Items that have (surprisingly or not) made my "must pack" list:
- Leggings. It was a bit chillier than I expected on a couple days, reaching only the mid 50s. I slipped these on under my long skirt and felt comfortable all day. I had originally only packed them to sleep in, but they were so handy to have as an added layer.
- Boots. Visiting in spring meant we had to deal with a little rain occasionally. I was hesitant to take my boots at first, since they're so bulky, but they were fabulous in the rain.
- Scarves. These made the list long before this trip, but my love of scarves was just strengthened in Istanbul. Of course, I needed them for visiting mosques, but I wore one every day. I wrapped up in one in the morning, when it was cooler, tied it around my purse once I warmed up from all the walking, then donned it again in the evening.
- Bobby pins. I don't think these made the official packing list, but I always keep some in my purse. Before leaving for a trip, I always think I'll beautify myself every morning before I go out. In reality, I'm in no mood to mess with any of that. I'm ready for adventure the whole time, so bobby pins kept me from having to fuss with my hair. Ever.
Some of my clothes combos:
 |  |
 |  |
Stuff I didn't need (Yep, I still packed too much):
- Running gear. Uuuugggghhh... yes yes, I know. I should've known I wouldn't actually get a run in during the trip. I mean... I should have gotten a run in, but didn't. The half marathon this weekend is going to be a struggle now. I'm a bit disappointed that I won't be running it as quickly as I hoped. I'm still glad I didn't waste my time training though when I was exploring Istanbul instead :)
- Hair drier. Like the bobby pins, I'm not sure I officially added this to my original packing list. The apartment we rented is owned by a guy, so I didn't expect there to be a hairdryer. I have one that fits the European outlets (I blew up a hairdryer in Spain trying to use an "American" version with a converter, so it was a good investment). It's small, so I threw it in at the last moment. Turns out, this guy has anticipated every need, so the apartment had its own hairdryer.
- Swim suit. The hamam (Turkish Bath) we visited had us pretty much covered. I took some of my own gear (as suggested by most guide books), but really didn't need it.
- A book for leisurely reading on the plane. On the way there, I was reading the guidebook half of the time, and sleeping/eating the other half. On the way home, I was watching movies. Not every airline does this, but British Airlines has personal televisions in every seat back, with tons of new releases to watch. I think I watched 3 movies on the way back, including Les Mis. No time for leisurely reading!
- A money belt. Truth is, I ended up not even taking it. I've had it forever, but have never actually used it. And I can finally say (officially) that I never will. They're just obnoxious, and we never travel anywhere that's especially unsafe anyway. Burn, money belt, burn!
What I wish I would've packed:
- Fingernail clippers. I forget how frequently Will and I use these each week. We ended up buying one from a convenient store right across the street from our apartment. I think they were 2 TL (about $1.20), so I wasn't completely devastated that I didn't pack our own.
- Nothing else. Seriously. I didn't need a single other item during the trip. And as you can see from the list above, while I packed pretty light, I still overpacked.
I can safely say that I'm a complete advocate for lighter packing now. It was so nice not to have extra clutter to fuss with (Although I'm still bitter I wasted suitcase space on running shoes for nothing!). Having a washer helped. There turned out not to be a dryer, so we would wash everything a day ahead since we were using a drying rack. It would've worked the same way if I'd been hand washing everything. Apart from the running pants and shoes, I wore every single item I took at least once.
Long story short, lighter packing was a huge success! Bring on the next trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment