Update: The Landing List
Here's where I currently stand:
1) Cheetos
2) Pepperjack cheese with Ritz crackers
3) Biscuits (buttermilk), with milk gravy
4) United States pizza
5) Potato salad
6) Vegetarian sushi roll from Kroger
7) Chocolate chip cookies (had a homemade brownie, but that doesn't count)
8) Hominy casserole
The Landing List
Remember how I said I had a list of things that I wanted to eat when I got home?
Here's where I currently stand:
1) Cheetos
2) Pepperjack cheese with Ritz crackers
3) Biscuits (buttermilk), with milk gravy
4) United States pizza
5) Potato salad
6) Vegetarian sushi roll from Kroger
7) Chocolate chip cookies (had a homemade brownie, but that doesn't count)
8) Hominy casserole
This morning I was up early making biscuits and gravy from scratch, which was a worthwhile endeavor. I will continue to cross items off of the list, because I have an excellent-looking recipe for potato salad that's begging to be tried, and Cheetos are available at any fine grocery store.
Not too bad for my first day back in the U.S.
I unpacked today, and by "unpacked," I actually mean "turned over the backpack while open on my bed." I have everything out of the pack now, so next I am going to take inventory of everything that I took with me, what I used, and what I didn't. I know it sounds a bit obsessive, and it probably is, but that's the only way that I can think of to actually eliminate useless items in the future, with the exception, of course, of my first aid kit, which I luckily didn't have to use at all.
Good stuff. Maybe I can knock out pizza, potato salad, and Cheetos tomorrow.
Pictures!
All of the pictures from the trip are over at Flickr. Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/bransonsparks/ to check it out.
Day 23
This was supposed to be an uneventful travel day. Oh, but do I have a story to tell you.
Do you know when everything is going so well that there must be something wrong in the cosmos?
That's what happened this morning. Our little B&B did breakfast early especially for us. We missed the first subway, but the next one only took 3 minutes to arrive. We only had to wait about 10 minutes for the train to the airport to depart. Our car was air conditioned. We found the terminal with little fuss.
Then started the fun.
First, the Spanish Inquisition.
"Has anyone unknown to you packed your bags?"
"Have your bags been out of your control since you packed them?"
"Any items in your bags that are weapons or could be mistaken for or used as weapons?"
"Has anyone given you any electronic devices to carry in your bags?"
"Did you have cappuccino for breakfast today?"
The lady is asking all of these in a very low voice, a near-whisper. I'm scared, nay petrified, of giving the wrong answer that is going to signal the guy with a machine gun on the catwalk to fire at will (no joke--he was there, and he was DEFINITELY armed).
Day 22
This morning started early. Someone tried to call one of our cell phones three times at 1:17a. Add that to our wonderful serenade from last night.
We headed to the Majer pastry shop for breakfast, and ended up opening the store for them. I had a still-warm croissant with chocolate filling.
Next it was to the train station to board the Eurostar fast train to Rome. The train is beautiful. Each seat has its own 220v power outlet, which I have used to plug my phone in. We have a dining car, should we choose to pay too much for food or drink. The seats are comfortable, and the whole thing smells clean. We are zipping through the countryside as I prepare to take a nap.
This is our last full day in Italy. All in all, it has been a pretty amazing trip. Sure, we have had some issues, but nothing insurmountable.
Every trip is a learning exercise, and provides knowledge and experience to further hone your strategies for both packing and travel.
I know I'm biased, but I think I have the right idea with one bag. There are some tweaks to be made, but no major paradigm changes. That's good, and makes me happy. Nothing is quite the proving ground that 23 days out of a single backpack 8,000 miles from home is.
It might sound like I am hung up on packing, and I guess that I am... but only as a means to an end. The end being greater flexibility and enjoyment of your trip. If I wanted to, I could stay another week or two (or longer) just by purchasing a few toiletries and some laundry detergent.