Things to Pack That You'll Appreciate

Keeping in mind the One Bag Vacation Policy, I wouldn't go on an overseas trip without a pair of tweezers. Not for personal grooming reasons, but because they're indispensable when you've inserted your ATM card into the machine slot and it gets stuck there.

This actually happened to me a few months ago in Venice, except that it was a credit card in a water taxi ticket machine. I was so relieved to have my tweezers on me, I just pulled that sucker out. Otherwise, I would have been up a creek without a paddle.

Sometimes your card will get stuck because the machine is old and crusty, other times it's because thieves put a sticky substance or a plastic insert into the slot, intentionally to trap your card -- then after you've thrown your hands up and given your card up for lost, they come back later with their own pair of tweezers to empty their traps. Bottom line, it's small and totally worth it to put in your bag!

The One Bag Vacation Policy - The "How" - Part II

Now that you're sold on why The One Bag Vacation Policy rocks and have transcended the mental addiction to packing for every possible contingency, here are some practical applications to travelling light:

1. Make a wish list of everything you would like to bring if you had unlimited space. For those of you who have undergone wedding planning, this is akin to the first cut of your guest list. Most likely, 3/4 of these items will not make it to the final cut.
2. For each item on your list, figure out if, at the end of the trip, you'll still think that it was really worth it lugging that item around the entire time. If it's something you might only use once or never at all, it's probably not worth bringing.
3. Exceptions to #2 above are things that might either save your life or get you out of a serious jam. For example, if you have a severe allergy, obviously bring your EpiPen even if you might never use it. Likewise, I highly recommend bringing a tweezer, not for personal grooming purposes, but in case your ATM or credit card gets stuck in a machine and you need to forcibly remove it (this actually happened to me in Venice and I am so grateful I had that tweezer in my bag).
4. Trust in yourself that you will be able to figure out a workaround for any situations that may arise, rather using overpacking as an insurance policy. As Rick Steves writes, "Pack for the best scenario and simply buy yourself out of any jams." By the way, I highly recommend his website as a great source of information on both this topic and travelling in general (especially in Europe).

So, those are the basics. The hardest part is to mentally divorce yourself from the need to pack everything you could possibly need on your trip. Once you get over that hurdle, you're golden. The practicalities of packing lightly are comparatively simple.

The One Bag Vacation Policy - The "How" - Part I

If you read my last post advocating the One Bag Vacation Policy, then you've probably started envisioning how absolutely amazing it would be to sprint off the plane with your one backpack - liberated from luggage hell at last - and be one of the first people on the immigration line to get a jump on your vacation. Here's how you do it:

The first part is mental. Get comfortable with the idea of wearing the same clothes multiple times on a trip. Overpacking is reassuring - it's your own personal insurance policy against anything going wrong on your trip. At least that's how is feels. In reality, it's a ball bearing chained around your neck. The fact is, things will probably go wrong on your trip and this is okay. You can handle it!

I once packed about 9 outfits for a weekend trip to Chicago and wound up wearing 2. Meanwhile, I had to lug a giant backpack and a duffle bag around the airport and train into the city. It was absolutely miserable and so unnecessary.

Why did I do this? Because I didn't want to risk wanting any particular item and not having it. I wanted to make sure everything went perfectly and wound up screwing myself over instead. If you are an overpacker, I'm sure this has happened to you at least once, if not regularly. How many times have you returned from a trip, unpacked, and stared at the pile of belts, dresses and lotions that you never even glanced at on your trip?

(Sorry, that last line was woman-specific. Men - feel free to substitute in jock straps, porno mags... whatever items you tend to overpack.)

This is the hardest part. Once you can mentally acclimate to the idea and embrace the prospect of luggage freedom, then you're ready for the next step.

The One Bag Vacation Policy - The "Why"

I would like to take a moment (or two) here and advocate something that has recently become very near and dear to my heart:

The One Bag Vacation Policy.

It also goes by the name "Packing Light".

I just returned to New York from a 10-day trip to London, Rome, Florence and Venice and the whole trip was done - comfortably - with one regulation size backpack. This would be the same size backpack as the Jansports or monogrammed L.L. Beans that you used to sling ever-so-jauntily (or maybe ever-not-so-jauntily) over your shoulder in middle school.

Assuming you grew up in 90's East Coast Suburbia.

This minimalist approach to packing was the one decision that had the biggest impact on my mental well-being during the trip. If, like me, you prefer to hoof it rather than take cabs, then you will face an endless barrage of planes, trains, buses and subways. You may also, over the course of your trip, net several hours walking from Train Station A to Hotel B - and not necessarily via the most direct route.

