Switzerland - Petite Haus

Angelina March 8, 2019 Italy

A Swiss Chocolate Factory and Lake Maggiore

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Last Fall we went to Switzerland and Italy. I am just finally getting around to sharing our trip! On the first day we went to a chocolate factory in Switzerland and then drove to Lake Maggiore! Below is Lake Maggiore!

We landed in Zürich and then drove to Bilten where the chocolate factory is located. The chocolate factory we toured is Läderach. The chocolate factory tour was 10 CHF pp but then you get 5 CHF off at the factory store. The tour starts with the star of the show: the cacao tree! Did you know chocolate comes from these huge pods?

The pods are broken apart, leaving the nibs. Then the nibs get roasted and then ground.

Unfortunately not all of the machines were running when we were there. We were all hoping for an I Love Lucy moment when she famously starts stuffing the chocolate into her mouth when she couldn’t keep up with the production line. Below, a look in the factory. Lots of storage for cocoa beans!

Alas, we learned later that hey actually decorate the chocolate at another facility and the facility we were at was where they strip the cacao pods down into processed chocolate.

Next comes the best of the tour… the tasting!! First, you taste raw chocolate. Have you ever had raw roasted chocolate? It is very bitter and honestly, horrible!

Obviously my favorite part was the chocolate fountains. There are dark, milk and white chocolate fountains.

You get your own chocolate tasting spoon. I may have gone back a few times to decide my favorite. I personally preferred the dark chocolate. We kept the spoons as souvenirs and use them to stir our tea and coffee at home!

After the tour, you get to shop! They have truffles and other goodies, but we love the sheets of chocolate like below. So delicious!

Unfortunately they do not have any shops in the USA! I think there are only a handful of shops located outside of Switzerland. A selection of their cute chocolate figures! Läderach seriously has the best chocolate EVER. If you are ever in Switzerland, please do yourself a favor and try some.

After stuffing our face with chocolate, we then drove to Lake Maggiore.

Lake Maggiore is in the southern part of Switzerland and shares its shores with Italy. This part of Switzerland is called Ticino, which is the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. To me it felt more like Italy than Switzerland.

The views from our hotel were beautiful. Below is the view from our room. Hard to believe there are palm trees in Switzerland!!

We didn’t spend much time here. We were so jet lagged after being up for 30 hours. I don’t have many pictures since we essentially drove here, napped, ate dinner, then slept!

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Angelina October 31, 2018 Fall

A Pumpkin Festival in Switzerland

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Happy Halloween!! This past September we went to Switzerland and visited a pumpkin festival! We had been to several pumpkin festivals in Germany before – which I wrote about here in 2016 and here in 2013.

The theme for the festival was mythical creatures.

All of these statues are created from all different types of gourds and pumpkins!

It is so fun to see what they create!

In addition to pumpkin statues, they have a restaurant where they serve pumpkin everything – pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin strudel, pumpkin beer, pumpkin pastries, etc.

We loved their pumpkin soup and spent a long time figuring out the recipe for it. Then we went back a few years later and they sold the recipe! Here is my German pumpkin soup recipe.

It is also a Fall and Harvest festival. I thought these dried corns were cool and funky.

Of course you can purchase various types of gourds.

And pumpkin flavored anything!

The dried things below on the cart are either dried artichokes or dried thistles. I can’t tell, but it is interesting to see how they decorate differently for Fall.

I leave you with pictures of various pumpkins and gourds! The festival we went to was located at Jucker Farm in Switzerland. For those that read regularly, I will be posting pictures and trip updates, most likely in January when I usually have my post Christmas blues. Up until January I have so many posts to share for Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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Angelina August 13, 2018 Germany

Cow Festivals in the Alps

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Have you heard about the cow festivals in the Alps? I hadn’t either… until I went to one. I had so much fun and then I went to another!

