Part of packing light means that your phone truly becomes multi-functional. Not only does it continue to be your lifeline to friends and family, but it's also your boarding pass, in-flight entertainment, camera, map, translator and guide to the best restaurants in town. Since your phone is an extension of you, it's important to carry a portable charger in the likely event that the battery dies in the middle of the day when you are nowhere near an electrical outlet.

Tripomatic I just discovered Tripomatic last week, but I know that it's going to be crucial for creating itineraries for European vacations. Not only does it have city maps (unfortunately, to gain offline access, you have to pay), but it also contains a list of all of the most popular attractions that you can add to your itinerary and then switch around based on proximity to each other. They also have a whole slew of guided tours and activities that you can add to your trip if you would like a little bit more context and explanation about what you are looking at. After taking two coach day tours in Scotland and Ireland, I highly recommend them as a way to see and learn a lot without having to do a lot of planning.

TripIt TripIt is a must have for all vacations, whether domestic or abroad. As you receive confirmation emails for flights, hotels, attractions, rental cars, etc. forward them to TripIt to keep them all in one place. Although I'm still one of those people who will keep a paper copy of reservations in a folder, it's nice to know that I'll only have to dig through a mountain of paperwork as a last resort.

Rick Steves Audio Europe Too cheap to pay for a city walking or bus tour? Say what you will about Rick Steves, but he has provided free offline walking tours of all of Europe's major cities that last between 1-2 hours. I haven't listened through any yet, but I can't imagine that it could be any worse than aimlessly wandering around admiring the architecture or people watching and that's it.

Google Flights Although not a downloadable app, I'm such a fan of searching flights on Google rather than Kayak. The interface is much more clean and uncluttered. The fastest and cheapest flights are grouped at the top of the list depending on what matters most to you. It is also easy to compare prices month to month if you are extremely about your dates of travel. Plus, once you have selected an itinerary, you can save it to track the price as well as email it to friends and family so you can all rest easy knowing you are all booking the same flight.

CityMaps2Go Paper maps are a thing of the past. Download the maps you will need before you depart and have offline access. It's a game changer. 

Duolingo I like the repetitive nature of Duolingo and how it turns language learning into a game and combines writing, listening and speaking the language to get a better feel for it. Don't expect to become fluent through this system, but you will be able to navigate the street, and most importantly a menu, by the time you are halfway through. 

There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who enjoy flying, and those who would rather be stuck in the middle seat on an 18 hour car ride. Some enjoy the challenge, or better yet naturally, can pack a weeks worth of clothes and cosmetics into a carry-on and purse. Others need an entire bag for their shoes alone.

Wherever you fall on this spectrum, you will more than likely find yourself on a plane at some point. Here is how to make the most of the experience.

1. Your carry-on bag choice is key. Other than a rolling suitcase for your clothes, choose a slightly large tote with lots of pockets on the inside and outside. You don't want to be that person digging for their phone, credit card or boarding pass.

2. Speaking of boarding passes...Most airlines have mobile apps that allow you to check in as well as store your boarding pass electronically. If you aren't checking a bag, this means that you can bypass the counter entirely and make a beeline for security upon arrival. 

3. No matter the temperature outside, bring a scarf. It can keep you warm, dress up the tshirt and jeans, as well as serve double duty as a blanket or pillow.

4. Slip on shoes are a must, unless you are bringing boots. In that case, wear them on the plane so you don't have to pack them. 

5. Stay hydrated. Drink a water bottle on your way to the airport and once you are on the other side of security you can fill it up at a water fountain and save yourself the $6 for a bottle.

6. For overnight flights, try to recreate your nighttime beauty routine as best as possible. Take your contacts out, remove your makeup and even grab a cup of tea before boarding. Convincing yourself that it's time to go to sleep will help you feel at least a little more alert once you land.

7. Don't want your multiple chargers and plugs tangled up in a heap at the bottom of your bag? Try these cable clips to keep everything in its place.

8. Preload videos on your laptop to watch. Or if you want to be productive, set up offline access to Google Drive so you can work seamlessly from the office, to the airport, to the plane.

9. And how about after you land? One of the downsides to flying is not having a car when you land. You can either take a taxi, coordinate with friends or family, or rent a car. To save money, consider reserving a car through RelayRides. Here is a list of airport rentals available at your next destination.

Do you have any tips or tricks that you swear by to make the airline travel process as seamless as possible?

Unfortunately, the assumption that Americans only speak English and expect everyone else to do the same sort of applied in my case when I studied abroad. I knew zero phrases of French before I stepped on the plane and was armed with my Rick Steves' phrase book that I was hoping would help me communicate just enough until my French lessons began. 

