"We're getting so much smarter!"

That's been one of our catch phrases here. (We've also come to love the word "rubbish," but I digress.) 

Whenever we realize we've gone the long way or chosen a crap restaurant or otherwise screwed up, we tell each other, "We're getting so much smarter!" 

It's a silly thing, but it keeps us from letting our mistakes feel worse than they are. I mean, if it's just a life lesson, then no harm done, right?

I know this sounds corny, but it really works. My mom even says she teaches this kind of "re-framing" (that's the official name) to her leadership students. So there must be research that backs me up. 

But back to my point, which is that over the course of the trip we've made so many mistakes that we're almost too smart for our own good now. 

So on this eve of our departure, it's time to share some of those smarts for anyone else planning a working vacation. 

There will be work. 

Some days, I couldn't believe how much. Chris had day trips and business dinners. I had deadlines and meetings. At first, I let the busy days frustrate me. "But I'm in London," I'd whine to myself. (And let me tell you, whining makes everything better.) 

Eventually, I got smart enough suck it up and be glad that 

a) We were in London, 

b) People were paying us to be here, and 

c) We actually have a jobs we love.

I also figured out the root of the problem...

Working in your hotel room sucks. 

You think you're saving time by not schlepping your stuff somewhere. But you'll go stir crazy after awhile, and that's not a productive state. Trust me. 

Lobbies and lounges are slightly better, but still pretty crappy. 

Thank Yelp for Timberyard. This place is the best non-office I've ever had. Lots of plugs, password-free wifi, yummy food, caffeine, good tunes and a celebrity siting (hey there, Calista Flockhart). Plus, they bill themselves as a place to work, so no one cares if you sit for hours (and hours). I am really sad to leave this place behind. 

I also found free wifi at a nearby pub (The Harp), a tea shop (yumchaa) and a couple of restaurants (Dishoom, for one). Yay! 

Working at The Harp.

Making the most of your time isn't about running yourself ragged.

When we first got here, I felt like a failure if we weren't out late every night. ("But we're in London.") And poor Chris needs a little more downtime than I do (and way more than I'll admit to needing). So I drove him crazy for awhile pushing us to be out all the time. Let's just say that things got a lot more fun when I calmed myself down and let us enjoy the time however we spent it. 

Likewise, I thought I'd blog a lot more. But I realized that it took up time I'd rather spend doing things and I didn't want it to feel like a chore. So I ditched my guilt over not keeping y'all informed of my every move. (Never fear—I'm still hoping to write an epilogue about gin.) 

But don't just sit around either. 

Walk around. Make the effort to find a new lunch spot instead of going to your standby (unless it's Koshari, which I condone once a week). Step out of your comfort zone. 

If on your last day in London, you realize you haven't had proper fish & chips,
you find the best closest place and go—even if it's by yourself.
Golden Union near Oxford Circus was solid. 

I had Fridays, plenty of lunches, and a couple of nights on my own. So I got pretty good at going solo. Some of my favorite things were the ones that we a pain in the ass to get to (hi there, Thai massage), awkward to do alone (hello, gin tours) or otherwise tricky. 

For one of my solo nights, I waited an hour in line at the theatre for a £15 day ticket for Skylight. It sold out four people ahead of me. So I splurged on the last full-price ticket available only to find out 10 minutes later that Chris would be home that night after all. Returning the ticket would have been easy, but I went ahead with my plan (which gave Chris some extra downtime). 

Totally worth it. 

Waiting for Skylight to start.

Make peace with your phone.

Data is expensive. But you will need it. There will be work emails to check and restaurants to find when your first choice has a 90-minute wait. And you will definitely need directions.

But you won't need your phone as much as you think you do. Facebook can wait until you have wifi, and you don't have to be available every minute of every day. Find the balance that works for you, but err on the side of putting your phone away. There's plenty to look around at besides your screen.

And, lastly, some logistical advice:

Packing 

• I didn't need most of my rain things or very many of my cold weather things. Granted, we were ridiculously lucky with the weather. But a cardigan and my leather jacket would have gotten me through everything, even if the only other things I'd packed were the tanks and t-shirts I wore most. 
• That leather jacket and a zippered totebag were the most two useful things I brought. 
• If a place says they have laundry, ask for details. Our "laundry facility" was one washer and one dryer for the entire hotel. We had to use them at really awkward times.

