Regrets, I’ve Had a Few

But then again too few to mention- but I’m going to mention them anyway.

During this trip I’ve taken some time to think, maybe overthink, some aspects.  When you go on any trip everyone travels differently.   While Sue and I have been married now 35 years, we usually travel in a similar manner, but (due to work) she travels a lot more than I do and has more experience.  I tend to go for simplicity and she tends to go for economy.  Sue sleeps on planes, I don’t.  Looking at this trip I kept thinking through what I would do differently, most are silly things that I repeat over and over again every trip.

I didn’t draw every day-

If I did draw everyday I wouldn’t have experienced some of the things I did. So I’m torn.  While I want to draw everyday and improve my skills, I don’t want to waste a moment in a new place or hold Sue back because I’m sketching stuff.  Which means I need to get more practiced a quick sketches when I have the opportunity.

That said, I packed (and carried) all this stuff to draw with and didn’t use any of it.  My intentions were good…

Listening to some of the folks at the Lake Como Comic Arts Festival they mention the need to take time, even when traveling, to draw.  I’m hoping that when I head to GeoWoodstock I’ll take some time to draw more.  Then again this is an issue even when I’m home.  I feel my time is better spent with people (or cats) I care about.  Losing Hemi was rougher on me than I ever could imagine so I always worry that I’m missing out on quality time with the boys.

I packed too much.

I really need to pack for the longest time we were in one place and then just reuse clothes.  I had shirts & pants I hadn’t worn when we entered Italy! Yes, I had planned to wear certain things more than once… some more than twice.

Of course Atlas Obscura posted an article on how to pack for a long trip by bringing less. Just as we landed in the U.S.

The last time I was in Europe (Denmark & LEGO) we actually packed a suitcase inside of a suitcase. For my Lilly (almost 2 decades ago) we bought another suitcase.  This time, I bought a second daypack in London at the Postal Museum because it was unique.

Sue and I decided to use a backpack this trip instead of rolling luggage.  So many roads and sidewalks end up being cobblestone dragging a rolling suitcase can be a pain.  Although at my age carrying a backpack and a daypack from the train station to the hotel can be an ordeal.  Especially when your watch beeps to ask if you are doing a workout along the way. 🙄 I brought a smaller day pack for everyday use and now looking back think my mid-sized pack would have been a better choice.  It would have given me more room for stuff I bought.

The buyers remorse is strong in this one

I love buying things while on a trip.  Usually books or other things.  If I don’t bring a sketchbook, I buy one and some supplies that, once purchased, sit around taking up space.  This trip I started buying stuff then held off thanks to the Lake Como Comic Arts Festival and not knowing what I might want there.  Still I bought enough to cause problems.  As I said, I’m used to being able to just throw stuff into the car and then deal with it when I get home… not this trip.

When it comes to the stuff I bought early on… maybe a little remorse.  The stuff I bought at Lake Como- no remorse.  If there was any remorse it deals with not having the disposable income to buy more cool artwork.

For the record we (Sue and I) bought:

• A few books

• Yarn

• Some Harry Potter souvenirs including a wand… Remus Lupin is my favorite.

• Fridge magnets (for our neighbor)

• 2 book bags

• A billfold (wallet)

• A Disneyland Paris t-shirt

• A Disneyland Paris hoodie

• A few LEGO Minifig Factory figs - don’t get me started on the Milan Flagship Store- first time we came in it was too close to closing, the next morning it was “broken.”  I think they just didn’t want to use it.

• Artists Sketchbooks & a blank one that is still blank.

• Original Art/Comic book pages

• Art commissions

• Scarves

• Weird stuff like flamingo fans (it’s for Bash)

• A few geocoins

• Various other stuff, but really not much if you don’t count the gin we bought at Duty Free in Milan.

Funny thing is I was concerned a bit until we overheard a couple talk about buying another suitcase so the could bring home cheese, olive oil, and ham… two full suitcases filled with food.

I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore- my GPS agrees

There are a lot of things that are different when you travel and while these aren’t regrets they are lessons learned or reminders of how to be a polite guest in another person’s country.  Unfortunately so many Americans think that if it is different than it is a home, it is WRONG. 🙄

Geocaching is different- besides some of the local terms that may not translate which is similar to caching in another state. Let’s start with the easy one first- virtual caches. In the United States (for the most part) you go to a location and either find the answer to a question, take a photo or maybe both. You reply to the caches owner through the logging process. You either get a reply, or you don’t. Usually if everything is fine you are done.

We discovered that is rarely the case as we looked at caches in France and Italy.  Many virtual caches had multiple stages which required multiple photos and (strangely) sending answers to an email address encoded in the information you gathered.  While in Milan we spent a good portion of the day hunting down locations for the three photos needed for one virtual.  The other part of the day was for another virtual that we missed one of the three locations- can’t log that one.  We ignored another virtual that required four photos and some information.  Virtuals seem to be a kin to Adventure Labs.  Now was this time wasted?  Not in the least and we saw a bunch of really cool things- however in the U.S. we would have walked away with more than one smiley.  Not bad- just a different mindset quality over quantity.

Here are the Adventure Labs completed:

Food… it’s what’s for dinner

Unlike in the U.S. when eating out, you do have to ask your server for the bill in Italy (for the most part) you pay at the bar/cashier.  It seems that restaurants aren’t trying to turn your table as fast as possible. In the same vein, if you are ready to order- close your menu.  A closed menu is the signal that you have decided on your meal.  This works in the U.S. sometimes, but again, the server is trying to get a tip and then have you move along to get another tip…

Dinner, especially in Italy was the most expensive daily expense, but we did eat out every night, not counting artwork. Throughout the trip we tried to focus on one big meal each day, not that we were successful, but we did try.

"Home... home is where you wear your hat... I feel so breakup, I wanna go home,"

We experimented with where we stayed over this trip.  Each had positives and negatives.  As I said, some were a distance from a train or transit station, others didn’t work as well when it came to how long we were there.  In London, the underground hotel was near a tube stop, but the “cocoon” wasn’t the best for the six days we were in town.  We basically spent every morning digging through our backpacks.  For an overnight or a weekend- sure!  For six days- not really a good choice.

At Disney was chose a studio apartment like room.  It even had an electric stove.  The best part was access to a laundry facility.  Once we figured out the bus schedule and stops it was easy, it just took us too many days. The other places (until Cernobbio) were typical hotels. Having a car in Normandie was nice, but it does take longer than you think to get from point A to point B.   Colmar and Milan the only thing was the distance we had to walk to get there.  Both hotels were cool.

For Lake Como we used an Airbnb which was just what we needed. A nice apartment with lots of room allowing us to spread out or stuff and reorganize before packing to head home. Our host gave us options for how to get from Milan and met us at the bus stop.  When we go back, this place is the first place we will check on.

As for cost… I’m estimating it was around $150-$200 per night.  London was the most expensive.

How long is too long?

Looking at that I do think while we had a great time and did some amazing things I do think we should try to max out our time away at 10 days.  Sue says 14 days. 22 days just seems a bit too long. Getting back into the real world (even retired) might be difficult.  Then again we are heading out to GeoWoodstock for the weekend… so I think we end up being away for around 26 days.  In that time they’ve repaved the neighborhood, don’t even get me thinking about the lawn, and the cats think we are dead.