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Capsule Wardrobe for Three Week Trip

Carry On Luggage Only for Three Weeks

September 9, 2022

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Airline travel is stressful these days. Lost luggage, canceled flights, delays. It’s a tough time in the travel industry. Up until this year, our six years of the Grand Adventure has been relatively stress free with limited luggage or flight issues, six years and 161 flights, we only lost luggage twice (see last week’s blog about this Around the World Nine Times Lost Luggage Twice). But it’s a different beast now, and so I’ve put together a capsule wardrobe for three week trip we are embarking on.

We booked this trip last spring, before so much airline trouble began. I’m hopeful we might be past the worst of the summer travel nightmare, but still am not going to take a chance checking my bags. This trip is tight between flights, and I have enough to worry about with connections and potential cancellations I don’t want to worry about luggage too. So for the first time I am doing carry on only, so needed a capsule wardrobe for three week trip.

Although I consider myself a really good packer, when we go for months at a time I never do carry on only because I need to bring so many things like months worth of contact lenses, or months worth of prescription meds. I also carry our French press, the mug, laundry supplies, first aid and toiletries for extended travel.

Carry on to avoid loosing luggage (canva)

All that said it’s time to tighten up the bags, and this trip, just under three weeks, gives me a good opportunity to give it a try with a capsule wardrobe for three week trip. I’ve learned a lot from my friend Katherine who writes a blog called The 5kilo Traveller. Her information and instagram posts are helpful and inspirational. Check her out on Instagram and her blog here.

What is a Capsule Wardrobe

With just a little bit of planning, it was easy to pull together a capsule wardrobe for travel from my pieces I already have. A capsule wardrobe is a small wardrobe with multiple pieces that you can mix and match and layer and use in various ways. A capsule wardrobe starts with a simple color pallet. I chose black and white for my pants. Then added in pieces that I can mix and match.

Of course your capsule wardrobe will vary depending on your travel destination and the weather. But you should be able to bring the same number of items for five days as you might for five weeks. It’s all in the planning.

My Trip

I’m headed to the English Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, followed by a few days in France. Then I return to the USA via Boston and head immediately to Acadia National Park in Maine for five days of camping. So my capsule wardrobe needs to consist of comfortable and versatile clothes for fall weather that could be in the 70’s or the 40’s, sunshine or rain, as well as both city strolling or rugged hiking.

Layers on the Plane

It’s rare you get blankets on the plane anymore so I like to have a coat handy to use as a blanket. This is my airplane outfit in this photo. It consists of layers that should keep me comfortable no matter the temperature of the plane…and you never know what that will be. Also by layering I’m able to wear several items instead of squeezing them into my bag.

Airplane layers in Capsule Wardrobe colors

My airplane outfit is a tshirt, long sleeve cotton button up blouse and a cotton long sleeve sweatshirt paired with black leggings and my running shoes. The leggins will be handy for the camping portion of our trip and will likely serve as pajamas while camping too.

Black and White

I am packing one pair of black slacks, one pair of white slacks and one pair of black shorts. These staple bottoms will carry me through most days. To mix and match with these three bottoms (and also the leggings) I have another short sleeve tshirt in a bright pink, one yellow tank top, one blue linen lightweight blouse, one blue linen long sleeve blouse, a sweater set (polka dot and black) and a black and white pullover cotton sweater. These all mix and match with the airplane outfit items.

Dresses

If we get fine weather in the Channel Island and France I have packed two cotton dresses. My green TravelSmith dress has been a workhorse in my travel wardrobe for years. And this orange cotton dress I added this year from Talbots. I can layer both of these with the black sweater or checked blouse. I’ve thrown in one scarf.

Camping

In addition to the leggings and the tshirts already mentioned I have packed my long hiking pants, my hiking shorts, my short sleeve hiking shirt, a long sleeve tshirt and a lightweight quick dry hiking sweatshirt. Camping could be wet, my Gortex jacket with hood will serve for both rain and warmth.

Shoes

It’s always hard for me not to bring too many shoes, so the fact that I’ve decided to only bring two pairs is kind of amazing. I am wearing my black running shoes on the plane and though I don’t plan to run during this trip, these shoes can be walking and hiking shoes as well. In addition I am bringing my new white leather sneakers from Soludos. These work with everything including dresses.

