Well hello lovely people,

Thanks for tuning back into my train wreck attempt of a travel blog. You’re probably wondering why it took me so long to write this, considering I’ve been traveling for like 5 days now.  So, let me get you up to date with these travel adventures that I’m sure you’re so anxious to hear about. I just arrived in London, from my adventure in Paris. This included an hour long train ride (while simultaneously on a charter bus) across (under?) the English Channel. (not to mention the 8hr, middle seat, flight to get to Europe in the first place, but that’s whatever).

In attempts to seem like I have some type of structure to this blog, I’m going to advise on how the heck I packed for a few weeks abroad in one medium (carry-on) backpack and a crossbody purse…. and also how that’s going for me here on day 5 of my trip. I know, I know….you’re all throughly impressed with my packing skills. However, I found out though tedious and stressful trial how to do. I could just tell you straight up what the trick is, but let me humor you with my assessments: 

*disclaimer the plan is always to wear the heavier articles of clothing that you’re brining*

Trial 1: I decided I would only be taking the bare minimum number of outfits and accept that I’ll have to do laundry during my trip. I’ll be making them all fit perfectly by rolling all my clothes and neatly stacking them like a game of Jenga. 

Outcome: I packed too many clothes, there is no way they’re all fitting. 

Trial 2:   I  do what any reasonable woman would do, I Pinterest search on how to pack everything in a carry on. Turns out I now think I need a color scheme so I can easily mix and match outfits so it doesn’t look like I’m wearing the same thing in every photo. 

Outcome: I cut three articles of clothing out to make them match. They’re still not fitting and now everything in my bag is a mess. 

Trial 3: I decided to use those packing cubes that I bought a few years ago because I was convinced it would save space. 

Outcome: It fits, but the measurements on my bag are now far over the allowed limit, and I am not paying for luggage. 

Trial 4 (THE TRICK THAT WORKS):  After extensive research on the google, I run to my nearest supermarket and invest in some vacuum seal bags, but you roll them to get the air out instead of vacuum. 

Outcome: It works. I no longer feel like a failure at being a minimalist. 

Let me tell you, traveling with only these two items have been an absolute lifesaver. Especially since I have no clear plan on where I’m going next until I go. The only issue is that it’s too small to be placed in checked luggage and I don’t like putting it in overhead bins, because my laptop is not protected well. So, I do the logical thing and look stupid by squeezing it under the seat, along with my purse, leaving me with the smallest amount of leg room. It’s fine though. I also brought a tiny pad lock for my backpack, mostly because I brought my laptop with me. I tied a foldable small backpack to my bag, just for laundry. Also, for proof that I fit everything into these two bags, here’s a picture.

*also please ignore any spelling or grammatical errors that I made during this process, it’s 3am and I can’t sleep to save my life* 

Check back in a few days when I talk about how many times I got cat called in Paris.