Now imagine the free and unimpeded travel that would be possible if you could just throw your backpack on and breeze by all the poor, mournful souls on the trains, hopelessly wondering where to stow their cursed luggage for the 3-hour journey from Rome to Florence. Or the faceless, dejected parade of tourists with their standard issue suitcases bump-bumping behind them on the cobblestone-lined streets, hands numb from the unforgiving vibrations.

Don't let that be you.

Tune in next time for my post on The One Bag Vacation Policy - The "How".

Save on Crate and Barrel Shipping Charges

If you're looking to buy something from Crate & Barrel, but they don't have the item in stock at the store, ask them to order it for you instead of ordering it yourself online. This way, you can avoid the shipping charge.

In the case of curtains, Crate & Barrel has the various styles they carry on display, but not necessary available for sale in the store. They ordered my curtains for me and had them delivered to my apartment free of charge. It was really convenient!

Just note that on your invoice, you may see a charge for shipping, but this amount is not actually charged to your credit card. I can't guarantee all the types of products that Crate & Barrel will do this for - furniture, for instance, is probably an exception - but it's worth a shot.

Red Velvet Cupcake @ Crumbs

My red velvet odyssey continues - this time in the form of a cupcake at the Crumbs in Union Square. The store is small, but the perfect size. Facing you as you walk in is a display case of all their cupcake offerings... small ones in your traditional chocolate and vanilla varieties... and regular-sized ones (read: HUGE) in all sorts of creative and tantalizing flavors. 

The cupcakes are topped with a mound of fluffy frosting and sometimes sprinkles or crumbled candies. One example that sticks out particularly in my mind was "The Elvis", which was something along the lines of a vanilla cupcake filled with banana custard and topped with peanut butter frosting and tiny peanut butter chips. It was just decadent.

As for the red velvet cupcake, it was also HUGE. And a dark, dark red. So dark it almost looked brown. The appearance was much more appealing to me than the one from Kitchenette because the look conveyed the taste of it. And it just - well, I wouldn't say shouted - but it definitely announced in a clear, ringing voice that it was red velvet.

When you bite into it, the flavor of cocoa hits you straight in the tastebuds. It could almost pass for a chocolate cupcake. The cupcake itself is closer to light and fluffy than dense and sugary, which is also true 0f the frosting. I don't like it so much as a cupcake, not to mention a red velvet cupcake. But that's just because I'm a fan of the dense and sugary variety.

The search continues...

IKEA HEMNES Bedroom Series

I would just like to take a moment and say that I am absolutely blown away by the level of quality and the look of the HEMNES furniture line. The pieces are made of solid pine and the style is completely what I wanted with clean lines and a dark wood finish. By the way, the furniture is really big when it is assembled. I couldn't believe how huge it was - good thing we measured! It really doesn't look that big in the store.

On top of all this, the combined cost of the wardrobe, dresser and 6-drawer chest came out to less than the cost of just one dresser from Crate & Barrel. So although you will probably spend the better part of a day assembling each piece of furniture, some of which may be missing parts, and IKEA doesn't offer the same coverage as some other retailers when it comes to customer service, remember that this is because you are getting an incredible deal on furniture!

Mis-Manufactured IKEA Part Return Experience

In a prior post, I mentioned that IKEA will replace mis-manufactured and/or missing parts from their furniture kits. This was my experience actually doing it:

I brought the mis-manufactured drawer front along with another connecting part of the drawer too, to be able to demonstrate the problem visually. This was a good move because at first, they didn't believe that there was any problem and tried to fool us into taking the same part back with us. The customer service rep went to the back where they keep the extra parts - incidentally, this is also where the IKEA engineer/expert extraordinaire lives - and came back out being like, oh how about this part... will this work for you? But it was the same part!!!

Anyway, we sent it back and the engineer guy came out to compare the two parts and didn't get it until he tried putting in the drawer side we brought and noticed that it was blocking the groove where the drawer bottom was supposed to rest. The preceding passage will probably be complete nonsense to you unless you have assembled an IKEA drawer before (they are all designed the same way).

At this point, the light bulb went off in his head and he finally gave us the correct part. My takeaway from IKEA is, you have to go in expecting some bumps and minimal customer service (that's how they keep their costs low). That way you will be pleasantly surprised when things don't completely fall to sh!t.

Debrief: 5 Boro Bike Tour (Part II)

To continue Part I of the 5 Boro Bike Tour debrief, other hazards encountered during the day were people's water bottles that fell out of their cages. Your regular water bottle will not stay in your cage!!! You have to get one that is made of harder plastic that is an appropriate size.

There were a lot of potholes and grates that felt exceedingly bumpy as the day went on. Let's just say unless you bike more often than me, your @$$ will really hurt by the end of the day (it will be bruised) and so will your hands from leaning on the handlebars. It was so cold that a couple of my friends lost feeling in their hands at the end of the day.

All in all though, it was a really worthwhile experience and I can't wait to do it again next year (hopefully in better weather!)!