ChicWalks.com: How I packed a pannier and saw Paris; luggage tips from the space-deprived
How I packed a pannier and saw Paris; luggage tips from the space-deprived
Guest post by Anita Webster
Chic – my husband and I were going to France! We made the decision – now came the negotiating. I agreed to a cycling trip - we’d progress from town to town every day by bicycle carrying our luggage in panniers - and he agreed to spend five days in Paris.
Our timing was perfect – my friend Karen had just moved to Paris. From our emails I could tell she was already a shopping expert in the City of Light. Karen, of course, has since translated this early expertise into her business - Chicwalks.com.
The bikes were in boxes, the maps bought. Then came my challenge – I stood in the basement and looked at my luggage - two small bike panniers. They would need to contain three weeks worth of cycling clothes, casual wear, lingerie, footwear, toiletries, reading material – how could I carry clothes, shoes and accessories fabulous enough to pull out and wear for non-stop-shopping and evenings out with Karen in Gay Paree??
This was an extreme luggage dilemma – but many of us face a version of it when we travel. My solution was a stupendous pair of just-below-the-knee black microfiber palazzo pants – made by a Vancouver company called Gilmour. Paired with my Rockport flat sandals and a series of lightweight tees and shirts, I was set for shoe shopping off the Champs-Elysées, sipping un petit café at Montmartre and springing up the Metro stairs behind Karen deux-par-deux.
As you can imagine the whole trip was sans pareil. The cycling was spectacular, and Paris and our time with Karen was a hoot. That woman knows where to shop. My conclusion on the packing thing - a heavily restricted packing list can get your imagination going – do some preparation and have fun with it!
When not on a bicycle or sipping un petit café, Anita runs a Vancouver Public Relations firm (www.anitawebstercommunica
Chic – my husband and I were going to France! We made the decision – now came the negotiating. I agreed to a cycling trip - we’d progress from town to town every day by bicycle carrying our luggage in panniers - and he agreed to spend five days in Paris.
Our timing was perfect – my friend Karen had just moved to Paris. From our emails I could tell she was already a shopping expert in the City of Light. Karen, of course, has since translated this early expertise into her business - Chicwalks.com.
The bikes were in boxes, the maps bought. Then came my challenge – I stood in the basement and looked at my luggage - two small bike panniers. They would need to contain three weeks worth of cycling clothes, casual wear, lingerie, footwear, toiletries, reading material – how could I carry clothes, shoes and accessories fabulous enough to pull out and wear for non-stop-shopping and evenings out with Karen in Gay Paree??
This was an extreme luggage dilemma – but many of us face a version of it when we travel. My solution was a stupendous pair of just-below-the-knee black microfiber palazzo pants – made by a Vancouver company called Gilmour. Paired with my Rockport flat sandals and a series of lightweight tees and shirts, I was set for shoe shopping off the Champs-Elysées, sipping un petit café at Montmartre and springing up the Metro stairs behind Karen deux-par-deux.
As you can imagine the whole trip was sans pareil. The cycling was spectacular, and Paris and our time with Karen was a hoot. That woman knows where to shop. My conclusion on the packing thing - a heavily restricted packing list can get your imagination going – do some preparation and have fun with it!
When not on a bicycle or sipping un petit café, Anita runs a Vancouver Public Relations firm (www.anitawebstercommunica
