Suzy Guese

The night before I leave on a big trip, or any trip for that matter, is usually a chaotic scene. I prioritize poorly. I start deep cleaning my apartment before I have even decided what to pack. I commence painting my nails in a hurried fashion, only to have them look like the work of a person blindfolded. And yet, every time I schedule new travel plans I always promise myself, “This time, I will be organized”.

While traveling is an exciting experience, it can be a stressful one before departure. I usually have a million and one things to accomplish, things I put off for more impractical tasks like scrubbing the kitchen sink. I hate to come home to a messy home, especially after experiencing random hotel rooms for weeks. Then there is work. I always seem to have so much to do before a big trip. Emails have not been returned. Articles are still not written. I always swear to myself I will not procrastinate when I have the extra time, and yet I always do. Throw into the mix packing. I have always loved packing, but I never seem to do it right. It is a mad rush to figure out what will fit at 2AM when I have to be up in 3 hours. And for my upcoming trip to Europe, I made a pledge to myself that I would organize, not procrastinate and have a relaxing evening before I take off the next morning.

What I hope to look like the night before a big trip

Just as you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, I doubted I could do this. While I still have loads of work to do, an apartment to clean and a bag that needs to be packed with all manner of winter for Eastern Europe, I have already avoided the stresses of last minute trip preparation by imploring the following techniques. If you too find yourself a crazy mess by the time you get to the gate due to last minute trip prep, you might want to consider trying these tips out for yourself.

Pack One Area of Clothing A Day Beginning The Week Before Departure

A late night packing session hours before you leave might be the most stressful of pre-travel scenarios. This time for my trip to Europe, I started packing last Saturday. I began laying out different potentials to see what would work and what wouldn’t. For me, it is best to focus on one area of clothing per day. Figure out what pajamas you need to take one day and set them aside. The next day might be pants and the next day could be sweaters. I usually go through my layers of clothing so that I don’t forget anything: underwear, pants, tank tops, shirts, sweaters, jackets, socks and shoes. By breaking up my packing over the course of a week, I can do a little bit here and a little bit there without feeling overwhelmed.

Utilize Layover Time

My layover in Chicago will lend me around 5 hours of time. While I would probably love to sit and read magazines for those 5 hours, I have already set my mind to getting ahead on work. Sometimes in the excitement of a new destination, we forget to charge all of our electronics or use the time wisely. I have been guilty of this fact on more than one occasion. If you have free time before your planned exodus from home, don’t waste it, right down to the hours before lift off. I also find on long haul flights that if I am exhausted when I board the plane, I have a better chance of sleeping. Layover time is not the time for just sitting and relaxing. Accomplish something while you can still move around freely. Using time wisely can be facilitated by knowing your airport of layover residence extensively by using apps like Gate Guru. Also, coughing up the price of a day pass for airline lounges can also be worth it if you want a quiet place to work on your layover.

Set Goals and Place The Frivolous Last On The List

I have to paint my nails and toes whenever I leave on a trip. Perhaps it is the 14 year old in me, but it is one of those frivolous things I generally do at the 11^th hour before a flight. This go-around, I have set goals based on their importance. Finishing work and returning emails must come before the frivolous. Cleaning my entire apartment will be last on the list. By setting goals, I only spend the most allotted time to the things of greatest importance. If it’s 6 PM on Friday and I have crossed off the most pressing items on my list, I can then move on to the frivolous.

How do you avoid that last minute travel prep stress and chaos?

When I search for a ticket for long haul flights, I am usually hungry to find a good deal. This is becoming harder and harder these days as the trolls behind airlines up the price as I debate whether to purchase. There isn’t time to hesitate or think things through when someone wants to make a profit off of you.

On my upcoming trip to Europe, I realized I was far too focused on the price of my long haul flight. I neglected key elements for booking a flight, one that can determine a good 10 hours or a bad 10 hours up in the air.

Learning to fly, with make-shift wings

A Good Seat Can Mean The World

When booking long haul flights, your seat is everything. When I booked my ticket, I took the last seat on the plane, the only one available. On long flights I prefer to be by the window. I believe that it allows more privacy and a nice make-shift pillow to lean against.

The problem with airlines is that they tend to pick a seat for you if you don’t choose yours at booking. As you book your ticket, have Seat Guru open to see the advantages and disadvantages of where you are about to select to sit. There have been far too many times that I have forgotten to check the seat of where I have selected. I then have found a strange metal box taking up all of my legroom or a seat with a great shot of the smelly lavatories. If you are spending hours upon hours on an airplane to cross oceans and continents, your seat should be as comfortable as it can be.

