I travel quite a bit – some for work and some for pleasure. One of the items that I consider key to a successful trip is the bag that I use as my purse.
For work, I need to be slightly more dressy, but for the last several years for personal travel I have had a bright red nylon travel purse which has been able to meet my many needs in multiple countries. It is over the shoulder so my hands are free, it has many interior and exterior pockets and places to slide my passport and spending money and subway cards. It sheds rain and has a big back pocket where I can slide a book, a map or an umbrella and most importantly it is light.
My bag at this point has been on multiple continents, over half a dozen different countries and many more cities. It is an old friend.
Here’s my original purse last year when we were climbing Mt. Tai
Unfortunately I have now been using the same bag for at least seven years and at this point, the wear and tear has gotten the better of it. The last time I used the bag I noticed that the metal clasp had rusted and the bottom of the bag has changed colors. It was time to look for a replacement.
On my walk to work I go by a couple of luggage stores and there had been a bag in the window that was calling my name. Finally, I broke down and went in and bought a replacement. It is a slightly different shape and size, but still light, goes over my shoulder and is waterproof. Instead of red it’s a shade of dark pink so in the same color family. I’m actually trying it out right now!
I wonder where it will go?
What travel supplies do you pay attention to when you’re on the road?
Aw, that reminds me of the trauma of losing my favourite bag this year… it was a grey rucksack, really quite smart, had plenty of compartments and pockets – all of them useful! – and it was suitable for a work setting as well for grocery shopping and everything else in between. I bought it in 2001 on a stall on Tottenham Court Road in London, on my way home from a lecture.
Three years ago, one of the zippers was viciously destroyed by a greedy shuttle bus window seal in Houston, can you believe it?!? But I stuck by my bag, oh yes I did! I mean, what’s a minor disability between faithful companions, right?
Then came the wear and tear… I was in total denial… until finally, one of the straps snapped at Madrid airport in January this year. I couldn’t find a replacement in the airport, so it came to Florida with me, on its last strap as it were, but it never left… Key West is its last resting place
I bought a replacement there (see last pic – but I assure you I did NOT buy the knickers!!)
http://ladyofthecakes.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/key-west-day-1-doggy-nappies-and-girly-shopping/
…but it’s NOT the same. It just isn’t.
I’m sure you and your splendid new acquisition will bond much easier.
Great new bag! I have now been testing mine for the last several days and am pretty pleased thus far.
wow it’s really quite compact; I carry something much bigger around with me every day. I’m experimenting with smaller bags but it’s not going well.
I find that the bigger the bag the more I carry so I stay as small as possible!
I agree that the right purse is key to great vacation – it has to carry enough but not weigh you down.
So true! And be able to withstand different types of weather!