And Everything Else

Beyond my wardrobe I will be bringing underwear, first aid, one towel, a paired down toiletries bag, travel alarm and a small travel umbrella. We also have purchased two collapsible water bottles and we will try those out for the first time as well as a new collapsible hot water heater. I’m curious to see how I like that. I always carry my laptop, kindle, cords and chargers too. I have a new over the shoulder travel purse for my documents, passport, cash and credit cards as well as a few essentials for the airplane like my noise canceling headphones, lip balm, Tylenol and tiny toothbrush and toothpaste for the plane.

And one more thing – if you aren’t using packing cubes go buy some now! Game changer.

And That’s It

So that is my capsule wardrobe for three week trip. I feel good about my choices. It won’t surprise me if I end up not using something, but that said I still don’t think I have over packed. It’s actually a fun challenge for me. If it goes well, we will see if I can compress when we leave for seven months in October.

Be sure to check with YOUR airline as there are some differences as far as carry on size allowed. A little planning and you should be good to go.

Thanks for reading my post Capsule Wardrobe Three Week Trip. Be sure to see last week’s post about our data from six years of world travel and airports and airlines around the world Nine Times Around the World Only Lost Luggage Twice.

See this week’s top performing pin here Coastal Grandma Does That Make Me Cool?

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Around the World Nine Times, Only Lost Luggage Twice

Six Years of Travel 235,000 Miles

September 2, 2022

Laureen

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Airline travel this summer has been difficult to say the least. I personally know many people who lost luggage, including my own adult kids. In fact the luggage they lost took nine days to find them, and several items had been stolen from the bag when it finally arrived. But, up until this year, our travels since April 2016 have indirectly but quantitatively taken us around the world nine times, only lost luggage twice.

Alas times have changed. You can stay on top of this issue here.

Shortest flight Mahe to Praslin Seychelles 29 miles

All the trickle down from Covid and staff losses, combined with a pent up demand for travel have made this summer unique in the history of air travel. I feel really blessed to have had such good luck with the 161 flights we have taken since beginning the Grand Adventure in April 2016.

The Numbers

These numbers are pretty remarkable so I wanted to share them with you, in an effort to show how reliable air travel has been up until now. In our 161 flights over a period of six years we only lost our bags twice. The first time was on Air Maroc in Casablanca and it was only for two hours. The second time was on Iceland Air from Reykjavik to Copenhagen and it was for four days. It shows the system has been really reliable when you consider the following numbers;

Total Miles Flown April 2016 to July 2022 is 235,000 – an equivalent of nine times around the earth.

Total Number of take off and landings 161

Total number of airports 127

Farthest flight Seattle to Dubai 7410 miles

Shortest flight Mahe Seychelles to Praslin Seychelles 29 miles

Smallest Airport and Airplane (six seater) Placencia Belize to Punta Cana Belize

Top Four Airports;

Seattle USA 29 flights

Don Muang Thailand 7 flights

Rio de Janiero Brazil and Kahului Maui tied at 6

Heathrow England, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Bangkok Thailand and Casablanca Morocco tied at 5

Top USA Airports after Seattle are Las Vegas and San Francisco at 4, JFK at 3 and Boston at 2

Total number of airlines 55

Most frequent airlines;

Alaska 17

Air Asia 10

British 8

Qatar and Agean tied at 6

Delta and GOL tied at 5

Highest mileage airlines;

Alaska 32,000

British 20,400

Emirates 17,200

Qatar 12,500

Iceland 12,300

787 for a short flight from Mombasa to Nairobi

Moving Forward

It’s hard to know if the airline industry will ever get back to the way it was. I think it’s doubtful. There are many things that the PanDamit has changed, and it’s likely those changes are here to stay. We have a three week trip coming up next week. It involves multiple flights. To avoid lost luggage we will carry on our bags for the first time. I’m working hard on a capsule wardrobe that will cover my needs during this three week trip. I’ll tell you about how I’m doing that in a blog next Friday so please check back.

