Planning for Europe – Comfort & Safety

When we take our trip, I will be 76 and Stu will be almost 73. We think of ourselves as youngsters, but our bodies tell us we’re lying. Here are some of the things that will go with us to make our adventure better.

Tops for me is walking, balance, and stability. We know we will do a lot of walking on our five day guided tour of the Highlands in Scotland. We also know there are a lot of hills, stairs, and cobblestones in the old cities we will be checking out. My balance isn’t always the best and with osteoporosis, I worry about falls.

I wanted a walking stick but they aren’t allowed in carry-on luggage due to the pointed ends. I didn’t want a traditional cane, that wouldn’t work when out hiking (although we won’t be doing adventure type hiking). Someone posted on Facebook a photo of their father with what looked to be the perfect walking stick but was actually considered a cane. AND, it was foldable. I ordered it and it will be perfect. I love that I can hold it like a regular walking stick but without the metal tip, it can be carried on board (and I plan to use it, folding once on the planes). I also ordered a an all-terrain tip that is now on it and will work well for me.

Click images to see the product page…

Safety is a key word – as you probably know, pickpockets love tourists. We were used to that from living in Ecuador, we just need to remember to be more aware of our surroundings. Here are some things we have purchased to help us.

The are the cross-body bags where we will keep our passports, wallets, money, and phones while sightseeing the various cities. We wanted flat bags that would easily fit under a sweater or jacket. Our backpacks won’t be used in the normal sight-seeing unless we need to take a raincoat. If we have to remove a jacket or sweater, we will either tie it around our waists or fold it over the sling bags.

In addition, we wanted to secure our phones from dropping them, getting them knocked out of our hands, and getting stolen out of our hands. I did a lot of research, looked at a lot of options before finally deciding on this one. I love that I don’t have to stick/glue anything, it doesn’t interfere with the charging port or the MagSafe charging, and the little tab isn’t in the way anytime it’s not attached. We will clip these to our sling bags and drop the phone in the phone pocket. Good to go!

I currently plan to take my Panasonic Lumix camera (unless it becomes a weight/packing issue, then I’ll have to just use my phone), but I wanted a comfortable strap that was long enough to go cross-body. The weight around my neck never works. I found this one and love it.There are many other colors/patterns to chose from.

We have nice, custom embroidered tags for our suitcases but I wanted something a bit smaller and less easily removed. I found these wonderful personalized tags in several choices of color and order three for me and three for Stu. That gives each of us one for our backpack, cross-body bag, and a suitcase. You can see the choices and order from HERE.

We ordered the keyring style and added these locking micro S-Biners to attach to them (you can see them in our photo). There is a small switch that locks/unlocks it and won’t be easily tampered with by anyone in a hurry. I ordered extras for locking two zippers together on our backpacks, etc.

The last item is a must – a tiny but powerful flashlight. I’ve had one for years but couldn’t find it, so ordered a new one. Needless to say, I found the old one so now we each have one. LOL!

That rounds it up for today – keep watching!

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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