Practical Considerations (yes, it takes thought and planning…)

Hello virtual travelers!!  I promised to share some of the things we’ve worked out to make this adventure possible.  I’ve tried to group these into sections so you can skip those that don’t interest you.  Here we go…

PACKING (and laundry)– The important lesson here is to pack light!  We limited ourselves to two carry-on size suitcases each. They do have wheels, but we need to be able to carry them onto trains and up stairs when necessary.

You will get bored with your clothes, but few people you encounter will know that you’ve worn that same outfit 25 times! Choose items that wash and wear and stick to basic colors (black works really well in Paris and doesn’t show the dirt). I brought 3 pr of pants (2 black and jeans), 1 pr black shorts, 8 shirts (various sleeve lengths), 2 short skirts, a black cardigan, a gray sweatshirt, 2 dresses, and one silk vest (to wear over black to get dressed up), 5 pr of shoes (sandals, 3 pr flats & gym shoes), 2 pajamas.

Since we’re packing for multiple climates, we focused on layers and items that serve more than one purpose. For example, my exercise pants can be an extra layer under jeans in cold weather.  My heavy jacket is a Patagonia that packs into a sack that is smaller than a medium-sized pocketbook. Haven’t had to use it yet, but it’s not taking up much room. My light jacket is a biking jacket that stuffs into its own pocket. I’ve carried it with me in my daypack in Paris…it weighs about 6 oz.

Pack about a week’s worth of underwear and plan to do laundry.  We’ve tried to choose apartments that have at least a washing machine, and we wash about every 5-6 days.  In Paris, we don’t have a dryer, but this rack works quietly nicely…

A few other essentials that we made room for include a good (2-stage) corkscrew, a compact knife sharpener we bought in Japan (don’t you hate it when the apartment you’ve rented has dull knives?), our iPads and laptops, a tiny speaker for the iPod, and our AeroPress coffee maker. In addition we have what we call our ‘everything bag’ that we often carry on international trips.  It includes a few batteries, cold tablets, a few rubber bands, scotch tape, bandaids, ziplock bags, flashlight, magnifying glass, matches, sticky notes and a door stopper…all the smallest possible size and all useful at some point.

BANKING (mail, paying bills, and internet security) – For months before we left, I diligently contacted every sender of junk mail and catalogues and asked to be removed from their mailing list. Most were nice about it and we saw a dramatic decrease in our junk mail.  We requested e-bills, or at least electronic notices from the bank and all of our credit cards. Most want you to have a physical address in the US, so we are using Andy’s home in Bend, OR, where we also opened a P O Box that he will monitor periodically. We’ve maintained our bank in the US and have our pensions, etc. coming in as e-transfers to the bank.  We pay bills through the bank as we did at home and, when we need cash, we go to an ATM and get euros.
We were concerned about internet security since our wireless access will be provided by our various hosts or through the Skyroam Hotspot that we carry with us. Our financial advisor suggested that we install Hotspot Shield, a VPN that will encrypt our communication and prevent anyone from stealing our IDs and passwords. The free version does not work outside the US, but the pay version is easy to install and you can pay once and use on up to 5 devices. It works in the background and I’m trusting that it will work as advertised.

PHONE CALLS (and keeping in touch) – Before leaving, I bought an iPhone  (Rick is still a diehard Android user). AT&T allowed us to change our plan to a ‘hold status’ so we could keep our numbers but pay only $10/line/month.  Then we added a basic international plan that provides minimal access to data and reduced charges for calls.  But the big revelation is FaceTime audio!! If you call iPhone to iPhone, using this app over wireless, it’s FREE!! And the audio is better than any cell call I’ve ever had!  The main challenge is coordinating time zones, but my children and I have figured out telephone appointments…I talked to Julie for an hour (!) the other day and, on my birthday, she and Owen called on a FaceTime video so I could watch him learning to crawl.

HEALTH (and insurance) – As I said in a previous post, we obtained the bare minimum health insurance required for our visa, but made sure that it covered evacuation in case of emergency. We’re both healthier than we have a right to be at our ages, so we feel confident that we won’t need to access much health care over here.  We’ve maintained our Medicare and Medigap policies in the US, and will schedule appointments for physicals, etc. during our return trips.

GETTING AROUND (trains, planes and automobiles) – While we are in Paris, we are walking and taking the Metro…plenty of exercise and use of our Navigo passes.  We’ve used local trains to venture out to St.-Germaine-en-Laye and Giverny. When we leave Paris, we have reserved a Peugeot 308 through a lease/buy back program.  We’ll drive this as we move south to explore the Languedoc and then go northeast to Colmar.  It is a very economical and flexible way to travel outside the city. And when we’re ready to return to the states, we’ll just turn the car back in.  They will only allow someone to do this for 6 months out of a year but, if we have a different primary driver when we return, we can pick up another similar car!