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Packing for Europe is definitely different than packing for a domestic trip. Having just returned from a whirlwind European vacation myself, I can attest to this. Before we departed, I found myself making many a late-night Amazon purchase to make sure I had everything we’d need, mainly tech gadgets like this European plug adapter, this dual voltage converter for my hair appliances and this non-surge protected power strip for our cruise. Did you know you can’t use a surge-protected extension cord or power strip on a cruise ship? RELATED: 12 Things to Know Before You Travel to Europe
Other than tech gadgets to make sure everyone can stay plugged in and charged up, I don’t really pack anything too unusual when I travel. Unlike Jill Zarin, an original cast member of Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York City, who recently traveled to Europe with a suitcase stuffed with bottles and cans of Diet Coke. In her own words, she “smuggled in [her] Diet Coke from the United States because they don’t sell it in Europe. They only have Coke Light and Coke Zero and it sucks.” Watch the video of her opening her suitcase to an unpleasant but not entirely unexpected surprise here.
Well, when it comes to packing unusual items, Hollywood A-lister Jennifer Aniston just revealed hers in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. According to the article: “She’s so certain about her likes and dislikes that when she travels in Europe she brings her own pimiento-stuffed olives—she needs to know that she can always have a decent dirty martini. She’s still haunted by a kalamata olive in her glass one time, and trying to explain what a pimiento was to someone who didn’t understand her. (She pointed desperately to an olive emoji.) Considering the olives in her luggage, she laughs. ‘I know what I want.’”
I have to say: While I’d never pack Diet Coke or bottles of olives in my luggage, I do know what she’s saying about knowing what you want. I’m a tea drinker and a very particular one, at that. No herbal teas or green teas or chai teas or fruity teas or mint or ginger or lemon zest, thank you very much. I’m an English Breakfast kind of girl and I often throw a stash of teabags in my suitcase. In fact, I’ve even gone so far as to buy a travel kettle because I’m skeptical about how clean the kettles are in hotel rooms. FYI: A travel kettle has proven to be one of my best purchases. I use it all the time in hotel rooms and can brew the perfect cup of tea anytime. It’s also great for making ramen noodles for the kids in a hotel room when they get hungry, which of course, is all the time. In short, it’s saved me a small fortune on overpriced cups of tea and snacks for the kids when I travel.
But back to Jill and Jennifer and anyone else who packs bottles of liquid when they travel, perhaps not a convenience store’s monthly supply of Diet Coke but perhaps a few bottles of wine from your travels. Just make sure you’re packing them safely so you don’t land and find a huge mess in your suitcase. WineSkins have a vinyl exterior and are designed to transport bottles in your luggage. They’re reusable, leak-resistant, cushiony like bubble wrap and have an inner and outer seal to help secure the bottle and prevent it from making a mess all over your stuff. They’re obviously designed to protect wine bottles but can be used to wrap any bottle of liquid to prevent spilling.
What’s the most unusual thing you pack in your suitcase? Leave a comment!
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Don’t forget peanut butter! I never go to Europe without my bottle of Kraft or Jif creamy for my morning toast. Very hard to find in Italy and rest of Europe.