For Your Next Transatlantic Flight

Just in time for the last shopping weekend before Christmas, I'm posting a gift guide aimed at frequent travelers.  Except - no, let's not call it a gift guide, because we all have feelings about the proliferation of those on blogs at this time of year.  And, despite its theme, it's missing most of the usual things included on globetrotters' lists, like scratch-off maps and cork globes and necklaces engraved with coordinates.

So here's what it is: it's a collection of things that, in the past few years of making as many transatlantic flights as my wallet and work schedule would allow, I've realized would be super helpful to own.  If you do a lot of traveling, especially on airplanes and/or to international destinations, you might be interested in them, too!

1. When my suitcase went missing, a lot of you expressed "there but for the grace of God go I" sentiments.  If you're worried that your luggage might be misplaced - or that it might decide to go to Israel rather than join you in Barcelona, which happened to my sister a few years ago - you might want to look into Trakdot, a device just bigger than a deck of cards that you put into your bag which communicates its location via an app on your phone.

2. I have a few international adaptors that I bring with me whenever I leave the States, but I almost always end up charging my iPhone from my Mac when I travel.  This Fujifilm international plug can charge two USB cables when not being used as an adaptor.  No more toting my laptop everywhere just to make sure my phone stays juiced up!

3. Confession: I Skyped my mom the other day because I wanted to see Charlie.  It's always helpful to have Skype credit on hand, and I just learned that you can give it as a gift!  This would be perfect if you're in a long-distance relationship, travel for extended periods of time, or have family in far-flung locations.

4. Despite all the occasions while traveling when I wished I had a big fancy camera (and knew how to use it), I'm glad not to lug a DSLR around.  I do want to up my photography game a bit, though, so I have my eye on this olloclip 4-in-1 lens for iPhones.  It includes a fisheye lens, a wide-angle lens, and two macro lenses, and they just clip right onto your phone without taking up tons of space in your bag.

5. More often than not, I discover that my suitcase is overweight when I arrive at the airport and have to do a horrible awkward shuffling of belongings between my carryon and the bag I want to check.  A hand-held digital luggage scale would really help me pack appropriately before leaving the house!

6. I have never owned a neck pillow.  Actually, I don't think I've ever even borrowed a neck pillow.  I rely on airline pillows and whatever scarves and jackets I've carried onto the plane with me when I want to sleep on a flight.  I'd much rather use this bear, though, which unzips into a neck pillow when you need it for a snatched nap!

7. On this trip, I packed a cable for my iPhone, a cable for my Kindle, and a cable for my Garmin as well as the cable for my laptop.  As luck would have it, the one I want is generally the last one I fish out of my bag.  Life would be so much neater if I had this handy-dandy cord wrap to hold and display all of my cables in one place!

8. Remember what I said about my overweight luggage in #5?  In my perfect travel scenario, the only thing I bring on board with me is my purse.  However, I almost always pack an empty carryon-sized bag in the suitcase I'm checking just in case my bag is overweight and I need to transfer things to a carryon to lighten the load.  This LLBean duffle folds up easily and is lightweight, which means it won't tip the scales if it stays in my checked bag, but is also sturdy and handsome, so I'll feel confident carrying it around the airport if necessary.

9. When I was a kid, I loved filling out the paper luggage tags I'd find at airline check-in counters.  I've since grown out of that, but not all of my bags come with their own durable tags, so I need an alternative.  These clever Anne Taintor tags are perfect - one says "we all have our baggage," another says "think of me as 'unexpected turbulence,'" and the third says "are we there yet?"

Walking the Southbank

I just realized, as I uploaded the 1259 photos I've taken since our plane took off from Dulles on Wednesday night, that I never blogged about the London adventures Jon and I had when I came to visit in August!  (You can find the Suffolk posts here and here and the English garden wedding post here, if you missed them the first time around.)  Maybe I'll get around to sharing those photos in February, when we're two months from this trip with the next in the very distant future and we'll need those memories from a week of summer in London to cheer us.  Well, I promise to try, anyway!

Of course, this stay is going too quickly already; I think it's best if I start publishing some of our explorations before time really gets away from us, don't you?  On Thursday, the day we landed at Heathrow, we spent the whole afternoon wandering along the Thames.  Walking the Southbank is one of Jon's favorite past times, and it was a beautiful crisp afternoon for a jaunt.  (We emerged from the depths of the Underground at Embankment, walked over the bridge towards Waterloo, headed east past the Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre and the OXO Tower and Shakespeare's Globe, and made our way to London Bridge, which we crossed before continuing eastward on the north side of the river.  Then we crossed the Thames again on Tower Bridge and hied ourselves westward past More London to hop back on the tube at London Bridge.  There's a map at the bottom of this post for you London-lovers!)  I must admit I forgot how early it gets dark in London, but that just made the end of our outing that much more magical!  See for yourselves...

