No matter what you do or don’t bring, or how much time you have to pack, there are a number of things that can help keep your head on straight before a trip. In part two of the series, we take a look at another way to organize and ease the way. Slick like butter, baby.
All In The Books
Sometimes you have the good fortune of being able to rely on one great guidebook that covers anything and everything about the city you’re going to visit. Let’s Go: Paris is a terrific example of this—it contains concise profiles on each arrondissement, social tips, restaurant highlights, and even manages to fit a bit of Parisian history within its conveniently-sized pages.
If you’re venturing to a lesser-known area, however, chances are you’ll have to vary and diversify your choices—selecting certain pages from four guidebooks, picking out maps from the shelves, printing out sections from websites, even scribbling down random recommendations from friends. But you don’t want to be carrying that pile over, or be forced to rifle through them during your journey. In such a case, how does one keep all that together?
The key is to keep them together, preferably in an order that you know you’ll refer to them by. If you’ve borrowed the guidebooks from your local library, photocopy the relevant parts to keep. If you’ve already purchased multiple guidebooks, but not any one of those contains all the info you’ll need, then grab a pair of scissors and—brace yourself—begin cutting.
Relax. It’s only paper.
I frankly didn’t care for Frommer’s Brussels & Bruges guidebook. Oh, there were a few paragraphs here and there that I found useful and made mental notes of, but for the most part it seemed to go over the same old spiel, so much so that I was having repeat sessions of déjà vu. I wanted to keep the handy paragraphs, though. So, given a choice between jotting the same old things down or cutting them out of the book, I chose the latter.
But where does one file these cut-outs, zoomed-in maps, Internet printouts, and familial tips? Well, forget about lugging around a huge binder. A pocket notebook won’t do the trick, either—too small to effectively contain what you need. Paste them all into something you can easily slip into your day-bag—something no bigger than 5.5” x 4.5” usually works. You can easily find a handy-sized blank journal from your neighborhood store.
Tip: I’m personally quite fond of my SNAP refillable record book. Not only is it stylish, but it can be reused and reorganized any way you like. If along the way you realize you’d much rather have this page more toward the front than be filed away at the back, just unsnap the rings and arrange accordingly! The best part is, after your trip is over and done with, you can remove the sections you no longer need and continue to use the book for doodles, notes, sketches, and to-do lists.
Paste your cut-outs and scribble in your reminders. It’s not a bad idea to also stick in a copy of your itinerary, since you likely won’t be carrying your travel organizer with you during the day. It is also recommended that you jot down emergency numbers, including credit card information in case your wallet should get stolen.
Organize it in a way that makes sense to you. I like having my arrival and departure information in the first couple of pages, so that I can easily find them in a wink. Financial and official details usually follow (such as my accommodation’s address and number, how much I owe and if I’m splitting it with anybody, emergency contact information, time difference, etc.). The rest of the pages usually contain a combination of places to see, do’s and don’t’s, priorities (“must see” near the top, “won’t kill me to miss it” near the bottom), and endless sketches of the journey.
So each time you need to refer to a map, or look up a cafe you had earlier made a note to visit, just pop out your little book and flip to where you want. When life gives you lemons—in this case, profiles and tips dispersed over a whole range of sources—squeeze them into a concise, tangy version of your own lemonade!
Tip: If you do happen to have the good fortune of owning a guidebook that has everything you’ll ever need to visit your location of choice, but you don’t want to announce to the whole world that you’re a tourist—whether for personal or security reasons—just wrap that guidebook in colored paper. Cover the cover, so to speak. Most people will think you’re reading some sort of novel, and you can continue to remain incognito!
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