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

Every year at the end of Summer, the sound of bells can be heard ringing through little Alpine villages of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. What does this mean? The cow herds are descending from their Summer pastures to their Winter pastures.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The entire village joins in on the celebration and is decorated – the people wear their traditional folk dress and the cows are dressed up too! They wear special headdresses!

cow wearing a floral crown

The farmers lead their herd down the hill. It’s really funny watching the cows… they follow one after the other in a line, most of the time. Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

Except when they see green grass, then the line gets broken and they try to make their way to the grassy fields. The farmers then use their sticks and wack them back into line! Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

In addition to costumes, there is traditional Schuhplatteln dancing, Alphorn blowing and music.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The locals wear their traditional costumes. Love the little girl being pulled in the goat cart. Sorry I blurred their faces as I don’t know European law about faces in pictures.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

Speaking of goats, there are often little goat herds in the festival too! They don’t get to wear crowns like the cows, but they all have little bells on them. This little girl below was funny – she looked behind at her goat the entire time and kept her tight on her leash… perhaps she’s been known to eat through a rope or two?

alpine cow festivals

This ceremonial cattle drive is called the Almabtrieb, however in the Allgäu it is called the Viehscheid.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The cows wear traditional “Fuikl”, which are special crowns worn only for the Almabtrieb. Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The farmers create the crowns them selves, often from the fir and spruce branches and wildflowers.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The cow with the biggest and prettiest crown of each herd is the Kranzrind, “The Crown Cow” and has a special job as it is the lead cow and leads the rest of the cows home. Below, in between the two people you can see the “Crown Cow” – it has the biggest bell and the biggest crown.

alpine cow festivals

The loud bells around the necks of the cows are designed to protect them from “hostile demons” as they descend into the valley.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

There are two types of cowbells – “Glocken” which are cast and “Schellen” which are from plate metal.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The locals really do party ’til the cows come home. Hmm… wonder if this is where the saying originates?

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The festival pictures above are from two separate festivals in different years – one was in Switzerland and one was in Austria.

Alpine cow festivals in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland aka Almabtrieb and Veihscheid

Source for Article information is from Bavaria.by.

Here are some websites that list the dates they occur:

Viehscheid and Almabtrieb in Bavaria

Viehscheid in Allgäu

Almabtriebe and Viehscheidtermine in Bavaria, Allgäu, Tirol, Austria, and Switzerland

Swiss Alpine Festivals

I do hope you enjoyed reading about the cow festivals in the Alps! We liked going to these over going to the Oktoberfest. I know many people travel to Germany for the Oktoberfest… perhaps you’ll find time to make it to one of these festivals!

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Angelina August 20, 2017 Switzerland

Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, and my favorite Swiss chocolate

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In this post – Visiting Switzerland’s Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen Valley and a review of Läderach chocolate.

I realized I have not done many posts of my trip to Switzerland last year! There has been so much going on with the house build that I forgot to write about our trip!

Above is a photo of Grindelwald, Switzerland. It is located in the Bernese Highlands (Berner Oberland) and it is one of the most beautiful spots in the world!

There are several towns to stay in the Berner Oberland – Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, and the auto-free Mürren and Wengen (only accessible by cable car), and the larger city of Interlaken down the hill by Lake Thun.

We chose to stay in Grindelwald because it was accessible by car (we had a car). It is less touristy than Lauterbrunnen as well. It had more dining options and more hotels than both Mürren and Wengen, which are located up on the cliffs.

As you can see, it is beautiful. We had views of the Eiger (the name of the big mountain) from our room!

It was a cute town and this hotel below was gorgeous, but unfortunately booked when we were visiting.

On the other side of the hill in the other valley is Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen is beautiful as well, this is the view below when you enter the valley!

As you can see, everything you dream about when you think of a Swiss village in the Alps!

Waterfalls coming down the cliffs in this town. It is called the valley of 72 waterfalls – I guess in the Spring there are TONS of waterfalls!

It reminded me a lot of Yosemite Valley… except it was populated! This town is definitely full of tons of tourists in the day – it is a stopping point for a lot of tour buses so that they can take the train up to the Jungfraujoch.