If you are visiting an area that speaks another language and are a picky eater, it is important to learn the names of foods that you like and don't like. Samantha and Emily hated fish with a passion. They made up a little reminder "poission = poison" so they knew to avoid it on menus.

You'll also find yourself doing a lot of pointing and gesturing. Because somehow these generic sign language moves transcend language and culture. Most of the time.

Also, in France, they start counting with their thumb on their fingers. So let's say you pass by a bakery (there is literally one on every corner so take your pick) and you want two almond croissants. You step up to the counter, butcher "deux croissant amande" so for good measure you hold up your second and third finger to emphasize that you want two. Well, it's your lucky day because you will most likely be given three (you should have held up your thumb and second finger...does that make sense?) Anyways, in this instance having three almond croissants instead of two is a great thing in my opinion.

Finally, while you may have a grand idea of visiting every country in Europe at one time, but be prepared for a language overload. After accidentally speaking French in Italy, and Italian in Switzerland, it might be easiest to try your hand at English and hope for the best.

We truly live in a global society. Whether you're travelling for fun, or working in a global company or organization, interacting with others who speak a different language is inevitable. Don't let a language barrier prohibit your information from reaching people across the world. Go a step beyond Google translate and instead opt for a translation service, such as Smartling, run by humans and not computers.

Have you had any language mishaps either while traveling or at work? How did you handle them?

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The Jessa Olson Blog

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Meet Jessa (formally of Life of a Sports Wife). Similar to me, she spent some time in Arkansas. There is something about everyone around you shouting "Woo Pig Souie" that automatically gives you something in common. More than our shared time living in The Natural State, we are also baseball fans (her husband works for the minor league team) and I suppose I will forgive her for wearing Rangers attire. Jessa is also a runner and is constantly sharing tips for you to become a runner too. It's yet to work for me, but I always love the motivation! New to her corner of the internet? Get a crash course here. 

When I was younger and my dad was stationed in England, my family was fortunate enough to see the highlights of Europe. There are lots of photos of three-year-old Jess clad in a track suit and fanny pack standing in front of Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower, and the Olympic site in Innsbruck. Many of those trips were taken with a group. Hotel rooms and tours are prepaid and you are shuttled from place to place in the comfort of a coach. It can be really nice. All of the details are paid up front and handled by a guide who knows what they are doing. 

Fast forward almost twenty years, and some of my favorite moments from free travel were on guided day tours of Loch Ness and the Wicklow mountains in Ireland (Side note: without the Ireland tour I would have had no idea that I was so close to area filmed in P.S. I Love You.)

If you have ever considered going on an all-inclusive group tour anywhere in the world, you have probably come across Contiki. Marketed to twenty and thirty somethings looking for adventure and to see the world, they offer packaged itineraries to all the great cities of the world, as well as a few slightly off the beaten path. 

The pros? If you are a female who wants to travel on your own, this is the perfect option with very little chance for a Taken incident (unless you have Liam Neeson on speed dial to save you.) You also don't have to worry about lots of unexpected costs. Your travel, hotel and tours are all included in the price you pay up front, as well as some meals, so all you have left to pay for are the fun extras if you so desire. Plus you have a guide who is knowledgeable about all of the stops along the way and can provide great historical and cultural context to all of the sites you are visiting. When traveling solo, you are probably not going to opt in for the upgraded tour of each location.

The cons? You miss out on the fun of putting together your own itinerary. While they offer hundreds of options and there is probably one that will suit your needs, being able to research where you are going is half of the fun. And if you decide you want to spend a couple of extra days in one location, well, that isn't exactly an option. 

What about you? Would you consider signing up for an all-inclusive group travel?

P.S. I was in no way compensated for this post. But if anyone from Contiki stumbles upon this, I am more than willing to write in exchange for a complimentary trip :)

Hey folks! I’m Abby and I blog over at Little City Adventures, a blog about food, adventures living in a little city (hence the name), and our newest adventure entering into parenthood. When Jess asked me to write up a post with the theme of Tourist in Your Hometown, I was overjoyed! I love my little city, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and I will go on and on and on about the wonderful things we have going on, on our historic streets. Lancaster City has definitely bloomed just over the last few years, it has become a desirable place to live, and the perfect place to spend time with friends in our various coffee shops and little parks. Today I am going to share one of my favorite shops in the city, one you just have to see if you’re coming to town. Welcome to Building Character.

This is one of those places where you can just get lost for quite a long time, it’s such an inspiring space. Building Character is one giant warehouse shop made up of over 40 individual vendors. Local artists or small vintage shops rent out these sort of alcoves and little spaces in the warehouse to sell their wares and treasures. You wander in and out of each aisle, enjoying the pleasant little surprises at each turn and at the end you pay for everything at one spot (they have a really cool vintage cash register that holds their cash so I would suggest paying in cash so you can see it in action). This community of local vendors all in one space is just one of my favorite things about Building Character. Essentially, they are all supporting each other. It’s wonderful!

