Bonjour! I am officially home from Europe and back at work. Womp womp. It is kind of nice to get back into a routine, though. As much as I love traveling, I always love coming home and I appreciate getting back to my gym and healthy eating habits! I really missed my bed, hubby, hair products and puppies (in no particular order haha).
My mom and I traveled to Europe for 12 days - most of that time was spent in Paris but we did hop over to London for two days via the Chunnel! I knew we wouldn't have much opportunity to do laundry so I strategically packed outfits that would be light weight.....that way I could bring more pieces. If you're curious, YES, packing cubes really do work! I packed enough outfits in one suitcase to wear something different every day + several dressier looks, as well, that I changed into for fancy dinners!
I'm rounding up all of my European Instagram posts (plus a few extras) below so that you can shop my outfits easily. Scroll on down to the bottom for some packing tips!
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| Pants are c/o Lulu's but are sold out! Similar styles here and here |
What I Packed for Europe
- Two pairs of jeans - one blue and one black
- Lots of dresses! They are so easy to pack because they are just one piece instead of two so they take up way less space. And they are comfy. Give me a maxi dress over jeans any day....especially when I'm stuffing my face with pastries! I do always try to pick dresses that are a bit more on the conservative side and won't cause any Marylin Monroe moments.
- Several skirts (I only ended up wearing one, but it was one of my favorite looks)
- Multiple tops to layer under jackets or wear alone
- Four pairs of shoes - two flats (black and brown), one pair of sneakers and one pair of espadrille sandals. I find it easier on my feet if I rotate and wear a different pair every day...that way they don't rub the same spot continually and cause blisters when walking a lot.
- Three jackets - black and brown moto jackets and a jean jacket. I was so glad I brought them because the first half of our trip was really chilly!
- A variety of hats and hair scarves! I hate washing my hair when traveling...I think I washed it twice the whole trip haha so the hair accessories really came in handy! I do think the hats were a dead giveaway that I was a tourist, though. One person at the Chunnel train station even asked me if I was from Texas......and it wasn't even a cowboy hat, lol.
- Scarves! All the Parisian ladies wore scarves. With it being so chilly the first part of the trip, I was really glad to have them.
Outfit Packing Tips
- Pack pieces that mix and match. i.e. multiple tops match the same pair of shoes / pants / jacket
- Check the weather. Like I said, the first half of our trip was much colder than I had expected and the second half was almost 80 degrees. I was glad to have scarves and jackets to layer over my spring looks when I needed them!
- Pick items that can be re-worn different ways. i.e. a top that can be worn with jeans and then reworn with a skirt for a whole new dinner look
- Pack for the area you are traveling to. I hate to stand out like an American tourist. In Paris, the locals wore simple outfits, neutrals, black on black, stripes, flats, scarves....everything chic! I felt like I stood out if I tried too hard to dress Parisian, though (like wearing a beret haha) but hey.....when in Paris. I read that Parisians have an unspoken color rule - if you are going to wear color, pick one colored item and dress around it with neutrals.
- Comfortable Shoes! I can't stress this enough! You will be walking a LOT (we walked upwards of 7-10 miles a day and that is a bit less than how much C and I usually walk when traveling to cities). Having shoes that don't rub or blister is key. Parisians are known for wearing simple, classy flats and they often frown on sandals or running shoes (although I saw plenty of Parisians wearing casual sneakers). I brought my Michael Kors cognac flats, my Tory Burch black travel flats and a pair of Keds sneakers. I also brought a pair of espadrille flats but only wore them one day as they tore up my heel!
Have you traveled to Europe? Do you have any packing tips that I missed? C and I are starting to plan a big European five year anniversary trip for next year so I'd love to hear any tips you have in the comments.
A full Paris blog post will go live next week - stay tuned! It will include where we ate, what we did, what we'd recommend and all that good stuff! You can check out my recommendations on
where to stay in Paris here.
Happy travels!
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