Planning for Europe…

You may or may not know, but we will be taking a two month vacation this fall. And, as you may or may not realize, I’m a planner (Stu would say over-planner) and I’ve been shopping for things that we need for the vacation.

The vacation consists of a 13 day cruise from Port Canaveral (FL) to Barcelona with stops in Portugal and Spain as well as Bermuda. We’ll spend a couple of days in Barcelona, then fly to Rome on a budget airline. A couple of days of sightseeing before our second cruise, 10 days with stops in Greece, Turkey and Italy before landing back in Rome. A couple more sightseeing days (and resting), then we fly to Edinburgh (on a budget airline). More sightseeing, then a 5 day guided tour of the Highlands before we go back to Edinburgh for a couple of days. Then it’s time to fly back to Barcelona (yes, another budget airline flight) and the 14 day cruise back to Ft Lauderdale (FL) with several stops in Spain and Portugal.

The budget airline note is important because the European budget airlines have very tight carry-on rules. For example, Ryanair limitations are: PERSONAL ITEM: 14″ x 8″ x 8″  OVERHEAD ITEM : 22″ x 16″ x 8″  22#. They are the strictest we could find and will probably end up being our airline of use. Our current luggage didn’t meet those requirements so we have purchased the most recommended 19″ suitcase that we HOPE will make it through.

Click images to see the product page…

We also bought lightweight backpacks for our carry-ons. These fold up small and have great anti-theft properties. During flights, they will hold medications, paperwork, electronics, passports, & underwear. Basically, anything we couldn’t afford to lose if forced to check out carry-on suitcase.

Another consideration is charging all our devices while traveling. On the ships, it’s not an issue. We’re used to that and have all we need. But we needed to look at an international plug adapter – and one that would work in the UK, Spain, and Italy.

Then there is the weather – our trip starts in Florida in the middle of September. Hot! Then as we cross the Atlantic, it will cool. Barcelona should be comfortable 70-80 and the same with Rome and the second cruise. When we arrive in Scotland for 10 days, we could be dealing with rain, wind, and cold weather.

Needless to say, we’ve kept Amazon busy. The next few posts will show you more of what we’ve purchased and why. I hope it helps someone, sometime, somewhere!

1. Planning for Europe…
2. Planning for Europe – Electronics
3. Planning for Europe – Comfort & Safety
4. Planning for Europe – Packing
5. Planning for Europe – Electronics Take 2
6. Planning for Europe – Laundry
7. Planning for Europe – Personal

Ciao for now!

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