Directions

• The little blue dot in Google maps will follow you even if your data is turned off. So if you pull up directions when you have wifi, you can follow them without pulling data.

Communications

• Skype has been a godsend on this trip. And it would have been even easier if I'd made sure more people had it installed (and accounts set up) at the home office before I left. 
• Facetime should have been easy, but it mysteriously wouldn't work on my computer. I wish I'd tested these things before I left.
• Double-check that a place has wifi before you order food/drink. Yelp isn't always accurate.  

Dining/Drinking

• Make reservations. Make reservations. Make reservations. In London, it's a must, especially on the weekends. Even a lot of the cocktail bars require you to book ahead. And if a popular restaurant doesn't take reservations, expect to wait in an orderly cue to be seated. Try to be zen about it.  

Okay, that's all for now. On to Barcelona.

Packing. No Panicking.

Some people can pack for months in a carry on. I am not one of them.

My challenges:

1. Packing the Rainbow. A lot of people advise just packing neutrals so everything goes together. #Sadface. #NotMe


2. Shoes. Shoes. Shoes. According to other blogs, super light travellers seem to get away with wearing a pair or two over and over. My blister-prone feet would hate me if I did that. 


3. It's a Cool, Cool, Cool Summer. It's going to be 60s and sometimes rainy in London. I want to feel summery but need to stay warm. 


4. Except for Six Days. We also have to plan ahead for 70s and sunny in Spain (which will seem even warmer after a month in London). And London could have a magic warmish spell. You never know. 

So let's do this...

Step 1: Pour a martini (gin, obviously).  

Then it's a packing party, not a chore.

Step 2: Find your color palette.

Nope, it doesn't have to be neutrals. But it should all mostly work together, so you can mix and match. Think of it as creating a "capsule wardrobe." Having a color story will help you make choices based on what fits. I went with "Black and Bright."

Step 3: Try everything on.

How else would you realize your favorite T-shirt has a hole in it (why are their gremlins in my closet?!?) or that those pants look weird with that shirt. Luckily, you have a martini to help with the frustrations. And with this:

Messes are part of the process.

Step 3: Cull and decide and cull and decide more. 

Eventually, you can lay it all out and pick accessories that go with your capsule wardrobe. Again, this is where sticking to a color story helps.

A Few Tips: 

• Purses should zip completely to keep thieving hands out of them. Crossbody bags that hang front or side are good choices. 


• You probably don't need heals. And leopard is surprisingly neutral. 


• If you write everything you're packing in a google doc, you can check things off as you put them in your suitcase. You won't forget anything — and you'll have a record in case of lost luggage.

Step 4: Rock and Roll. 

Everyone has their own packing technique. I'm a fan of rolling. I'm also a fan of putting things into gallon Ziploc bags for easy compression, rearranging and protection.

Step 4: Overpack. 

I'll admit. After taking that picture of all my things nicely laid out, I broke down and bought three more shirts on sale, and threw those it along with two more t-shirts that may not survive the trip. What can I say, there was plenty of room in my suitcases.

More on suitcases:

1. Bigger isn't better. The more room you have, the more likely you are to overpack. 


2. Divide and conquer. As tempting as it is to pack everything in one giant suitcase and get on the plane unencumbered, I live in fear of lost luggage. So, if I can get away with it, I only carry on. And in cases like this, I pack 75% of my clothes in my checked bag and the 25% I'd b heartbroken to lose in my carry-on. That way if my suitcase is lost or delayed, I'm solid for a few days at least. 


3. Spinner wheels are magic. That is all. 

Overplanning for Overseas

This is what over-planning looks like.

LONDON

PARIS

BARCELONA

And they aren't even finished yet. But I'd rather plan too much before we leave and have a lot of options than waste a moment of this trip looking at Yelp reviews.

So, I'm letting y'all in on not only my madness, but also on my method. 

Google Maps Engine is my favorite trip planning tool. I color-code every place we're thinking about so I know at a glance what's there. So in London, there's an icon for cocktails and another for sherry bars. Blue dots are for cheap eats. And purple is for the spendy ones. I can see where our hotel is, which lunch spot is next to which museum and plan my days based on what groups nicely. 

Writer concession: Visuals make everything easier to process. 

And Google even lets you tag each spot with descriptions so you can search for cheap Indian food when you have a hankering for Vindaloo. 

Chris thinks I'm a little nuts. And he's probably right. But it really works. 

(And some people even think planning a vacation can make you even happier than going on vacation.)