Meanwhile, I can do some things to help make my trip a success, like packing light and checking on, arriving for my flight well in advance and having all my documents ready. But of course I don’t have control over canceled or overbooked flights, staffing issues or weather. C’est la vie.

Around the World Nine Times Only Lost Luggage Twice

Around the world nine times, only lost luggage twice. I’ve never had a flight canceled ( though we have had many delays) and we only missed a flight once which was our fault. Fingers crossed these statistics will stay the same by the time I return back to Seattle after three whirlwind weeks in the end of September.

Here is some more valuable information for you What to do if Your Flight is Canceled.

Shout out to my hubs for his incredible Excel spread sheet that has the most amazing and in-depth and detailed information about the Grand Adventure. You wouldn’t believe the data I have at my fingertips. Thanks honey for that. Ask me anything…we probably have the answer on the spreadsheet!

Be sure to come back for next week’s blog post about my capsule carry-on wardrobe for three weeks in the English Channel Islands, France and then Acadia National Park Maine.

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Coastal Grandma – Does That Make Me Cool?

August 12, 2022

Laureen

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Last month when I was in Wisconsin with some friends, they mentioned this term “Coastal Grandma”. I had heard the term but really hadn’t paid any attention. I asked my friends what a Coastal Grandma was and they described the fashion and interior design aesthetic that is apparently all the rage thanks to TikTok.

Only a few days after I returned to my summer home in Washington State another friend of mine told me that I was “a Coastal Grandma before it was cool”. Wait. What? Okay time to explore what is this and am I one? And does that make me cool?? Do I want to be cool? Coastal Grandma – Does That Make Me Cool?

Coastal Grandma

On closer inspection I learned that you don’t need to live on the Coast (I don’t), be a Grandma (I’m not) or frankly even be of my generation (fabulous sixties) to embrace the Coastal Grandma aesthetic. And indeed I guess I have been embracing it to some extent long before it was cool.

Love this all cotton ensemble with eyelet skirt and fresh white button down from Talbots

Fashion

Apparently it’s Coastal Grandma cool to wear comfortable yet stylish clothes with simple lines that are made of natural fabrics often in soft tones of whites and beige. Okay, well I got some of that covered. But, with my skin tone and silver hair I tend to gravitate away from beige and instead choose bold and bright colors that flatter my hair color and skin.

Cream Linen pants and tank and silk kimono is so versatile and cool and comfortable too

That said I have been promoting for years the amazing natural fabrics, especially linen, that I find perfect for travel and warm climates. Yes, linen wrinkles, but there are many linen pieces out there now that don’t wrinkle, and especially in humid climates the wrinkles fall out as soon as the fabric is against your body. I adore linen and I have no less than two dozen items in my closet made of linen including pants, tops, dresses and cardigans. I also own a lot of cotton pieces, silk blends and lightweight knits.

Linen dress is lined and perfect for a summer wedding and travel too from Ann Taylor

I guess Talbots must be Coastal Grandma cool because a large percentage of my wardrobe comes from Talbots (with a few pieces also from J Jill, Ann Taylor and Tommy Bahama). Without knowing I was Coastal Grandma cool I have been collecting items over the past five years that work well for travel, are easy to care for, stay bright after multiple washings, hold their shape and look appropriate on my fabulous sixty something body. Who knew it was cool? I just thought it was comfortable.

White linen cool and comfy for tropical islands

I’ve thrown a few photos in here of some of my more recent purchases that will be in my suitcase when we head out for long-term travel again this fall.

White linen slacks and easy v -neck cotton blend pullover for cool summer nights. Talbots.

Interior Design

I love my little house that we have been working on for the past few years. We have created a comfortable and cozy space that is bright and airy to spend the summer months when in Washington State. Eventually when we no longer travel for long portions of each year it will be a perfect place for the two of us to grow old together.

A departure from previous houses I have had, I wanted this house to have a similar and light color pallette throughout. We did this with matching wall colors, matching floors and matching cabinetry throughout. By adding a hint of natural colors to different rooms we have created a functional and cheerful space. I just love it.

One of my favorite rooms is the Master Bedroom which is natural whites with a touch of sea blue. The master bath is also natural whites with touch of gray and beige. This summer we have added a few accent walls in a few rooms including a pale blue in the reading room and a pale green in the entry. I used a new color pallette by Benjamin Moore that is designed to tie together and flow perfectly.

