Packing Blues

I have my boarding pass in hand and I'm prepared for tomorrow's trip to Paris (and then Zagreb). Now, I realize that sympathy may be a little thin for someone who's about to fly to France and Croatia, but I'm going to complain anyway, because I hate packing.

I have enough trouble deciding what to wear when I wake up in the morning. But packing forces me to decide what to wear for the next bunch of days (11 in this case), where the weather is uncertain, and my activities are not 100% planned. And I've never even been to Paris (except the airport, which doesn't count). I try to pack light because I hate schlepping, but it's really difficult for me. And then there are all the elctronic gizmos and their accompanying chargers. This time I also have gifts for my Croatian friends, plus papers and stuff related to the conference I'm attending.

Last year I spent 5 months living in and traveling around Europe. My crowning packing achievement came when I spent 9 days in the UK and brought only a carry-on sized suitcase plus my purse and laptop bag. It helped that it was June, so I didn't need heavy clothing, and I'd been to London a few times before and had an inkling what to expect. I still ended up having to buy a raincoat in Edinburgh (wonderful city, but it was pouring rain).

In February or March, Dreampsinner will publish my novel Venetian Masks. That story involves a fair bit of travel, and my protagonist sets out with a Rick Steves-approved 5 days worth of clothing. He ends up with... something else entirely. :-)