Spain & Portugal

I just arrived at SFO and am very excited about my next adventure. I am also excited about getting some shut-eye on the plane. With class all weekend, three wonderful visitors, a surprise paper I had to write on Saturday night, and anxiety about packing, I'm exhausted.

Two things are already drastically different from my Italy trip and I feel so much more prepared and savvy. First off I am backpacking this time instead of hauling a suitcase. No more loud rolls down cobble stone streets, challenging trips up and down stairs, and impossible lifts into trains where I had to bat my eyes at people to help me. The nice folks at REI hooked me up with a backpack that is suited for travel, not backpacking in the wilderness. So it functions a bit more like a suitcase which will make it easier than a top-loading style backpack. I also packed very light - so proud!

Secondly, I purchased a cute little Dell netbook (tiny laptop). I already love it. I spent so much time in Italy hunting for internet cafes, spending too much money, and jealous of all the folks taking advantage of the free wifi at the hostels. If a hostel did have a computer that you could use, you usually had to sign up for 15 minute increments and it was so hard to get anything done. It'll not only be nice to update my blog and type up my entries on train rides etc, but it will also be helpful when I'm trying to figure out how to get from one city to the next and book hostels. And of course I'll probably watch TV shows online once I finish the four books I brought.

Other small items that I packed this trip after observing and learning from other travelers (which was a huge benefit of staying in a shared dorm) include: a clothesline, a sleeping bag insert/sheet thing, and a headlamp for reading at night and trying to look at a map when streetlights seem to be nonexistent. I've always wanted a headlamp. I was cool and I bought the kid version cause it was the simplest one they had. And it was pink.

So there you have it. All the little tips I learned from my Italy trip that I'm excited to take advantage of this trip (and the hopefully many more to come).