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Posted by (Denver) on

Just returned from a two week trip to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris. I took my RS 20" roll aboard, a RS Euro Flight Bag, and a PacSafe Venture.

The roll aboard weighted 18 lbs and had plenty of extra room using packing bags for the first time. The Flight Bag contained my CPAP, hose, mask, Marmot jacket, vest, and hat. I didn't weight it. The PacSafe contained my iPhone and two iPads (my wife's iPad Air and my iPad mini) along with Ankor battery pack and accessories plus all the documentation/tickets/etc. It was around 8 lbs (that Ankor 20,000 mAh battery pack was heavy).

We actually checked the roll on bags so we didn't have to schlep them around the airports. Getting from airports to hotels and vice versa was easy.

Plusses
The Ankor battery pack was a great idea and came in really handy since I took close to 350 photos on the iPad and used the GPS continuously.

Another hit was the Ulmon City 2 Go mapping software. I had the iPhone in airplane mode the whole two weeks but the software showed us where we were the whole time and I was able to navigate the twisty streets with no issues. I'll never carry paper maps again.
My Debit Card worked fine in every ATM I tried it in. Also my USAA Chip and Signature credit card worked in all Metro/Tram automated ticket machines and almost all railway automated ticket machines.
Another big plus was the RS travel clothes line. We did laundry almost every night and things dried overnight in spite of the near 100% humidity the whole time.
We also took and used a set of plastic utensils (knife, fork and spoon) for picnicking. We didn't do a lot of that but they were handy when we did.
Minuses
The travel wash cloths were never needed. All three hotels we stayed in had washcloths I'll leave them home next time.
Ditto on not needing the emergency sewing and medical kit - although we'll take it next time anyway.
I took a pair of jeans along with two pairs of nylon travel-style pants. It turned out I could have left one of the travel pants home since I never wore them.

Weather averaged in the high 60s and low 70s the whole time we were there and we only got drizzled on one night. All in all it was a great trip. Oh, and by the way - we saw lots of interesting things.

Posted by
1079 posts

I second the use of Ulmon City Maps to go. I downloaded all the city maps for our RS 17 Day Best of Italy tour and entered the hotel addresses for each stay. I never got lost and the app does not use any data. It access the WiFi sites, whether locked or unlocked, and puts a dot on where you are on the map. When you start walking, the dot moves so it is easy to see where you are on the map and what direction you are moving. When I show the tour members how it worked, at least a third of them downloaded it and those that didn't probably wished they did in Venice and Rome.

Posted by
58 posts

Thanks to both of you for the map information! I have been looking at which app would work best and this is very helpful.

Glad you had a good trip :)

Posted by
361 posts

Thanks for your useful report Ray. I am curious if you had any problems wth the width of the Euro flight bag? I need a new bag and am considering this one. I thought that I read in a previous post that it may be too wide (thick) to place under the seat in front of you. Any comments? TIA, Sherry

Posted by
245 posts

Ray: thanks for the recommendation of Ulmon City 2Go. Did you have the free or pro version? Any differences we should know about?

Posted by
172 posts

We just returned from a 26 day trip (RS Basque & RS Spain tour) We also use the RS convertible bag, weighing 17 lbs, but none of our hotels in France and Spain had washcloths. There haven't been many hotels in my European travels that supplied them. Seems like you got lucky but I would certainly pack them for future travel.

Posted by
4916 posts

As for the sewing and medical kits, thank goodness you didn't need them but of course you have to carry them. That's why they are called "emergencies"!

Stretchy clotheslines are also a necessity.

Posted by
77 posts

I had the Pro version of the City Maps 2 Go. It was very inexpensive when I was downloading so I just went ahead and got it. Since I had my CPAP and fragile plastic masks in the bag, I never put the Euro Flight Bag under the seat so I can't really say how it would fit. My impression is it would fit no problem if you have the full width of the underseat area available. Some seats have part of that space taken up by a box containing electronics but I still think it would fit if turned sideways.

Posted by
3428 posts

@ Sherry- I recently bought the Eruo Flight Bag and use it for our overnight trips (regaining hubby's youth traveling around the country to see aging Rock Bands). This past weekend we had to take a small commuter plane to Biloxi, Mississippi. The Euro Fight Bag EASILY fit under the seat. I didn't have it quite full, but it wasn't very empty, either. Even full, it would have fit, though I might have had to turn it on it's side.

Posted by
361 posts

Thanks Toni,
You've convinced me. I will wait until the Travel Festival when all the luggage usually goes on sale and order one. With our CAD "buck-light" every savings helps. Sherry

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