Check The Type of Plane and Airline

Before pressing purchase, research just what sort of plane you are flying. While most airlines have updated their planes for long haul flights to include personal entertainment screens, you would hate to book a flight that hasn’t been updated in ages and features that one giant screen that no one can see.

Make sure you aren't flying something like this

Using search engine sites to book the best airfare can sometimes put you on five different airlines in one journey. The longest flights should always be the best and most comfortable. A quick search of the airline and type of plane will tell you exactly what you will be getting on board.

Consider The Time of Day for Leaving and Arriving

Last month, I came back to Denver at 4PM. I then sat in traffic for two and half hours to get home. When you arrive home or to a new destination, it is important to consider just what time of day you will find yourself. Rush hour morning and evening traffic can make that long haul journey that much more tiring.

If you are leaving in the morning hours from virtually anywhere, that wake up call will be even earlier with traffic to the airport. I try to book flights that are not at heavily trafficked hours to make the day seem shorter and less stressful. If I am worried that I will miss my flight due to traffic on the way to the airport, then I didn’t examine my travel itinerary the way I should have at booking.

Weigh The Advantages and Disadvantages of The Airports of Connection

For most long haul flights of a reasonable price, you are generally going to have to stop somewhere. Sometimes these stops can be for hours, leaving you in a strange airport to wander and roam. If you have a choice of connections, where you will make your stops for long haul flights, be sure to pick the airport you can appreciate for a few hours.

For example, on my way to Ireland, I had to spend four hours in Chicago O’Hare. While I’m sure there are better gates, my section of the airport lacked places to charge phones or to get a decent meal. Most of us want to have quiet places to charge our laptops, phones and iPads before making the long journey overseas. A good meal is also important before boarding a flight for 10 hours if airplane food isn’t your favorite. If you have to spend time in an airport as part of your long haul, do your research about the airport and the terminal you will most likely be in for several hours.

Besides finding cheap airfare, what other things do you watch out for when booking long haul flights?

My personality has always been to obsess over something for a time. Once I obtain said obsession, whether it be some new shirt or home item, I move on to the next. I forget the last obsession and hone in a new one.  Like with items in my life, I tend to do the same with travel. I think I want to travel non-stop. I try it for a while by spending three months gallivanting around Europe. I find after three months, I am too tired and cranky to keep this up, having no real constant home. I read about another traveler, wandering from place to place solo. I go try it out in Ireland for a month and realize while solo travel is uplifting and creates a deep sense of self, I miss those travel moments with someone I know. Like with my latest material obsessions, I guess I tend to want certain travel styles, but in the end, I know my style. I’m the homebody traveler.

There might be snow, but it's home.

I enjoy nothing more than slipping into my own bed at night, waking up to know my Internet should work. The coffee will be hot. I am perfectly content on spending the day at home. I am a homebody in every degree. As a toddler I would be dumped off at my grandparents for I hated to shop with my mom. I would rather stay home.

To make this confession might turn off some travelers of the world. I should love the adventure of going from place to place. And while I do, there will always be a pull in me to return home for break, to lounge on the couch and soak up all of its comforts. Of course, I wouldn’t be writing here if I didn’t love to leave home every once in a while. I love so many things about travel, but not solely to make it all that my life is.

I read many other travel sites, articles and blogs, telling me of different travel styles: solo, couples, long term and nomadic. I hear each and every style’s benefits. I am constantly hit over the head with that obsession. Do I want this style or that one?

I'm leaving on a jetplane...

Be True To Your Travel Style

After 24 years, I have finally accepted my travel style, the homebody traveler. While I enjoy heading to a new place for a few weeks or even a month or two, I have to come back down to earth, come back home. I have to soak up a constant life before I head back out on to the road. I have to appreciate what I have and when I have it in order to find many aspects to travel endearing.

I travel pretty much every month of the year, but I also have an apartment I call home. I enjoy traveling throughout these two extremes, a home life and a travel life. Without the two, I would not be honest with my travel style. If there is one thing I have learned from trying other travelers’ styles it is that I fail miserably when I reject my travel style. Just because it isn’t the long-term style or the solo style doesn’t make it foreign. Every travel style should be different and no two are alike.