Below is Staubbach Falls, here at the end of Summer it is still running!

Lots of gorgeous Swiss chalets…

I loved all of their buildings! Designed to hide from the snow.

Also in Lauterbrunnen Valley are the Trummelbach Falls.

These falls are unique because they are inside the mountain! You take an underground lift to the waterfalls and hike around in caves and pop out at viewpoints here and there to see the falls.

They carry water directly from the glaciers above.

I’ve included another picture (not mine) to show you all the beautify of Lauterbrunnen Valley with more waterfalls flowing!

Now, let’s talk about my FAVORITE chocolatier EVER: Läderach.

(Is it funny I still distinctly remember eating this piece of chocolate – it was a pistachio marzipan covered in dark chocolate and it was heavenly.

This chocolate is unique such that it is made fresh and served in sheets, just like below! You buy it based on weight.

My favorites are: dark chocolate hazelnut which is amazing because they candied the hazelnuts! Blackberry dark chocolate is amazing too (pictured below), and then there was a chocolate orange which was made with fresh orange, and a triple nut as well.

They had cute truffles in various shapes for the Fall, too!

But the cow chocolates were my favorite! Look at them! So cute!!

I bought this Fall themed box of chocolate – and none of them made it back on the plane even! So tasty!

Unfortunately, Läderach does not have any stores located in the USA. But they do ship to the USA (but not in the Summer months – I tried! My husband bought me some for Valentine’s Day this year, how sweet!)

When I was reading on various message boards and books about how to choose which town to stay in when in the Berner Oberland, no one mentioned that Läderach was in Grindelwald… like seriously I would choose to stay in Grindelwald so that I may go pick fresh chocolate every day of my trip!

Every town has a great view so that isn’t a deciding factor. In fact it is hard to take a bad picture in Switzerland because it is so beautiful. The two towns that are pedestrian only are interesting but very small with limited dining options.

I find it fitting that I rambled on about how much I loved this Swiss chocolate – because the Swiss really do love their chocolate! They even had bags for sale of just “snacking” chocolate!

Hope to return some day… maybe next year?

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Angelina January 15, 2017 Switzerland

Easy Hike in Switzerland in the Bernese Oberland

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For those of you that regularly follow my blog, you may know that I visited Switzerland in the Fall of 2016. I have not yet had a chance to write about my trip because I love writing about Fall and Christmas decorating.

Now, though, in the middle of Winter, I thought it would be a perfect time to write about my trip!

When I first was researching about my trip I was a little iffy about hiking in the Swiss alps because I was unsure of how good of shape one needs to be in to go hiking in the Alps!

Well, I can tell you that there are some easier hikes in the Alps for those of us who aren’t hardcore hikers!

For this hike, we got off the train that goes to the top of the Jungfraujoch at the station Eigergletscher.

We started our hike here, below. We were treated to spectacular views of the mountains and glaciers!

From the Eigergletscher, we hiked down to Kleine Scheidegg. Below, the train leave us. In this direction of the hike, we are looking towards the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Kleine Scheidegg is a main train station and a place with hotels, bathrooms, and restaurants.

From there, we continued on our hike and made our way to Männlichen. This part of the hike I believe is called the Panorama Weg. It seems most people were hiking the opposite way as us – our tour books recommended going from Männlichen to Kleide Scheidegg because it was mostly downhill – however we went the opposite direction.

The reason we went the opposite direction is because we went to the top of the Jungfraujoch in the morning (the mornings are the best weather), and then hiked our way back down. We combined several hikes. Eigergletscher to Kleide Scheidegg and then Kleide Scheidegg to Männlichen.

There were only a few parts on the Panorama Weg that I thought were a little hard going uphill, but it was only for about 10-15 minutes of the hike. Just take your time.

We were treated to beautiful views and beautiful weather. This hike took us longer than projected due to us pausing constantly to take in the view.

And also we had little Schockolade (that means “chocolate” in German) breaks as there are benches along the way to sit and enjoy the views.

