Packing for Spain

As I packed for Madrid, I discovered an issue I'd never encountered before on an international trip. I almost always pack carry-on only - no matter how long of a trip I'm taking - and I'm pretty good at squeezing out every last inch of space my suitcase is hiding. But this time round, after I finished filling my bag... I had space left over!

Planning my Spain trip wardrobe, I had several things going for me. Summer in Spain means lightweight clothing, not too different than my Caribbean cruise a few months back. I knew I'd be doing city walks, museums, and sightseeing, so I didn't need to pack anything especially active or  dressy. Most importantly, I knew my first hostel, where I'd be for a full week, had a washer and dryer, so I only needed to pack for eight days instead of fifteen.

Since Polyvore is gone (R.I.P.), I tried something new and created post-its for each day of my trip, with my activities and the weather forecast written on each. Then I figured out which outfits would work best for which days. While I ended up not strictly following these plans, it did allow me to eliminate a few pieces of clothing I'd been planning to bring but didn't need. Eliminating pieces actually helped me discover an outfit combo that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise, and ended up being my favorite of the trip!

I've rolled my clothes since the 90s and I've used packing cubes since my carry on-only month in Brazil and Argentina in 2014. These are eBags' small set - about 11"x7"x3" (though that 3" can stretch to 4" or 5" and still zip). Three of them fit perfectly in a carry-on suitcase, with some room to spare. Here's what I packed in mine -

Cube 1: 1 short dress, 1 maxi dress, 1 pair leggings, 2 pairs shorts
Cube 2: 2 maxi dresses, 2 blouses, 1 romper
Cube 3: underwear, bra, summer pajamas, 2 tank tops, soccer jersey

The three cubes went in my suitcase. I really love my new suitcase - Mom got it for me for Christmas when the suitcase I schlepped to Texas broke. It was about $90 at T.J. Maxx, but she had enough coupons to "buy" it for $0. Amazing. (As we paid for other stuff, she also told me her T.J. Maxx card has no foreign transaction fee - something I need to look into further.) Anyway, the suitcase is by London Fog. It's purple and paisley and about an inch larger than technically allowed, but it's gotten through each time so far, fingers crossed. DCA to YYG will be the real test, with no automatic check-in kiosks for Air Canada at Reagan.

It's got handy compartments for two pairs of shoes (I packed sandals and flip flops on this trip), a zipper pouch (where I stored gallon Ziploc baggies), and came with its own 3-1-1 liquids bag. On another note - I haven't removed liquids from my bag in literal years. Again, finger crossed, but I don't think the TSA cares anymore, as long as nothing ridiculous comes up on the scanner.

Also in my suitcase - socks (new, above the 3-1-1 bag), travel towel (lower left), jewelry and makeup bag (grey), first aid and solid toiletries bag (red), and extra Kleenex (middle) tossed in because I felt guilty about the amount of space left in the center of my bag. I could've easily fit another packing cube.

My High Sierra backpack is a leftover from the luggage I bought in 2014; it outlasted the suitcase it zipped to. I like its bucket shape, which makes it feel a little more secure than backpacks that unzip from one side to the other. When I travel with a laptop, that goes here. For this trip, I slipped a thin binder with my itinerary and reservations printed out, down the back. I also stashed extra clothes for the plane - a black t-shirt dress, elephant print kimono, and underwear - in the bottom. Next came my pencil case, journal, and tech bag. My cross-body purse gets stuffed on top to consolidate into one "personal item" when boarding.

For this trip, I went pretty low tech. From top right - universal power converter, type A to USB plug, portable charger, two extra camera batteries and chargers, my new S8 phone, earbuds, USB cords, 8 GB SD card, point-and-shoot Canon. The converter took forever to charge my phone, so instead, I'd charge my portable charger and then use that to keep my phone charged. (USB ports are the best thing that's happened in for-ev-er for travel.) My T-Mobile phone plan gave me unlimited (albeit, slow) data in Spain. The camera is also years better than the one on my old phone - I ended up taking about 2/3rd of my trip photos on it. I was still happy to have brought my point-and-shoot, as the awesome zoom lens is something a phone still can't match.

 

Instead of just throwing on my comfiest clothes for travel, I had plans for my 12-hour New York City layover. I wore my bulkiest clothes - jeans, a jean jacket, and chambray striped sneakers - along with a black top. The jean jacket, which I bought for Mexico City, has proven to be great for travel - light enough to wear in the summer, but heavy enough to be worthwhile. After running around the city, I decided to check my bag from NYC to Madrid. I grabbed my leggings from my suitcase for the overnight flight and packed the jeans. I also put on the extras in my backpack, so I'm glad my suitcase arrived in Madrid with no issues. (The TSA even found a travel lock I'd lost inside.)

   
Canadian tuxedo for the win.

Once in Spain, I was pretty happy with my choices. I did change clothes more often than expected, as the heat meant siesta-timed showers several afternoons. I bought two t-shirts - one at el Rastro in Madrid and one in Salamanca - and wore both (one while I was doing laundry). I also bought a hoodie in Salamanca, which I wore on the plane home instead of my jacket. Traveling solo means fewer pictures of me, so I didn't get a photo of everything I wore, but here's a mix of selfies and 'kind stranger' photos of my wardrobe in action.

Having the extra space was an awesome bonus, as it meant I had plenty of room for souvenirs. I mainly bought clothes and books for myself, so I did some last-minute airport shopping and got small gifts for my roommate, family, and coworkers. I had to check my bag because of the wine - even with a tight connection in Lisbon, it made it!

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