You Never Know Until You Try

Truth be told, I never would know that the homebody travel style is for me until I gave other travel styles a go. Getting up in Ireland, traveling to new places everyday or every other day, I grew exhausted. I knew this nomadic travel style wasn’t for me.

Sometimes we can be bombarded with other traveler’s styles of moving around the globe. In the end, you really don’t know what might be for you until you try it. I used to think I could never travel alone, and then I did. While I don’t think it is exactly my style, at least I gave it a go. While being a nomad isn’t my style either, at least I tried it.

Changing Travel Styles Is Not A Sin

You have announced to the world you are a nomad or that round the world adventure for a year comes to an end. What now? I often find these moments in transition interesting to experience and observe in others. I am guilty of worrying about changing what I have laid out. In the end, travel styles change with age, position and circumstance. Don’t be afraid to admit it’s not what you want anymore.

There is my confession. I’m a homebody who also loves to travel from time to time. I have been a nomad enough to know I’m not a nomad. I can be a solo traveler and I cannot be. I can travel long term and I can’t. I know my travel style now and I will embrace it from my cozy couch at home to the lumpy couch half way around the world.

How do you define your travel style? Have you tried traveling with other styles and found they didn’t work for you?

While I don’t normally write specific posts on contests, as there are so many, Enrout was nice enough to exchange good deeds and support this site as well. It must be the spirit of the season.

Enrout is a new search engine for alternative lodging. And as I don’t promote every contest on this site, I found Enrout to be beneficial for average Joes and Janes in terms of what types of accommodations they offer for reasonable rates. The goal of the site is to immerse the traveler into local lifestyles. I often say how I enjoy renting apartments when I travel as you do get a different sense of a place.

Long story short, Enrout is giving away $500 to one lucky traveler just in time for the holidays. To enter the contest, you really just have to like a few Facebook pages, tweet the contest and explain your favorite vacation rental on Enrout. The details can be found on the Enrout contest page.

I would rather have the winner be someone from this site so don’t let me down. In the meantime, I’m off to dream about what I would do with $500 in accommodations. Pillow mints will probably be involved.

A dreaded activity for many and a welcome problem for few, I have always enjoyed packing for trips. As I started to recall just what I deemed appropriate for the Ultimate Female Packing List for Italy on Her Packing List this week, I remembered some of my painful packing errors. While I had tried to push those incidents out of my memory, they are always there, tugging at me and reminding me there is no such thing as a travel packing pro. Packing is a something I think you don’t get down with one trip, or even two. It takes a great deal of time to master, and even when you have gone pro, you still have those items you never wear or the shoes that kill your feet.

Perhaps in hopes of releasing all of that bad packing karma from countless errors throughout my travels, I have assembled some of the moments when I have faltered in the packing department. I always go back to Ötzi, the Iceman found preserved along with his belongings in a glacier between Austria and Italy. His backpack along with the items he packed for his journey is now immortalized in a museum. What you carry does in fact carry you. If I tumbled into a glacier with my suitcase, I wouldn’t want anyone to see these packing mistakes in a museum.

If I can successfully lift a bag over my head, I can bring it.

Three Suitcases For 5 Months in Sicily

I might be most ashamed of this packing mistake. I was headed to Sicily for a semester in college, my first time abroad for an extended period of time. I could not pare down what I wanted to bring, so much so, I brought three suitcases. Arriving to that small airport in Catania, I looked mostly ridiculous as my ride laughed and mumbled in Sicilian dialect. While I had a wealth of options that semester for clothes, it made it next to impossible to move all three of those bags.

Lesson Learned: Even for long trips, don’t ever bring more bags than you have hands.

Look at all of those unnecessary bags!

The Shoes That Weren’t Made For Walking in England

My first few moments in Europe for the first time were not spent enjoying the beauty of London, but rather enjoying a London shoe store. At the last minute, at 8 years old mind you, I threw in a pair of shoes I desperately wanted to bring. Why? I don’t know, as they were gingham-printed shoes. I had never worn these killer shoes. They attacked my feet and didn’t make walking possible. I found myself in a London shoe store, buying the ugliest of shoes with my mom as we tried to figure out European sizes.

Lesson Learned: Never pack shoes you have never worn before.

Packing For The Season I Wanted

Just because you are in a place that you think of as warm year round, doesn’t mean it will be. When I studied in Florence for a semester, I thought the extent of their winter would be a little rain but bearable temperatures. Just like my other packing errors, this thinking did not work in my favor when I froze February through April in one of Florence’s closest winters.

