items I purchased for travel (and hopefully future trips).
1. Packing Cubes
(image credit to ebags)
I've been wanting to try these for a while. I've read reviews by people who love them and people who find them useless. After packing my bag last night, while I was impressed by the fact I could cram all my clothes for this trip into one neat and compact unit, I became quickly aware of the inefficiency of space usage. The bottom of my suitcase has a lot of nooks and crannies that I was unable to take advantage of because of the, er, cube-ness of the cubes. Duh, right? Still, I think that at a minimum they will provided a good way to separate the clean and dirty laundry during my trip. On the flight back I will probably pack without the cubes and see how it compares.
2. A camera bag that doesn't scream "Expensive camera, right here!"
(image credits to kellymoorebag.com)
I was sooooo happy when I found this. One thing I always struggle with is how to carry my SLR camera around. We have a nice Canon brand camera backpack that can hold multiple camera bodies and lenses, but I never felt comfortable carrying it around because I felt like I had a huge "rob me" sign on my back. On the flip side, I usually disguise the fact that I'm carrying a camera by putting it in a casual tote, but the flimsy fabric made the camera vulnerable to bumps and dropping.
Tired of worrying about it, I did an internet search for "camera bag purse" and was amazed to see that there is a huge array of products out there. I purchased a medium-sized bag that comes with a long padded removable strap as well as a shorter shoulder strap. The bag itself is generously deep, and the removable camera cavity is made just like any other camera carrying case with velcro-adjustable walls. Once your camera is inside, there's still plenty of room for your wallet, keys, and some snacks. I love it.
Anyway, better log off before my 45-minutes of free wi-fi are all gone (come on, Heathrow!).
A bientot!
-Dani
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