A few things that were thought out prior to our trip really helped when it came time. I asked friends, family, bloggers for advice a various trips they had taken. I compiled a list of stuff that sounded useful to fit me and Ted's needs. Vacation is music in the making. Vacation gone wrong is squeaky taxi brakes. We had our bumps in the road on the trip but faired pretty well.
My mom repeated over and over to pack our carryon with two days worth of clothes and necessities. Also, while packing our luggage to pack 50 his/50 hers clothes (instead of packing all of my clothes in 1 suitcase and all of Ted's in another). Her reasoning is smart. If one of your pieces of luggage gets lost in translation than you both still have clothes. Thanks mom.
We got to Paris without our two suitcases. We did have our carryon with two outfit changes and minimal necessities. The airline gave us money to spend on clothing and anything else we needed. By our third morning, our bags arrived {insert Hallelujah music}. I was so happy to see my shampoo and conditioner! But, I don't know how I would have handled the missing bags if I hadn't heeded my mother's wisdom.
I admit, I use my iphone for eeevvvverrrryyyttthhhiiinnnggggggggg. When I thought about not having it on our trip the thought was freeing. But, then we re-thought and decided to put a international data plan on so we could use apps, get directions, and minimal contact with the rest of our world. I had 275 MG added onto my international data plan for $100. I only used half and could have gone with the $50 package. But, I thought it was better to pay for more than what I thought I would use than to go over what my package covered.
It was a breeze in Paris getting from point A to point B using the Metro application. We looked up directions easily, spotted ATM's, etc. In Rome, we used apps for historical facts instead of paying for headsets. We even planned our whole trip to Capri on my iphone. I would highly recommend getting the data package. I forwarded all my incoming calls to Ted's phone (which we turned off) and my little brother checked our voicemail ever so often. I did receive a few text messages even though I had tried my best to get the word out not to text me. Six text messages at 50 cents a piece is doable.
In Rome, we didn't really trek off the main map but in Paris we did a few times. Riding the subway at rush hour gave us the real Persian flavor. Although, it was a tight squeeze it was authentic. The subways was completely different than American subways. It's fairly clean. No one talked. No air conditioning but a perfect amount of breeze with the windows down. If the train was getting full than people automatically stood up creating more space...in unison. Everyone was treated with respect and the amount of courtesy was a wonder in itself.
Ted and I both are more familiar with French. We had an easier time conversing in Paris than in Italy. But, we gave Italian our best go. We knew very few words. But, after each person knew we were trying the best we could they would warm up and we always were treated nicely and had great conversations. (I can't wait to get back into the swing of french lessons.)
I'm so glad we knew that to enter the subway/train you must press the button to open the door. It's not automatic like in the US. This spared us some embarrassment. We ate a few caffe's I saw mentioned on other blogs and they were the best.
Our feet were pretty tired halfway through our trip but what helped was comfortable shoes. I loved my Kork ease platforms. They are just the right amount of cushion and heel. I also had some flat sandals that are equally comfortable for Rome. Roman streets are cobblestone so they worked better than platforms.
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