Lesson Learned: Don’t pack for the season you are hoping for, but rather check the weather before you start loading up your bag with flip-flops and T-Shirts.

All of The High Heels I Have Ever Packed

I have finally learned that high heels and traveling simply don’t mix. However, for a time, I would always through in a pair or two. At the end of a trip, I would find high heels were always the items I promised myself I would never pack again. I never end up wearing them. Cobblestone or no cobblestone, high heels are not meant for walking in a new place.

Lesson Learned: If you are not a high heel person at home, you are not a high heel person when you travel.

The Cheap Tote Bag Problem

For a while in my traveling career, I would purchase a new tote bag to carry my computer, wallet and other important items. The night before I would try packing this tote bag and always have some sort of zipper fiasco. Whether it was not big enough to fit all of my important items or poor with weight distribution so much so I thought I would lose an arm lugging this monster around, cheap tote bags are never the way to go.

Lesson Learned: Just like shoes, try out your main bag you will be toting the majority of the time before you take off. It if it kills your arm at home or has a cheap zipper, it will break or cost you an arm.

What is your worst packing error? Have you ever repeated the same packing mistake twice?

Full Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9. While my thoughts and opinions about the product are my own, your results might vary.

Photography is such a vital part of travel. If you can’t capture where you have been, it can be a challenge to keep up with those travel memories. I am a point and shoot camera totting traveler. I don’t have a fancy pants camera, just my trusted Canon. When I get home from an adventure, I try to make the best of what I have captured, usually with just a simple click of the “Enhance” button on iPhoto. Sometimes I kick myself for missing the moment or taking such a crooked shot of something so beautiful.

While iPhoto has yet to fail me completely, I was willing to give Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 a try to see if I could do even more with my travel photos. The software claims to help you make your photos look their complete best. Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 gives you a pretty powerful photo-editing tool that is also thought to be easy to use. The software also comes with an organize feature where you can tack on dates, captions and the like to make sure you keep track of where you have been and what you have seen.

I thought the best way to review this product for travelers looking to improve their travel photographs would be to edit a series of photographs I have taken on my travels, showing you the before and after.

This first shot is Milan’s Duomo. I thought it would be challenging to make this grand structure look even better. Using the quick selection tool along with the hue and saturation feature, I was able to turn the distracting yellow shirt of a man in the photograph to gray. I also cropped the photograph and I utilized the Enhance Menu to Auto Fix the colors and sharpness of the building.

Milan’s Duomo Before

Milan's Duomo Unedited

Milan’s Duomo After

Milan's Duomo Edited

The next photograph I decided to change was a shot I love of Matera, Italy. Playing around with the Enhance menu, I auto corrected problems in the photograph, with the exception of the auto color. Then I used the gradient tool on a new layer coupled with the soft light filter. This gives Matera a warmer and richer effect, putting me right into the warmth of the Mediterranean.

Matera, Italy Before

Matera, Italy Unedited

Matera, Italy After

Matera, Italy Edited

This next photograph is of a beach in Sardinia, one of my favorite spots in the world. I didn’t think it was possible to make this beach look better. I zoomed in on the photograph to provide more attention and focus. I also straightened the photograph. I tried out the Clone Tool to remove rubbish on the beach, including a bright orange tent. I then used the gradient tool on a new layer with the soft light filter to make the beach look even warmer and the sea and sky cooler.

Sardinian Beach Before

Sardinia Beach Unedited

Sardinian Beach After

Sardinia Beach Edited

Finally, one of my favorite photographs to come out of trying Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 is a night shot of the Gracia Festival in Barcelona. I used the Enhance feature along with the Color Variation to make it darker. I didn’t like how grainy this photograph was before. In turn, I made the brighter areas redder. I then used the Motion Blur Filter in the Filter Menu. By using the Eraser Tool, I could make it appear as though only the foreground was in motion. For a night shot, the background doesn’t move. Here I have created a long exposure to show movement, when I never did so when I took the photograph.

Gracia Festival Before

Gracia Festival Unedited

Gracia Festival After

Gracia Festival Edited

What I Thought

I did find Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 to live up to its claim of making your photographs look their best. However, I will say it was not so simple to use. You have to have some knowledge of Photoshop or a long weekend to read up on how to use each feature. I also didn’t find the Organize element to be extremely useful, but that could be my laziness talking. From a travel perspective, if you have the time to organize your photographs in this feature, you could certainly save headaches of trying to figure out who and what you saw. Overall, if you are looking to improve your travel photographs with a somewhat simple and affordable tool, I recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements 9. You don’t have to be the best photographer with this software.