Although I had no idea I was creating Coastal Grandma vibe, but apparently I was and I like it no matter what other people think. It’s where I live and my goal is calm comfort.

Simple

My life took a dramatic turn when I retired nine years ago (about the same time this fabulous blog began) and that dramatic turn was purposeful and calculated. We wanted a simpler life, an easier life, a stress-free life and an affordable life. We choose not to burden our lives with committees, commitments and complications that didn’t fit our retired goals. We chose to let go of “stuff”. We choose minimalist comfort, intentional calm; we created time to do the things we love the most in our silver years, travel being one of the most important. That simple, unpretentious, comfortable and affordable life is what we have achieved.

Coastal Grandma? Well okay if that’s what you want to call it. I call it fabulous. Go. Be. Fabulous.

My friend Randi writes a design blog. Check out her Coastal Grandma post here.

See last week’s post about my fabulous trip to Door County Wisconsin here.

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Hotel Microwave Cooking

Staying on Budget by Cooking in Your Hotel Room

May 27, 2022

Laureen

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We blew our budget through the atmosphere during our 12 days in New York City. Most of that was because we ate out every night in an expensive city. Then we were under budget on the island of Antigua because we used our kitchen and ate in 8 of the 10 nights. Next we arrived to our beautiful resort in Turks and Caicos. A generous room, with a fridge, sink, washer/dryer and microwave. So I got busy figuring out how to stay on budget with hotel microwave cooking.

Hotel Microwave Cooking

I have a microwave at home, but it is not a source for cooking for me. I use it only occasionally to reheat food, or cook frozen vegetables. I’ve never made an entire meal in a microwave. So I went to my favorite recipe source – Pinterest of course, for hotel microwave cooking ideas.

Here in Turks and Caicos everything is expensive. And we really try to stay within our budget, which is how we sustain long term travel. Groceries are expensive, but eating out is even more expensive. So our nine nights at the Royal West Indies Resort meant hotel microwave cooking more than half of those.

Breakfast

We always eat a bowl of fruit, spinach, quinoa, yogurt, and nuts for breakfast. But I had never cooked quinoa in the microwave before. But, yes you can. And the nice thing about quinoa is you can also make other great meals with it using pre-cooked chicken from the grocery store, beans and veg. It’s a wonderful staple that is part of my daily diet.

Quinoa in the Microwave

I never knew you could make hard boiled eggs in the microwave….what planet have I been on? This is revelation for me, because we each eat a hard boiled egg every morning with our breakfast bowl. Here’s how;

Hard Boiled Eggs in the Microwave

Tip – we found these turned out best only doing four at a time. We did six minutes so times might vary for each microwave.

And we also enjoyed microwave omelet;

Omelet in the Microwave

Tip – I didn’t have cooking spray but olive oil or butter works fine. I used a bowl not a mug and this is essentially scrambled eggs not an omelet. I added cheddar, spinach and green onion. I had heavy cream from the pasta the night before (see below) and used that instead of milk. I cooked the eggs a total of 4 min stirring every 30 sec. Microwave cooking time will vary.

Dinner

I made four dinners, two of them using the microwave.

Microwave Risotto

Tip – this was a bit messy, but ended up tasting great. It took longer than I thought it would.

I made a parmesan spinach version.

Creamy Tomato Rigatoni

Tip – the pasta took 15 min. A smaller pasta probably wouldn’t take as long. After 15 min our microwave overheated and we had to let it cool down before we could continue. I cooked onions and garlic in butter then added canned tomatoes and heavy cream to make it creamy as well as parmesan.

Without using the microwave we also had a very yummy Swiss cheese and turkey on Toast with a cucumber tomato salad as well as a salad with store bought cooked chicken and lots of other store bought yummy ingredients. You can also cook bacon in the microwave and make BLT’s.