Although known for the vintage treasures you can find throughout the large warehouse, there are also countless handmade and locally sourced items. Even if you don’t buy anything, you’re sure to find something to make you smile; the rubber duckies make me grin every single time.

There are also two or three large spaces that offer high quality thrifted items, like in the photo above. The assortment is just wonderful at Building Character, it’s like a hipster looking, indoor flea market. What could be better, really?!

 

To the right of the entrance there is a loft space with a shop called The Sassy Tassle which sells an array of bright, printed fabrics, perfect for quilting style projects. It’s so brightly colored and in such a neat space that it’s another piece of the shop that never fails to make me happy. 

Yet another thing that building character is known for is their reclaimed and salvaged items like the banisters pictured above. Someday when my hubby and I buy our own home, we will be visiting Building Character for beautiful vintage details. They also have tons and tons of doorknobs and hinges and awesome, random things like that.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into one of my favorite stops in Lancaster City. It truly represents what Lancaster stands for: supporting local artists and business owners, community, and mixing old with new. Also, if you are in Lancaster on Feb. 15-17th all participating shops at Building Character will be offering 10-50%! I know I’ll be stopping by to look for fun little decorations for my house. 

Thanks for letting me hang out on your blog today, Jess! 

Love,

Abby

Building Character - 342 N Queen St rear warehouses, Lancaster, PA 17603

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If you are going on any extended trip outside of the U.S. you will want to invest in a hiking backpack. Or always pay to have a taxi drive you straight from the train station/airport to your hotel. Also, if you can afford a hotel and taxi and that sounds like typical travel plans for you, then you can stop reading now and enjoy the luxury of your wheeled bag (and probably first class plane ticket, too.)

For the rest of us, we become pack mules for our trips. Backpacks are extremely portable, can somewhat be easily maneuvered on public transportation and free up your hands to snap photos or read a map while you walk to your destination.

The main thing to consider when selecting one is size. If you are going to be flying on a budget airline at all during your trip, you will want to measure your bag extremely carefully before purchasing it. (All of these bags are on the edge of the limits, but reviewers said they traveled overseas with no hassle.) Trust me, European budget airlines have smaller overhead bin size requirements than the U.S. and just because an American airline lets you through, doesn't mean EasyJet and RyanAir will. They will laugh in your face and smile as they charge you an extra 50 euros to check your bag to your final destination. Not that I experienced this or anything.

The money I saved by borrowing a friends backpack was lost (and then some) in two extra baggage fees that I encountered. Lesson learned and hopefully I can save at least one other person from making the same mistake.

Also unlike me, if the top of the bag is taller than your head, then it is too big for your frame. Period. End of statement.

For those of you who will strictly be sticking to travel by train or rental car, then this is not as much of a concern for you because you will be able to check one bag free on most international flights to and from home.

Other things to consider besides size:

1. Extra pockets One giant dump-all compartment will not cut it unless you want to unpack and then repack your bag every night because your toothbrush or charger always seems to end up at the bottom. Bonus if you can find a bag with a pocket on the waist strap to hold money and train tickets.

2. Waist strap Your Jansport backpack might have carried 50 lbs of weight in high school textbooks the ten minute walk from the bus stop to your house, but it will not make the grade in weeks-long travel. Look for a bag with a hip belt so the majority of the weight will be shifted off your back and onto your hips. Your chiropractor will thank you for this when you return.

3. Water bottle holder This is why it's great to get a bag made for the outdoors. I always had a water bottle with me and would refill it whenever I found a water fountain. This is one less thing to worry about holding and you don't have to worry about leaks if you put it inside your bag.

Once you select a bag, it is a whole different discussion on what to fill it with and how to pack it correctly. I'll save that for later maybe.

Bon voyage!

Here is an excerpt from my blog from March: 

I just got back from an amazingly fast five days in London. There is no way to condense everything down into one post but I’ll give you the highlights. Right after we dropped our bags off we started a walking tour around the city. First stop: Rosetta stone at the British museum (no big deal.) We continued on to the likes of Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, and a brief glimpse at Buckingham. 

My favorite part of the trip would actually have to be the excursion to Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon. Oxford is dripping with heritage and traditions. The Ivy League has nothing on this university. And what better way to commemorate my time in Oxford than with a crew sweatshirt? 

We also did the whole Shakespeare thing since he was kind of a big deal. We toured the Globe, but since it’s not quite summer were unable to see a show there and instead saw The Tempest in Stratford. It may not be quite the same, but it was still an amazing production. 

