Wanderlust | Travel Tidbits

So it's a rainy, blustery Sunday night and considering I should be asleep right now, I don't really have time to write out the entirety of my travels last week. However, I thought this would be a quick little informational post about traveling and tips I've learned thus far.

• Be punctual. I have some anxieties when it comes to missing flights or trains, so this is an absolute necessity for me, but it has to be thrown out there anyway. If you wait until the last minute to get to the airport, you're going to run into a lot of extra stress and panic that is completely unnecessary.
• Have your luggage locked. I was traveling amongst cities that are known for cutpurses (okay, pickpocketers but don't they sound better as cutpurses?!) so all of my luggage had locks on them, which helped my comfort levels.
• Wear comfy sweats or yoga pants and put jewelry in your bag. It is not worth being stopped and patted down in security just because you wore jeans and a watch. Sigh.
• Double--no, triple--check your luggage and make sure that you have no liquids outside of your allotted amount in your carry-on bags. First big mistake of my trip was not removing the Purell bottle from my purse. Second thing to note here is that lipstick and lip balm count as liquids. Yes, that includes your Burtsbees lip balm. Don't ask me, I don't make the rules.
• Do your research. What trains take you to the airport? Which is the fastest--or cheapest--route? You save so much time and stress if you know exactly what metro line to switch on to or what platform to be on if you are able to gain that information.
• In addition to that, be in a place where you can access information if you don't have it ahead of time. So, if you're in the airport waiting for your gate to be called, hang out in the center where the trains to other gates are located. This way once your gate is called you don't have to frantically run around to try and find out where to go.
• Ask questions. I would never have learned how to get on my train platform in El Puerto if my host sister hadn't asked the teller for me.
• Glasses. If you have perfect vision then this isn't applicable, but I stupidly decided to wear  contacts on my 12-hour journey back to London and trust me I was MISERABLE.
• Be respectful. I got stopped in security and border control, my flight got delayed, my other flight circled Heathrow four times, and I waited for twenty minutes as the airport figured out how to get us all off of the plane. Traveling is a lot of sitting and waiting. The people at the airport have to deal with crap from people all of the time. While it sucks if you have to sit on a cramped plane for an extra forty minutes, it hurts everyone, including yourself, if you get worked up about it. That doesn't mean you have to be Elle Woods-bubbly all of the time, but don't be a jerk either. Especially when security dumps out your entire bag and questions everything in it in search of a Burtsbees lip gloss...ahem.
• Be confidant. If traveling alone, this is super important. Be vigilant and careful. Ask questions, but don't look scared or frazzled doing so. Basically, own the place and don't look vulnerable. Thankfully I didn't run across any problems but I also looked tired, bored, and annoyed the whole time so I mean who would want to interact with me at that point.

I think that's all I can think of for now, and considering it's a little late I'll probably think of more things and add them in to a later post. Next up is my official Winter Break travel post, another British Beauty post (I blame Kate for everything) and possibly an October favorites? I'm venturin' into blogworld people so I suppose I better hop on some bandwagons amirite?! Plus I love the idea of talking about what I've been loving lately. Until then, have a great few days!


xo