Here we crossed over babbling brooks and enjoyed a Schockolade break.

I may have been singing The Hills are Alive along this hike.

As you can see, the trail is fairly wide. This part of the hike was relatively flat. You can see in the distance one of the glaciers that we were at!

Our hotel was in that valley a mile below!

Here is one of the benches along the trail. And, you really do hike next to the cows!

I still cannot believe we were hiking in such a beautiful place!

Here is the cable car from Männlichen back to Grindelwald. It drops over 1 mile in elevation. I did *not* enjoy this cable car ride back down. I have a total phobia of heights. But I sucked it up and closed my eyes (okay and then opened them and proceeded to look out with sweaty palms until we made it back down!).

If you have a fear of heights, as I do, I say, suck it up, close your eyes, and then open them and look out! This is a beautiful place that should be visited. I overcame my fear of cable cars and gondolas to go hiking here! Okay, never mind, I still am afraid of them, but I would get on one again if I am treated to this view!

Above is a picture from our hike the next day. What was neat is that you could see exactly where we had hiked!

I *strongly* recommend this hike. You don’t have to do the Eigergletscher – Kleide Scheidegg, as it is way harder (although hiking down was easier), but I *strongly* recommend the Männlichen-Kleide Scheidegg hike, which was the second half our our hike.

Most of the tour books recommended taking the cable car to Männlichen, then hike to Kleide Scheidegg and then taking the train up to the Jungfraujoch.

I recommend instead getting up super early, going to the Jungfraujoch in the early morning when it is most likely to be clear so the views are the best, and then getting off the train early and hiking just like we did above!

Below is the hiking map that is all over the place when you visit the region. Make sure you study this before you go!

I thought this hike was reasonably easy and not too difficult, granted there were some places I huffed and puffed!! Although you should consult your physician before hiking at elevation in the Alps if you have health conditions!

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Angelina September 23, 2016 Switzerland

Swiss Recap, Emmys, and more – Five on Friday!

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Back from Switzerland!

Yes, I am BACK from my trip to Switzerland. We also went to Germany, Austria, *AND* I added a new country to my country list… Liechtenstein! I am sharing a few pictures from the trip with you all, I have also shared some on my Instagram if you follow along there too.

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The country of Switzerland was beautiful and we were blessed with beautiful weather! It was forecasted to rain every day we were there but instead it was sunny and in the 80s and we were hot! It was apparently the hottest September in 100 years there!

Below is the city of Lucerne!

Below is a picture from one of the hikes we went on! Isn’t it amazing?

There were cows on the hiking trails! Some of them would stand in the way and you’d have to wait until they moved! All of the cows had bells on them… it was awfully cute hiking through the Alps hearing the jingle of the bells!

One day we went to the top of one of the mountains in Switzerland! This is the view we were treated to… a glacier! It is the longest glacier in the Alps!

I will be doing separate posts on the trip later… but I have so much I want to share for Fall it will probably be a few months, to be honest!

Emmy Favorites

The Emmy’s were this past weekend, and while I didn’t watch the awards show, I did look at celebs wearing beautiful dresses! Here are my favorite looks from this year….

Favorite Instagrams

Starbucks-to-go

So when we were in Germany, we went to a grocery store and I found this to-go Starbucks Caramel Macchiato! It had a little straw on the left and you poke a hole in the top and voila! Instant caramel macchiato! I thought it was pretty awesome and wish we had some of these here in the USA! Have you ever seen them before?

Spotted…

Before I left for Europe, I went to the mall to find some clothes for the trip. I spotted these items but didn’t buy them because they didn’t fit in my suitcase! BUT they are still on my wish list!

Black mule

Honeycomb Wool Sweater… isn’t this wonderful??

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Angelina September 4, 2016 Beauty and Fashion

What to Pack to Switzerland

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I’m headed to Switzerland this September and I am SOOOO excited!! I went to Zurich once, only for a few hours, but this time we are spending more time in the country. We are going to be doing some light hiking in the Berner Oberland!

