Once we figured out which cities we would be visiting, we started looking for hotels. Typically when we go on vacation, we're always looking for recommendations. However, with this trip, we were using all of our credit card points on hotels. We have a specific portal to use to look through all the partnered hotels with Chase.
I literally started searching in our portal for the hotels that Rick Steves recommended in his books. I used the maps that came in our travel books to figure out which part of the cities would best suit our adventures. Then I divided up all of our points to see what a rough estimate per night would be.
I think confirming all of our hotels took the longest. We wanted nice hotels, in a modest points range, and still in the "perfect" spot in the city. SPOILER: we loved all the hotels that we stayed in.
Once we had hotels confirmed, I created an excel spreadsheet with all of the places we'd be staying so that we could give the itinerary to our family. If you'd like to see it, you can view it here.
Also, in that workbook, you can see that I had a London itinerary for the various things we wanted to see, a rough itinerary for the whole trip for ourselves, as well as a "bucket list" that was created just in case we didn't have enough time to see everything. We wanted to ensure we saw everything that we had to see.
I was definitely viewing this trip as a bucket list trip. I have no idea what life will entail and if I'll ever get back to Europe. I hope to, but who knows. I wanted to see as much as I could while we were there.
I knew that I wanted to take trains as often as I could on this trip. I really wanted to immerse myself in the culture. We booked a train from London to Paris (through the Chunnel) and from Paris to Switzerland. We used the Eurostar from London to Paris, and we used the TGV high-speed train from Paris to Switzerland. We also purchased a Swiss Travel Pass that allowed us unlimited travel for 4 days in Switzerland. However, when I looked at travel options for Switzerland to Venice, it ended up saving us time and money to fly. That was okay.
The part of the trip that I get asked about the most is what we packed. Since we only brought backpacks, we had to pack light. It was definitely exciting, scary, and a challenge all at the same time. I had never packed this way, so again, I started doing more research.
I printed off several travel lists from blogs. Then I started writing my own. I made a list and then started crossing things off that list that I didn't really need. HA!
In the end, here's what I ended up packing:
- 2 pairs capris (1 jean/1 white)
- 5 blouses
- 1 t-shirts
- 1 tank top
- 5 pair underwear
- 1 bra
- 2 pair pjs
- 1 swimsuit
- 5 pair socks
- 1 pair Toms shoes
- Razor
- Body Wash
- Toothbrush/toothpaste
- Floss
- Mascara
- Eyeliner
- Chapstick
- Face Lotion
- Deodorant
- 2 sets contacts
- Contact Solution
- Glasses
- Comb
- Hair Gel
- Hair Spray
- Hair Ties
Clothes that I wore on the plane:
- 1 pair jeans
- 1 t-shirt
- 1 bra
- 1 pair underwear
- 1 pair socks
- Tennis shoes
- Belt
Other Things I Packed:
- Passport
- Phone/charger
- Power Adapters
- Power Bank
- Headphones/adapter
- Copies of Passport
- Itinerary
- e-tickets/confirmations
- Guidebooks (4)
- Journal
- Sleep Mask
- Intstax Mini 9
- Film
- Collapsible water bottle
- 2 tennis balls (for my neck/ear issues)
- Ib profen
- Credit Card/Emergency Cash
- Laundry Kit
I literally took the bare necessities. Like I mentioned previously, we did do laundry, and it worked out perfectly!
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