4/28/10-5/17/10
Looking back, one of the biggest things we would have changed about our trip to England last year was that we brought 2 huge suitcases. We packed each case full of things we "thought we might need" and "just in case." Granted - we were staying with a family, and not doing much traveling outside the city of London. And when we did go up to Liverpool, all we brought was a daypack, or should I say, student-sized backpack.
This time around, we knew that suitcases large enough to probably fit us if we tried weren't going to work. Since we have such a train heavy trip, we took into consideration the fact that we might have to quickly hop off one train and catch our next one in a matter of minutes. So, we are taking 2 small roughly 21" tall cases, with rollers. These suitcases are ones that we had before (or are borrowing, hopefully) so these are at no additional cost to our trip.
The idea is that these bags will be what hold everything we are bringing from home: clothes, toiletries, etc. Because of this, we realize we will be using the lovely Laundry Services that each of our hotels promised that they had. We know there will be fees with this, which we will talk about when that happens on our trip. With bags as small as these, we can pack about a week's worth of clothes. We will be gone for about 3 weeks.
Now, what is inconvenient about this is that the luggage on their own would not have enough room for any souveniers we may want to bring home. They also aren't reasonable to take with you on a day trip out to the country, or on a walk through the city. They basically barely hold enough to keep you fresh and clean for the week. This is where daypacks come in.
We are bringing 2 bags, one smaller (for carrying with us into the city, and our guidebook) and one larger pack (for longer day trips out of the city, for larger or more fragile souvenirs, and a laptop).
(RickSteves.com (links to Appenzell Day Bag))
Appenzell Day Pack : 39.95 +tax +shipping
Yes - we love Rick Steves. To be honest, we did buy this bag to be supportive of our European Traveler Hero, but it also promised to be a smartly designed, waterproof bag, and from what we saw decently priced.
(RickSteves.com (links to Convertible Carry On Bag))
Convertible Carry On: : $99.95 +tax +shipping
Another Rick Steves! Both bags come in a variety of colors, but we chose a basic and unassuming black for each bag. Having seen this bag in person now, I must say it amazed me. At first glance, it appears to be as small as the Appenzell, but once you start stretching and pulling and unzipping, it becomes very nearly as large as our luggage bags! Plus, as I like to say, "there are pockets for pockets for pockets!" A nice perk to the Carry On, is if you are having a short trip (Steves takes it for 6 day trips) it will fit everything you need. It features a regular briefcase-style handle, with optional hide-able backpack straps.
We were intending on purchasing two Convertible Carry Ons, but we decided that with our budget the Appenzell would be a perfectly fine accompainment, especially for inner-city day travel, when dropping off souvenirs is merely a minutes walk or ride.
However, time will tell if we really needed "all that bag" with the Carry On, or if we needed more space with the Appenzell.
Our plan: use the Appenzell as a carryon for the flight. Check our 2 pieces of luggage. Leave the Convertible Carry On (at least mostly) *empty* packed in one of our luggage cases. We will be using the Convertible to help carry back on the plane small souvenirs from the trip.
Note: most of our "souvenirs" are going to be Hard Rock Cafe shirts, x2. Light and easy to carry, but takes up a lot of space!
We hope this works, and we hope it's enough!
Total amount spent on Luggage & Day Packs : $168.52 (includes tax and shipping cost)
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