Now, I have checked the temperature averages and it seems it gets pretty cool there in the night time – I mean, we *are* staying in the Swiss Alps so of course it is going to be chilly.

I am going to be dressing in layers and also I have an outfit for hiking.

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Coat – I am bringing a waterproof jacket. I am still debating between my Barbour jacket and my North Face Rain Trench. I also have this North Face Venture Jacket too to chose from!

Fleece Pull-over – this Patagonia fleece pullover is so warm.. it will be perfect for walks in the evening and for hiking. We will be walking next to a glacier one of the days! I also have this North Face one.

Hats – Like I said, we are staying in the Alps and I get cold! I am loving these hats: Barefoot Dreams Slouch Beanie , embellished beanie , Fur Pom Ribbed Wool Beanie, and this cute Wool Beanie Hat With Bow.

Gloves – I don’t like cold fingers. I’m bringing gloves. These are cute Bow Glove . These Knitted Glove are a good deal. These Tech Gloves are for those who are glued to their phones – you can still wear them AND text on your phone!

Sunglasses – There is a lot of glare up in the mountains, so look stylish with some sunglasses. I like these Tory Burch, and these Ray-Ban ‘Original Aviator’

Backpack for Hiking – You need to carry a backpack while hiking so you can store your hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, camera, and snacks! I like these Northface one and two

Hiking Pants – Well, you need hiking pants for your hikes! I like these Kuhl Pant or Columbia Trail Pant I also like wearing these Zella Leggings and these adidas Pants

Hiking Boots – Hiking boots are a must for hiking in the mountains. Regular tennis shoes just don’t have the same amount of grip or support in them. I bought these ones by Ahnu and I really want these ones by these ones by Danner .

Scarves – Europeans love their scarves! This one is cute :Plaid Wool Scarf, I love my Burberry Scarf

This Plaid Fringe Scarf is a good deal.

Purse for Travel – I love either a cross body bag or a bag that folds down into nothing. This Crossbody Bag is super cute, this Crossbody Bag is a deal ($39!) as is this Crossbody Bag . I LOVE my little Longchamp Le Pliage Tote Bag.

Umbrella – A little travel umbrella is super useful in a place where it rains a lot! I like this Polka Dot Travel Umbrella and this Lightweight Mini Umbrella.

Jeans – Jeans are a must. I am wearing black jeans and Skinny Jeans. TheseStretch Skinny Jeans are one of my faves and they are $68 and look great!

Cardigans – Layering is key when dressing in the Spring and Fall in climates like Switzerland where it is chilly at night but nice in the day. Here are the cardigans I have my eyes on: Oversized Knitted Cardigan,Long-sleeved wool and cashmere knit cardigan, Lightweight V-Neck Cardigan, Drape Front Wool & Cashmere Cardigan.

Sunscreen – the glare on the mountains is strong and the elevation is higher. You will get sunburned if you aren’t careful, so I wear this Clinique Sunscreen.

Other Shoes – I love my Chloé ‘Flat – perfect for dressing up for dinner or walking around. I also bring an extra pair of tennis shoes – my Converse are my go to and Europeans always ask me where I got them!

Shirts – this basic V-Neck Tee is my go to. I LOVE wearing tunics – here are my favorites ones: Tunic – plain colors. Stripe Split Hem Tunic. This one is a little dressier: Long-SleeveTunic. Also I am loving plaid shirts this year, especially for the Fall. I like this ‘Ex Boyfriend Plaid’ Cotton Shirt , this Plaid Button Front Shirt, and this Plaid Tunic Shirt(only $44)!

A Dress – I am bringing a silk dress this year because one of the hotels we are staying at is a little fancy and you have to wear nicer clothes. I am choosing this Sleeveless Silk Shift Dress because it folds up small, is wrinkle resistant, and I can also wear leggings under if it I wanted. This Silk Crepe De Chine Shirt Dress is a nice pick too!

