What's In My Carry On To Europe

Passport Case c/o// Monogrammed Pouch c/o

I've been counting down the days until I got to Paris and I can't believe I'm already a few days into my trip! More on that in posts to follow, but for now, please join me on Instagram!

I wanted to let you all know that I will not be answering reader e-mails this week or the week of Thanksgiving unless they are urgent (put Urgent in the subject!) but I promise I will get back to you the week after Thanksgiving. If you are looking for a super quick response, I'm pretty good with my Instagram direct messages, so feel free to reach out there! I hope you can understand and have a little patience with me while I take my first trip to Paris with two of my best girlfriends! I want to take the time to shut some things down and really soak up being in France! But definitely, follow along on Instagram and Instastories. I'll also have content up here on Summer Wind as usual- some really good posts, in my opinion! So keep coming back as you normally would! 

I also wanted to let you know that you can expect some Paris content starting after Thanksgiving and interspersed through December! On Thanksgiving, I have a REALLY fun giveaway I've put together. It's something really different/special, so I think you guys will really enjoy it!

Now onto today's post- I love reading people's 'What's In My Bag' posts... but they're a dime a dozen. So I thought it would be different to share a few items that I am bringing in my carry-on but also what I've done to prepare for my trip to Europe. So below are details about the items I'm bringing in my carry-on and then if you make it even farther (this is a very long post) you can see more information on how I've prepared!

iPhone Portable Power Bank// There aren't power outlets on our plane, so I brought several of these portable power banks. This Ventev one is one of my favorites. It's high quality and I love that it has the cable already attached. It charges 20 hours of video or 100 hours of audio on your phone. It's small and compact!

Book// I hope to sleep, but if I can't, this will be my go-to.

Compression Socks// Someone recommended these, so I got them. They're ugly, but I figured, I might as well!

Face Wipes// I just got these face wipes. I've been obsessed with vitamin C products lately and these face wips have that in them. I will use this when I need a refresher.

Mini Skincare Products// I brought so many mini items that I got from Sephora. I'm going to bring them with me if I feel like I need a pick me up. SO excited to try out Sunday Riley and Drunk Elephant. Two brands I have heard so much about.

Sleep Mask// I love this sleep mask. It has anti-aging properties. I use it nightly. Hopefully, this will help to get some shut-eye!

Neck Pillow// I even take this on short flights. I get so uncomfortable and this helps to support my neck and is also great for sleep.

Cashmere Travel Wrap// I take at least one of these everywhere. They are the BEST cashmere wraps ever. Basically, like the best blanket that can double as a beautiful scarf. I'm also bringing the Lilly Pulitzer gift with purchase travel blanket/pillow (that was available this past weekend). I get extra cold and it would be SO miserable should I be freezing for a 6+ hour flight.

Change of Clothes// We can't check into our Airbnb until 3pm... we land at 7am. So basically, we are going to have to get ready in the airport bathroom. That will be interesting.

It was hard to find the information that is below on the internet so I thought this was a much-needed post! I'm also one of those people who are well-prepared in most situations... like I carry an umbrella even when it's sunny. To be honest, with all the terrorism happening, it leaves me a bit unsettled and feeling well prepared helps to ease my angst. 

Data/Cell Service

I have Verizon and they offer an international plan for just $10/day. This way I'm able to use my phone as I normally would while out of the country. I know some people rely on WiFi but I wanted to be able to access maps and Google as we were traveling! 

Copies of Important Documents

I made copies of my passport, credit cards, etc. and gave them to my parents. God forbid my wallet or passport is stolen, I'll have all the credit card info so I'm able to quickly cancel them and I'll have copies of my Passport should I need to do something about that. 

RFID Blocking

I'm one of those people who'd rather be safe than sorry. RFID Blocking sleeves make it so that thieves cannot steal your credit card info/identity from afar using a scanner. The RFID blocking sleeves are really inexpensive on Amazon, so I figured why not? 

Insurance

My insurance agent said that this wasn't something she saw often, but for under $20, I was able to insure my camera/lenses as well as my Macbook. Not that I think anything will happen (knock on wood), but it was really inexpensive- so it was another 'why not'? 

US to European Plug Adapters

I ordered a bunch and also made sure my items were able to be converted according to the voltage requirements in Europe. My hairdryer was not, so I got this one!

Check With Your Airline

There are back and forth rules about bringing a laptop in your carry-on on international flights. I really didn't think my flight would be affected, but I still made sure my exact flights were allowing laptops in carry-ons (they are). I also made a full backup of my computer should something happen while it is going through security and made sure any sensitive information was encrypted should it get into the wrong hands. I also (I mean maybe I'm way over preparing here) got a new portable hard drive. I'd hate for my current hard drive to be compromised/stolen in any way so a fresh hard drive is coming with me. I won't be getting much use of it because I don't plan on doing a ton of work but I just want to be able to dump photos from my camera to my hard drive to back them up and then be able to edit them on the flight home. It will be nice that I'll have a backup hard drive at home after my trip, too.

Another thing I looked into is if we would have screens for our flight for in-flight entertainment (to see if I would need to load stuff onto my iPad or computer). Get this- no personal screens, no wi-fi (I'm not kidding) and the 'outlets' to charge things are cigarette lighter style (WTF).. and no outlets whatsoever in economy. Luckily, I upgraded so I at least get a cigarette lighter outlet (pure sarcasm, right there). Somehow we got stuck on an American Airlines plane from like 1987. Anyway- me being crazy and looking into all of this made me bring several backup batteries to charge devices while on the flight and I also made sure to download some shows/movies/books in case I end up not being able to sleep. On domestic flights, I never check things like this- which I realize I should now... because who thought there would be an outlet-less, wi-fi-less, screen-less plane in 2017?!

Prep for the Weather

I mean this is a big 'duh' but I made sure I packed an umbrella, shoes I don't care about potentially ruining in the rain (November is the rainy season). I also made sure I packed plenty of layers and cold weather accessories like scarves, tights, gloves, etc. just in case. No one wants to be miserable while walking! I didn't put too much pressure on this, though, because anything I forget, I can always get while I'm there.

Reservations and Tickets

We didn't make many reservations for this trip. We want to be able to wander and not have to stick to a schedule. But, we made reservations at popular places like Angelina. We also pre-purchased our Eurostar tickets because we are going to London one day and wanted to make sure we got the times we wanted!