Stay On Budget With Creative Cooking

We don’t travel like we are on vacation. We travel like we are living a regular day…it just so happens to be in an exotic location. And this is how we stay on budget, experience the local culture and feel a little tiny bit like a local. It’s what we set out to do more than six years ago when we started the Grand Adventure, and we have made it work. This is how we sustain long term travel – by cooking in our Airbnb and occasionally in our hotel. Thanks for reading my blog post Hotel Microwave Cooking. Watch for next Friday’s post all about the Royal West Indies Resort in Turks and Caicos.

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See last week’s post The Birds of Antigua.

See this week’s top performing pin here My Favorite Things in New York City.

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Updates & Changes My Fab Fifties Life

April 22, 2022

Laureen

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During our six weeks back in Washington State, I spent a lot of time doing some updates to this blog (as well as complaining about the weather 🙂 ). Most of the updates are background things you will likely not notice, but you might notice a few tweaks to our design. I also have been doing some work on all of our associated social media accounts. So today very briefly I’ll tell you about the updates & changes My Fab Fifties Life.

Nine Years

Yep, somehow it’s already been nine years since I started this blog. Boy I sure didn’t know what the heck I was doing back then. Just blundering along, with no plans or goals. Fast forward nine years – once the blog became focused on travel (6 and a half years ago), I finally started to take it seriously. From other travel bloggers, classes, podcasts and groups I became associated with, I learned the tools of the trade.

Evolution

I went through a period on social media and on the blog working diligently to build audience, make money and find travel freebies. To limited success.

Nine years in, now that I am no longer interested in partnering or adding advertising or frankly making the blog about income – I am almost daily approached by companies and individuals with offers to do so. But, I am perfectly happy with my little solo effort, my numbers and audience and the accolades I receive for my writing style and photography. I don’t need to buy followers (I have never) or compromise myself with false reviews. I don’t want to follow trends. I try to keep it real here, in all I write and all the photos I share. I try to keep it fun – for me and the followers.

My Fab Fifties Life in New Zealand — New Zealand

Meanwhile

Meanwhile, I am constantly trying to conserve energy with the effort I put into this endeavor. As much as possible I try to consolidate my social media posts, do my writing in advance during down time, and keep to a format that has proven pretty successful.

But despite all that, I’ve struggled with the different audiences that follow the different mediums. So over the past few weeks I’ve decided to make some changes. You may have seen a Facebook post a few weeks back where I announced the My Fab Fifties Life Facebook page was going to go away, and instead I would focus on the My Fab Fifties Facebook Group.

Well, I changed my mind. After consulting with some friends in the biz, I have realized these two entities are independent and should remain so.

My Fab Fifties Life in South Africa — South Africa

Social Media

If you are interested in following us on our six different Social Media platforms, we now have a specific format for each as follows;

My Fab Fifties Life Facebook Page – here you will find access to our twice weekly blog posts as well as , daily posts of our Travel Photography from around the world. I’ve learned how much followers love to see beautiful photos from places they have never been and I have ALOT of photos I can share.

My Fab Fifties Life Facebook Group – this very fun and interactive group page is where you can chime in with games and reminisce about growing up in the 60’s and 70’s including movies, music and cultural icons. This is also a place to find the twice weekly blog posts and interesting news and blogs that fit the theme from other writers.

Twitter @FabFiftiesLife – Sharing travel related stories from both My Fab Fifties Life as well as other Travel Writers from around the globe.

Instagram My Fab Fifties Life – Colorful and daily photos and lots of fun Reels of our travels as well as quotes and inspiration. Home to the fabulous traveling Mug as it moves around the globe.

Pinterest My Fab Fifties Life @laureenlund – If you enjoy the Pinterest search engine our account focuses on travel, food, health, family, style, retirement and books. Join us.

YouTube – We post our Tasty Tuesday cooking classes on YouTube, focusing on cuisines from our travels around the world. On occasion we will also have other YouTube videos about travel related topics. Tasty Tuesday is no longer a weekly post, as that’s too difficult when we are on the road. A new Tasty Tuesday will appear at random intervals.

My Fab Fifties Life in Iceland — The traveling Mug in Iceland

Personal

I try to keep my personal Facebook page, personal. Just for friends and family. I get so many requests from strange men…seriously do they not know I’m OLD? Take a look at my photo! LOL.

