And I'm Off

You may think that 2 and a half days is plenty of time to pack for a trip like this and you're probably right. Just look at how insanely organized I got in 2 whole days:

And I felt like I did a pretty good time right up until I tried to put it in my back pack (which is all I'm taking for the 3 months I'm in Italy):

That's all the stuff I couldn't fit in, and it looks like a lot less than it actually was. If you have never travelled with just a back pack (and bear in mind I really have no idea what I'm talking about since I haven't actually travelled anywhere with it yet) it's HARD. Like insanely hard. There is no room in those things. After I stopped laughing at how ridiculously little I was able to fit in it, I took this picture and then called Muzz to the rescue. Apparently she has some practice with this from her trips all over the globe. She showed me how to lay everything completely flat to get it in, and ta-da - it worked!

And I took a lot of stuff out... The rest of my stuff is for skiing. 

But I'm finally gone and I'm sitting on the plane having a glass of wine (which is still free with international travel, this could be the last vestige of being treated like a human being while under the care of an airline. Do you think my children will experience this tremendous luxury?), and admiring the little bikes on the KLM plastic cups...

See you in Amsterdam!