Sunday was spent at church at Westminster followed by lunch at a pub, outside of which they were filming part of the new James Bond film, followed by an afternoon stroll through Kensigton Gardens, the Victoria & Albert Museum and afternoon tea and scones. 

We had a free day on Monday before we headed back to Paris. Sam, Emily and I decided to brave the crowds and tourists and watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham. While I probably won’t ever do it again (it’s kind of a seen it one and done kind of deal) it was still one of those British rights of passage activities that you just have to do when given the opportunity.

We also went to Chipotle afterwards. You may be wondering why Chipotle when I could have it any day back home? Well, sometimes you just get a hankering for America and the familiar. Trust me, it did not disappoint. 

And what would any travel blog be without a quick discussion on food? Well it was more like a culinary trip around the world instead of just strict Brit fare that included Chinese, Thai, Mexican and of course several helpings of fish & chips. 

It amazed me how similar British and American culture is. Also, seeing signs in English made traveling that much more comfortable and relaxing. There is definitely a strong American presence in London, especially in the stores and restaurants  More so than in Paris. Driving down the highway almost made me forget that I was in England…until I remembered that we were driving on the left hand side of the road.

-Jess

No matter how much preparation you put into travel plans, 

things can (and will) always go wrong. 

Samantha, and myself if we're being honest, like planning with military precision. 

And to her credit, we never missed a train or plane in the two weeks

that we traveled. So, hats off to her for that.

I'm going to share with you two of our best stories from free travel about plans 

not working out quite the way you planned them. Both of these stories take place 

during the first few hours of each of our week-long trips.

Our motto for free travel became "Under-prepared and Overconfident."

We finally made it to Milan.

Basically everything that could go wrong travel wise happened to us on the first morning. 

We thought about getting an overnight train from Paris to Milan but that would put us getting to Milan at 5:30 AM and lugging our backpacks around all morning would get old fast. So we decide to catch the first train out of Paris…at 6:15 AM. 

We think that the metro opens at 5, which would give up plenty of time to get to Gare de Lyon in plenty of time for Sam to double check the platform and all that information but as time starts ticking away while we are standing outside of a clearly locked Glaciere station, we start to worry. 

Our only options are to either a) walk (which is not really a valid option) and b) hail a taxi. 

So we divide up and try to flag down one of the 3 cabbies driving around Paris at 5:30. 

Long story short, we are able to make it to the train on time, and all is well in the world. 

Continuing on the way to Milan, there are issues with forgetting to validate the transfer ticket from Zurich to Milan because they do not have the same validating machines in France and Switzerland, wanting to grab lunch in Zurich quickly and forgetting that they are trying to be cool and not use Euros, and ending with train worker strikes in Milan. 

Needless to say, we were happy to find get settled into our hostel that afternoon. 

Field of yellow flowers we stopped at on a bus tour through the Wicklow mountains on our UK trip. Two minutes after this photo it started hailing. Just our luck.

The second story happened on our roundabout way of getting from Paris to London. 

Travel tip: DON'T FLY OUT OF TOURS, FRANCE. EVER.

The trip had a bumpy start. But what trip doesn't  As always we were way over-prepared to arrive at the Tours airport early. Like 4 hours early. And the airport wasn't even open yet. There was a bus that went from the train station to the airport, but it didn't leave until about 30 minutes before our flight, so naturally we take a cab because we want to be there early. Little did we know that ours was the only flight out that day and the airport wasn't open. (Our cab driver was probably laughing at us as he drove away.) 

So the 4 amigos, loaded down with clothes and random souvenirs for three months, park it on a bench and watch Downton Abbey for a while. And then the cold sets in. And the airport still isn't open yet. And then this strange looking man starts walking towards us. He is a mixture between Russel Brand and Justin Bobby from The Hills. He’s kind of precious. And he asks if we are flying to Lutton, too. I immediately get excited because he looks like a fun character. 

So he joins us and says that he had to catch a cab to the airport because his parents didn't have enough room in the car for him to ride with them. And he only has a shopping back for luggage and a quilted jacket with dress pants cuffed up showing white knee high socks with black tennis shoes. He walks around looking for somewhere to go to warm up. He find a tractor (“you know that yellow thing with four wheels over there”) that is unlocked and he would totally guard it for us if we wanted to take turns sitting in there for five minutes or so to warm up. No thanks, Al (our name for him.)

The Tours, France airport is the definition of sketch. Because of “renovations” there are wires exposed from the ceiling and plastic lawn chairs for seating in the waiting area. This is what you get for flying budget airlines. I don’t know what ever happened to Al. Once we got inside and before we went through security, he had fallen asleep and I don’t know if he ever made it on the plane. The rest of the week we kept expecting to see him staying at our hostel or walking around town. 

Do you have any stories of when travel plans went awry? 

-Jess