Updates & Changes My Fab Fifties Life

As we head off on another long-term travel itinerary, I hope you will hop on board any of the social media options listed above, and also subscribe to the blog (click here to subscribe) and follow along as we navigate the brave new world with an open mind, a big smile, a hearty embrace and the knowledge that life is short…it’s time to be fabulous.

Stay tuned for our first blog post about New York City coming up in two weeks.

See last week’s post The Grand Adventure Continues.

Thanks for your love and support…couldn’t do it without you.

See this week’s top performing pin here – Travel Wardrobe for Multiple Climates

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And The Grand Adventure Continues

Travel is Back for My Fab Fifties Life

April 15, 2022

Laureen

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When we went to Iceland in June 2021 I thought travel was back. But then the Greek alphabet started to wreak havoc on our travel life. First Delta hit in the summer and then Omicron almost shut us down when we were in Mexico. That Pandamit refused to loose it’s grip. Now, more than two years since it started, we once again are cautiously dipping our toes into travel with a ten week tour. We are ready and The Grand Adventure Continues.

And the Grand Adventure Continues (Canva)

My word of the year for 2022 is caution. And although we always travel with caution, navigating a travel life today requires a great deal more preparation and caution than in the past. Changing rules for testing and entry requirements require constant monitoring. It requires patience. It requires time. And it also requires being a bit of a gambler.

Off We Go

So with all that in mind, we have spent the past several months planning, studying the CDC information and reading the US State Department guidelines. We have put hundreds of hours into our preparation to embark on this tour. The destinations listed below each are chosen for a specific reason – personal and cautionary…and the Grand Adventure continues.

New York City

Twice we have canceled a week long winter visit to NYC due to the Pandamit. When we decided to try again for a spring visit, it was because we were headed to Boston for a college reunion. But alas, the college reunion was canceled (sigh). So we added the days we were going to be in Boston to the days we had already booked for New York…giving us a nice long stay of eleven days.

We have been to New York at least a half a dozen times, but each time has always been only 2-3 days. Having eleven days gives us time to slowly see the city and all it’s fabulous museums, restaurants, neighborhoods and history. We have a full itinerary and are really looking forward to it. April 21-May 2.

Caribbean

When we first decided to head to the Caribbean after New York the other countries on our itinerary (see below) hadn’t totally opened up. So we decided to head to the turquoise waters of two islands we had never been to before. It’s been a long time since we spent time in the Caribbean and we are looking forward to ten days in Antigua (in an Airbnb with a car) and ten days in Turks & Caicos (a resort with no car). For us it’s incredibly rare that we stay in a resort, so this should be interesting. It’s not a super fancy all-inclusive, but it is nice and we expect it to be very relaxing and within our budget. May 2-May 21

Morocco

From the Caribbean we fly to Washington DC for a one night stay, where we will also do a Covid test for entry into Morocco. This is also where we will rendezvous with our two adult sons, who are joining us for the Morocco portion of this itinerary. We are off to Morocco to attend a wedding reception of a friend of our family…a party that has been canceled three previous times since the Pandamit hit. Before the wedding in Fes, our family will spend a week touring Morocco. This is my second visit to Morocco and I am really looking forward to seeing this beautiful country again, sharing it with my two adult children and attending a traditional Moroccan wedding. It should be an incredible experience. May 23-May 31.

Senegal

The West Africa nation of Senegal has been on my list for a long time due to it’s fascinating history, but we have never been able to squeeze it in. But it’s a short flight from Casablanca to Dakar so we will check Senegal off the bucket list. We have a brief visit (five days) and have hired a tour guide for two days to take us to some of the major sites. May 31 – June 5.

Paris

From Senegal we are headed to the island of Malta, but to get to Malta requires a flight and an overnight in Paris. Well Paris is always a good idea, right? Fingers crossed for good weather to spend one full day strolling around my favorite arrondissements of the city of lights and eating everything I can. June 5-6

Malta

The next three stops on this tour are three places Covid shut us down in, and we have been counting the days until we could return. So we begin with Malta.

