Europe Packing Party

You almost lost me to Paris!   Vancouver has been my home since I was three months old, but Paris felt like my second home.  The city’s magic that we all know it for was tempered by hard hitting scenes at Le Marché aux Puces (think of East Hastings multiplied by three). This drastic and very apparent division in class looked like a foreboding future to our housing crisis and rocketing costs to own a home in Vancouver.

The Vietnamese locals in Paris put my broken French to shame as they ordered croissants behind me at Boulangerie Saint Michel.  Despite that, I spoke French as often as I could.  I think my grandma would be happy to hear this because she was the one who tutored me in French when I was in elementary school!

It was after we visited the first Chanel store on 31 Rue Cambon that I had my first French exchange (sans anglais!) in a ritzy cafe.  Feeling absolutely thrilled, I vowed to come back home and brush up on, not only my speaking, but listening too!

One day, I will be prepared for the fast speed at which Parisians speak!

Another thing that I mastered this summer was travelling with only a piece of carry-on luggage.  It made catching trains between London, Edinburgh, Paris and Amsterdam a breeze.  It also meant not breaking a sweat during those sweet cobblestoned moments.

I’ll share what I packed in my carry-on if you are at all curious:

I’m so happy I decided to get packing cubes before my trip.  That’s what those blue rectangles are!  They helped me organize my clothes and kept things so space-efficient that I could throw in my new purchases too!

Travelling light helped me appreciate my trip more because I wasn’t constantly worrying about my luggage from city to city.  It also prevented the accumulation of needless material possessions along the way.

My European adventure took me back to my curiosity about minimalism earlier this year.  My home has changed a lot since I’ve gotten back, with a lot of excesses being purged or donated.  New challenge – how I can bring this minimalistic way of living into my classroom?

Anyway, here are some of many pictures from our trip!

Here are some links for you to check out:
Becoming Minimalist – Joshua Becker
The Minimalists – Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
The Life-changing magic of tidying up – Marie Kondo

When I come back, I will be blogging about Hilltop, a Reggio-inspired school in Seattle that I visited with a girlfriend this week!

So how was your experience with Paris/ Europe? How do you pack for a European adventure?  Are you curious on how minimalism can improve your life?  I would love to hear your thoughts.