Note: This product does not come with a teenager like my brother Charlie Guese to help you figure it out. Special thanks to Charlie for helping me use Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.

Have you tried Adobe Photoshop Elements 9? What do you use to edit your travel photographs?

Forgive me if I don’t enjoy looking like a disaster when I travel. I know I am supposed to not care about my appearance and throw on the same T-shirt over and over again. I am supposed to uphold the bare bones traveler look, one who is not focused on their mascara layers but rather the layers of their adventure.

This comes across as shallow to many who pack only one pair of underwear, but I don’t want to be a complete mess when I travel. I think places have a lot to do with the traveler. I enjoy looking my best when I travel for I feel better and I hope, just maybe, those American stereotypes of being bad at dressing and assimilating into foreign cultures are reversed. In case you too are of the same mantra, here are my beauty and fashion must-packs. While I wish I received these items for free, I didn’t. However, they uphold a budget conscious attitude, one the one-underwear packing people just might be able to appreciate.

A Classic Trench Coat

If you read this site often, you might wonder if I only wear one thing, a trench coat. I purchased a tan trench coat for my trip to Ireland. That purchase proved to be a great travel find. Almost every store has a classic trench coat. A trench coat is so versatile. You can wear it in any type of weather mostly. It can act as a big blanket on an airplane. If you are down to your worst outfits on a trip, you can just slip on that trench coat and no one knows what is underneath. A good classic trench coat allows you to look put together when you travel, even when you aren’t.

Night Cream

Travel can truly wear you down. It is stressful at times and not always like laying on a beach in Tahiti. However, I always pack a night cream to help with travel stress. The cream relaxes my skin, keeps it moisturized, and also helps relax me personally. While I wish the Olay people would sponsor me, I use Night of Olay Firming Cream when I travel. At under $7 a giant jar, this is easy to afford. Apart from having perhaps the best night cream name, the cream moisturizes my skin on long flights and provides that cooling feel on my face after an extensive day of touring. With the different climates you might be going through, your skin and stress levels can feel it, but a good night cream can remedy any travel fiasco.

A Pumice Stone

The last thing you might consider to pack is a pumice stone. It usually falls on those lists of “I wish I brought one, but I didn’t”. Last summer in Italy, I felt the burn of not packing a pumice stone. When you are traveling, you are most likely walking a lot. Especially in summer, your feet can take a beating in sandals. For some reason, pumice stones are hard to find in foreign countries, at least they have been for me. I always pack a pumice stone now and my feet thank me.

Travel Eye Care Kit

The first time I saw this little kit, I laughed. Who would need a little case with a mirror, tiny bottle for contact solution and a contact case? Can’t you just make one on your own?  However, that little eye care case has come in use more times than I can count on the road. While I do think travel brings out a beauty you can’t buy, it is hard to feel beautiful and absorb such beauty you are seeing if a fuzz-ball decides to attack your eye. Red eyes that look tired probably are, but eye drops can eliminate this all together. Taking care of your eyes while you travel might be the best beauty tip. You did come all this way to see something.

Powerful Mini Hair Dryer

I have read so many packing lists that tell you to leave the hair dryer at home. There is always one at the hotel, right? Wrong. Then I have read complaints that many mini-hair dryers don’t have the power to dry your hair quickly on the road. You can either go with the hotel’s untrustworthy dryer, usually one you have to hold a button down the whole time to keep going or take an hour to blow dry your hair with a travel sized dryer. I have found my trusted travel hairdryer. While once again, I wish I received this little gem for free, I didn’t. I use the Mighty Mini Styler by Conair. It has the strength of your hair dryer back home that is far too big to pack. It fits easily in those strange and awkward spaces I find in my suitcase.

Dresses

I hope my male readers don’t use this beauty tip, but dresses are the best way to pack light and look presentable while traveling. Sure, in some climates this won’t work. If you are planning a trip to the Arctic Circle, you might not use dresses. At the same time, I save room in my suitcase by not having to pack addition tops and bottoms. When you just want to get out the door and explore a city, a dress is the easiest and quickest way to do so. I especially find shirt dresses comfortable, easy to pack and classic in almost any part of the world.

What are your budget beauty and fashion travel must-packs?