We were supposed to spend three weeks on Malta in May of 2020…of course that didn’t happen. It’s a destination I have wanted to visit for years. Full of beauty and history and fascinating geography…if you don’t know much about Malta you would probably recognize it from the role it plays in many movies and TV shows including Game of Thrones. We are staying in the historic town of Valletta in an Airbnb and we will not have a car except for one day when we have a car to see the ancient city of M’dina. I’ve booked a food tour and a one day tour to the island of Gozo. The rest of the time we will explore on foot. June 6-15th

Israel

In March of 2020 after only five days of our 17 day itinerary in Israel we fled the country to avoid being put into a two week quarantine. We fled to Cyprus (more on that below) and I cried in the car as we drove to the airport. We had seen some amazing sites in Israel, but no where near all, including Jerusalem and Masada. I had waited to visit Israel since I was a child and learned about it from a Girl Scout leader. My heart was broken.

So let’s try it again. This time we will spend our entire 7 day visit in Jerusalem in an Airbnb. We have a Jerusalem tour one day, another tour to Bethlehem in Palestine one day, and we will rent a car and drive to Masada one day. We also have booked a Shabat dinner with a local family. These are all high on my wishlist. I love the food of this region too, and I can’t wait to eat all of it! June 15 – 22

Cyprus

Dear sweet Cyprus. It holds such a special place in my heart, after we spent two months in lockdown on this gorgeous island. But during that two months we did not see any of the amazing historic sites, enjoy any of it’s stunning beaches or eat in any of it’s amazing restaurants. Covid had everything shut down. We have vowed to return and now we will.

Unfortunately we only have seven days, but we know exactly what we want to see and do, and we can make it happen. Looking forward to staying in the same Airbnb we were trapped in for two months and we can’t wait to see our hosts who were so kind to us. We also hope to see our friend Leza who we met and spent a day with in a cooking class – the only thing we got to do before we went into lockdown.

Cyprus is a fascinating tiny country with a disputed border, fantastic food, ancient history (supposedly the birthplace of Aphrodite), mountains and beaches and so much more. Dear sweet Cyprus. We are coming. June 23-30

Ten Weeks and The Grand Adventure Continues

This itinerary is busy…much busier than we usually pursue. But we are taking a deep breath and tackling it, because life is short and due to the Pandamit we have some catching up to do! We will arrive back in the USA June 30th for the summer months before we go again.

We hope you will follow along on this blog and all of our social media sites (Facebook Group, Facebook Page, Twitter and Instagram) and of course here on the blog where I hope to have a post almost every Friday.

Be brave and get out there! Travel is back! And the Grand Adventure continues. Away we go.

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See last week’s post Travel Wardrobe for Multiple Climates.

See this week’s top performing pin here My Favorite Things Ogunquit Maine

All photos in this post by CANVA

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Travel Wardrobe for Multiple Climates

April 8, 2022

Laureen

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We are excited to launch again…headed out this time for ten weeks of travel as we settle back into a life of long-term travel. Unlike our two months in French Polynesia, the next ten weeks have us in nine countries. It’s going to be a whirlwind. Unlike French Polynesia this time I have to think about a travel wardrobe for multiple climates.

Where Are We Going?

This black trench from Calvin Klein I got at Marshal’s for $15.99! I will wear this a lot.

I have a blog coming up next week where I will share our full itinerary, but for the purposes of today’s post, we are headed out to New York City, the Caribbean Islands, North and West Africa, Paris and the Mediterranean. Packing for these ten weeks means I need slacks and dresses, coats and walking shoes, shorts and tank tops as well as respectful attire for Muslim countries that will be hot in the day and cool at night. It’s a challenge to create this travel wardrobe for multiple climates without over packing.

But I’m always up to a challenge.

New York and Paris

I’ll be in New York City for eleven days and Paris for only one. Both cities could have temperatures anywhere from 45 Fahrenheit to 75. It’s hard to say. Since for the last few years our travels have mostly been to tropical locales, I went out and did some shopping for a variety of new items that I hope will be useful and stylish and flow seamlessly into my existing travel wardrobe.

I bought these black crepe pants at Talbots that I think I am going to love. I also bought a white t-shirt, white button down and a little black and white shrug. Here are four ways I can wear the black crepe pants in the big cities. You’ll see these tops used over and over in the weeks ahead.