Transatlantically Again Alphabetically

We're off tonight, dear readers!  Jon and I will head to Dulles straight after work to fly to England and I'm so excited.  My visit in August was full of complicated emotions (in part due to the continued uncertainty of our visa process but also because I let the stress and frustration of my lost luggage overwhelm the trip) and I'm beyond ready to relax and just enjoy spending time with our friends and family in London and Suffolk.

We're flying to Heathrow earlier than necessary for Christmas because one of Jon's childhood chums is getting married on Saturday, so it'll be a blast to start off our holiday celebrating their wedding with that crowd.  Beyond that, our dance cards are already pretty full!  We'll be in London for nine days and then will take the train to Suffolk to spend Christmas week with my in-laws; Jon and I have been throwing out ideas for outings and adventures since he moved over.  Let's go through them alphabetically!

Arriving with hearts full of warmth and Christmas cheer*
Baby - Jon's godson was born in late August and I can't wait to meet him!
Christmas lights all over town
Drinking pints in warm cozy pubs
Early morning runs through the heath in Suffolk
Fighting the crowds on Oxford Street
Gimel! (We'll be doing a Hanukkah night in Suffolk, and that's the winning letter on the dreidel.)
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland
Ice Skating at Somerset House, the Tower of London, or the Natural History Museum
Joking around with Jon's former flatmates (and our hosts for the first weekend)
Keeping track of my Weight Watchers PlusPoints - wish me luck
Listening to my friend Christine's concert with Siglo de Oro in Hampstead
Meeting up with old friends
National Gallery to see the Rembrandt show
Overly emotional, obviously
Presents under the tree (from family members)
Queen's speech on Christmas Day
Remembering to call my dad on his birthday on the 22nd
Stockings at the foot of the bed (brought in the dead of night by Santa)
Thrilled to be attending the opening night of Jon's cousin's theatre debut at Hampstead Theatre
Unbelievably grateful to be part of a family that has such meaningful holiday traditions
Vibrating purrs from Tiffy and Topsy at Jon's parents' house
Wedding bells!
eXclaiming how no one's changed and yet how everyone has
Yelling as we pull crackers at Christmas dinner
Zzzz (napping!) before the Doctor Who and Downton Abby Christmas specials

*I asked Jon to help me draft this post.  I rescinded the offer after "A."

Annapolis, MD

On Sunday, Jon and I hopped in my parents' car and drove out Rt. 50 towards the Bay Bridge to Annapolis.  My friend Jen, who works as an archivist and researcher for the state of Maryland, had offered to show us around her town when we first expressed interest in visiting.  Annapolis is full of early American history, so I was thrilled to have a knowledgable and fun tour guide for our day out!

We started at Red Red Wine with a New Orleans brunch, complete with beignets and plates of crab benedict, to fuel us up for our adventure.  After finishing our delicious meal, Jen brought us through the historic downtown of Annapolis to the Naval Academy, where we spent a good hour exploring the campus.  I loved the museum on the grounds - it stirred unexpected feelings of patriotism!  Jon went to a naval school and learned a lot of maritime history, so he felt compelled to point out that the exhibitions about the 18th and 19th centuries focused on the battles we won rather than those we lost.  I, of course, felt compelled to point out that the United States beat Great Britain in two wars back then but that I loved him anyway.

After making our way through the Naval Academy to the bank of the Severn River, we meandered back through downtown to the Maryland State House.  (Did you know that Annapolis is the capital of Maryland?  Many people think it's Baltimore, but it's always been Annapolis.  In fact, Annapolis was the first peace-time capital of the United States and it's where the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War!)  Jen gave us a fantastic history lesson as we peeked into the old House chamber, which has been beautifully restored, and told us about the plans to restore the old Senate chamber.  We got to read the letter George Washington wrote to resign his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army; you can see where he crossed out phrases in favor of more purposeful expressions, which is super cool.  The Maryland State House is the oldest state house in the country that is still in legislative use, and Jon asked lots of questions that I didn't know the answers to as we stood at the doorways of the current House and Senate chambers.  Thank goodness we had an expert with us!

I always forget how close Annapolis is to DC, but it was less than an hour's drive to get there and we had the most beautiful (and educational) day out.  Thank you, Jen, for introducing us to your town and to my - well, our - history!