The backpacks are here!

We opened the giant box the mail lady dropped on the front step and immediately put them on. We were like little kids getting our backpacks for the first day of school (although, we didn't get new backpacks growing up, that seems to be a new phenomenon for kids). We zipped and unzipped, discovered the little hidden pockets and the big not so hidden pockets. We adjusted straps and started thinking about what would go where. A water bottle, a map, the camera case, a change of shoes, so much!

These are the backpacks Angela and I got for our trip to Paris this summer. We wanted something easy to maneuver with since we'll be taking planes, trains, buses, etc. all around Paris and London. We decided early on to forgo large suitcases and backpacks seemed like a logical alternative. So we'll each take two pieces of luggage. The above packs and our carry on sized rolling suitcases.

We've gotten better at packing light over the years. Traveling cross country will do that. I still remember heading back to Kalamazoo one winter after Christmas break and my car being packed to the ceiling of stuff. Now it's hard to imagine that a few suitcases is all I get to go back and forth with. But we're lucky, most of our traveling is to our parents' so we don't take much in the way of toiletries (though one should pack contacts, an item I forgot this winter!) or extras. However, Paris will be different.

In way of preparations we're already deep in the thick of it. We've booked our hotel rooms in Paris (still figuring out London), we've booked our airfare (through Montreal, which we won't see much of since our layover is 50 minutes long which the nice Air Canada woman explained to me yesterday would, in fact, be a sufficient amount of time to get from gate to gate and through customs though I'm still a wee bit skeptical), and we've started collecting supplies.

So far we've purchased the backpacks, four extra memory cards for my camera (we can now take approximately seven billion snapshots), a holder for said cards, and we're making lists galore. I've designated one new shirt for the trip and we've began another list of what we still need to get in terms of clothes and shoes (a pair of sandals is arriving in the mail today for me - here's hoping no blisters!).

I've also started listening to French Coffeebreak podcasts to brush up on my French. Six years of studying the language sounds great until I realize I last cracked a French textbook fifteen years ago. We're still pouring over the travel guides and need to firm up itineraries in order to make some ticket purchases before we go. But most of all?

I'm excited! Beyond excited. I've only traveled to Canada and Mexico before and while those have been fun adventures, it's been nothing like this. (Heck, I've only spent one night in Mexico and it was on a friend's couch!) Our amazing cousin Doris who is a world traveler (literally - she travels constantly for work and fun) has even gotten caught up in the excitement. She emailed this week to see what kind of adapters we were getting for our electronics. I love that! I love that my dad sends me apps to help with museum tours and everything else Paris related. I love the anticipation of having something so wonderful to look forward to.

There's still a lot to do, a lot to collect, a lot to check off the lists. But most of all, there's a lot to look forward to.