I’m also bringing my navy linen pants. They are lightweight and I can dress them up or down. Here they are four ways for both the city and rural destinations;

Morocco

We are really excited to return to Morocco, this time with our two adult sons. Together the four of us will travel for one week, then we will attend a very formal and traditional Moroccan wedding in Fes. The bride and groom are special and dear to us, and we are excited to share this event with them. Carrying formal clothes is definitely not something we normally do. We even purchased a new suit bag to make this easier. We are sending the suit bag with our sons and will ship it home with them too (maybe with some other items) giving us more flexibility with our bags. Here are three formal looks for me;

Probably wear this to the wedding. I love the fit of this dress from Ann Klein

This dress never wrinkles. Might wear this for the wedding breakfast. From Tommy Bahama

And my husband’s wedding looks;

And Into the Oven

Two stops in the Caribbean, Senegal and three countries in the Mediterranean will put us back into tropical weather with highs in the 80’s and lows in the 70’s. Of course we love this weather and already have the wardrobe for it. I purchased two new swimsuits from RipCurl (my new favorite) and have done some mixing and matching in my current tropical wardrobe. Since I am a big fan of linen in the heat, some of my favorite linen pieces have made the cut for this trip. Yes linen wrinkles but in warm humid climates the wrinkles just fall away once the garment is next to my body. We will be in Muslim countries as well as conservative Israel where covering shoulders and sometimes knees is required. I can do that with linen pants, dresses with sleeves and scarves and sweaters. I purchased another item, this rust colored duster which I hope will be versatile. It’s from JJill. Here are some of my new and recycled pieces that made the cut.

This sundress is several years old, topped with the duster

Shoes, Always Too Many Shoes

Shoes create havoc in my packing process, and this time, with the formal events, I am even more stymied on how to not over pack the shoes. But, here are the ones I plan to take, more than usual. Some are new and some are tried and true;

Two new for formal events – I’ll send these with our sons

Ecco brand is comfort all the way, and I love both these shoes for travel

Sneakers for many reasons; walking, running, hiking and more

The Hubs

My husband indulges me with selfies most of the time, but was reluctant to let me photograph him for this blog post. I talked him into it though, because I convinced him this time to update his wardrobe with a few contemporary pieces. He is a pretty simple guy, and especially for travel has found his favorite and minimalist travel pieces and rarely needs anything more. But we did a shopping trip for him this month, and I think he looks amazing in his new travel wardrobe for multiple climates. These items plus the linen blazer (see above) will be great additions.

Versatile Henley and new shoes by Cole Haan

He loves these slacks, they are a nice fabric by Perry Ellis

And All the Rest

The total going into the bag for me (I may edit further) is;

3 pants
1 walking shorts
1 hiking shorts
2 t-shirts
2 tank tops
2 short sleeve blouse
3 long sleeve blouse
2 lightweight sweater
1 linen duster
4 sundresses
1 denim jacket
2 formal dresses
2 swimsuits
1 sarong
1 coat and 1 windbreaker
running clothes

It looks like a lot of clothes, but actually it is less than I have brought in the past. And before it all goes in the suitcase I will likely edit it down further. I’ve learned what works and what ends up just being dead weight. I don’t really think much anymore about my toiletries, my jewelry or other items we carry regularly. We have a good system now that includes first aid, our French press, The Mug, a foldable cooler, a beach bag and usually some spices and coffee. Our cords and electronics are all conveniently organized in what we call our gadget bag and it all runs pretty smooth. We covet our packing cubes that are life altering and after so many flights and hundreds of thousands of miles, we are kinda experts with this.

After seven years we continue to use our two REI roller duffel bags. Arne replaced all four wheels on these bags this month and they should be good for thousands more miles. These bags are true workhorses and we love them.

Travel Wardrobe for Multiple Climates

It’s with caution that we launch this next episode of The Grand Adventure. We are excited and ready to tackle the challenges travel presents in this crazy world. Of course we always travel with caution, and will of course do so again…and still look amazing and be comfortable in our travel wardrobe for multiple climates.

I hope you will come back next Friday to read about our nine stops on our itinerary, and why we have chosen these places to visit – we have put a lot of heart and soul in these choices. It’s going to be an amazing journey, and I can’t wait.

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