We had a household debrief after returning from two weeks in France, and here is our advice to our future selves about travel:
- Don’t check bags.
- Don’t take neck pillows.
- When taking backpacks, make sure they can somehow connect to roller suitcases.
- Take fewer clothes.
- Don’t take bulky one-fine-dining-experience-only shoes; take flats instead.
- Don’t clothes shop before going, clothes shop once there.
- Take sunscreen (although European sunscreen is very good).
- One shared toothpaste is okay.
- It’s okay — and feels like lovely magic — to take an Uber to/from airport, no matter the moral purity of figuring out transit.
- Always buy multi date transit tickets in any city: even if it doesn’t make financial sense, the convenience is priceless.
- Getting local SIM cards in advance is worth the effort, and makes assuming European life on arrival more seamless.
- A 5 hour layover in Toronto or Montreal on return is a long slog; the ideal, to minimize waiting but minimize rushing, would be 90-120 minutes.
- Don’t eat the second meal on the return flight, save that for layover dining.