In 24 hours I’ll be up in the air on my way to Spain. We fly into Madrid, where we’ll spend two nights before heading to Toledo for a day, and then finally to Granada. As I gear up for a long day of travel (a 2.5 hour flight to Atlanta, a 3 hour layover, and finally an 8.5 hour flight to Madrid,) I decided I would share some essentials that I decided to bring with me this time, having already spent a semester abroad.
Travel backpack: During my spring break in London, I packed for a week in Italy in my regular school backpack. I made it work, but this time I wanted to make things easier for myself, so I got a carry-on sized backpack that unzips like a suitcase for easier packing. It’s sized to fit even strict budget airline restrictions, and I’ll be using it as my carry-on on the way there, and my regular backpack as my personal item.
Journal: I came back from London realizing that while I had a lot of pictures, I hadn’t recorded anything about my day to day experience there. I quickly jotted down some memories when I got back, but this time I hope to journal as I go.
Packable towel: I stayed at a few different hostels and Airbnb apartments in Europe and the UK, and had to take up valuable space in my backpack with a towel, because some either don’t provide towels or only have them for rent (or you may not want to use a towel that’s been used by countless backpackers). Packable towels fold up conveniently for packing, and dry quickly. I plan on travelling throughout Spain and Europe, so hopefully this will be handy to have.
Sleeping mask and travel pillow: I took more than one 10+ hour bus ride to get cheaply to destinations in the UK, and these are two things that I always wish I had when I was trying to make a pillow out of my jacket to sleep.
Portable charger: Not sure why I ever left the country without one of these.
1 Second Everyday: Not really something to pack, but while I was in London I downloaded this app, which allows you to shoot and crop–you guessed it–one second videos that can be compiled into a montage of your study abroad experience. Upon returning home, I accidentally erased the last month or so of clips, so this time around my goal is to get a complete video.
The next time you hear from me, I’ll be in Spain! Hasta luego!