I am SO EXCITED to go to Switzerland! It seems to be so picturesque! I am hoping it doesn’t rain the whole time we are there! We are going to places like this…

and this…

If you missed it, check out my other travel guides:

What to pack in your carry-on for long international flights! This is one of my #1 posts!

Are you headed to Paris? Here is my What to pack and wear for your trip to Paris!

Have you been to Switzerland? If so, tell me your favorite thing to do there that I should see!!

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Angelina April 6, 2015 Beauty and Fashion

What to Pack for Vacation in Your Carry-On

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I travel frequently and I thought I would share my guide about what to pack in your carry-on luggage bag.

I find that keeping these items in your carry-on makes you flight much more pleasant! This guide works for both domestic and international trips.

Nº 1 // Noise canceling headphones – I *highly* recommend noise canceling headphones, especially for your 12 hour flights. I have them both. I like the earbuds because they are less bulky (and the case is smaller too) and don’t mess up my hair. The over-the-ear noise canceling headphones work better than the earbuds, have nicer sound quality and are nicer for longer flights. Either way, it is up to you and your preference!

Nº 2 // Hair brush – 12 hours is a long time for your hair to look bad, especially in the dry environment . You are guaranteed to get sleepyhead after trying to snooze sitting straight up.

Nº 3 // Camera – you need to put your camera in your carry-on so it does not get lost or stolen in your checked bag. I have a GoPro camera and I cannot sing enough praise about it for a travel camera especially if you like to hike/do adventurous things. It is waterproof, you can take it surfing, snorkeling, swimming, hiking, biking.

Nº 4 // Hand cream – It’s really dry in the airplane. You will be wanting hand cream.

Nº 5 // Lip Balm – Your lips will get dry on the airplane.

Nº 6 // a Pen – You will need to fill out some customs papers at some point. Bring a pen!

Nº 7 // Granola bar – This is nice to have because you never know when you’ll need some sustenance. I am loving the Kind bars right now.

Nº 8 // Water bottle – I usually just buy one in the airport, that way if I’m desperate for space on the way home I can toss it. However, you can also bring your own!

Nº 9 // iPad – The iPad has everything I need… books, movies, music, and a notepad to jot down thoughts. I read my travel books on this on the way to the location I’m headed to.

Nº 10 // Keys – Don’t forget your house and car keys! Get this bluetooth key finder keychain if you tend to lose your keys like me!

Nº 11 // Make up bag – Trust me, you’ll want to do some touching on before landing so keep your make up organized in a chic make up bag.

Nº 12 // Hand sanitizer – Airplanes are full of germs. You’ll feel better after using this, even if you washed your hands in the loo.

Nº 13 // Charging Essentials For your Electronics! – I recommend a portable power battery pack so that way your phone or smart device won’t die on long plane! Also, when you get to your hotel room you will probably only have about two plugs and so many things to charge. We use this USB multi port charger – it has two USB ports that charge faster, and is foldable and compact for travel and has UK and EU adapters as well! It is the best.

Nº 14 // Ear plugs – You will wish you had these when the screaming baby or chatty neighbor sits behind you on your twelve hour flight!

Nº 15 // Mint gum – Gum helps your ears pop in ascent/descent and gives you some fresh breath!

Nº 16 // Munchies – You will need something to munch on, as I’m sure you’ll either get hungry or bored. I like to bring dried fruit or popcorn as they fill the munchie need but don’t fill you with tons of extra calories.

Nº 17 // Blanket scarf – The temperature of the airplane varies too much. A blanket scarf is nice for those temperature fluctuations.

Nº 18 // Evian water spray – This Evian water spray is so nice and refreshing during a long flight!!

Nº 19 // Passport and wallet – If there’s one thing you *must* bring on international travel it is your passport. If you’re traveling overseas, you will want an anti RFID theft one because apparently over there in crowded spaces/subways/buses they will use little scanners and steal your credit card information from your chip credit card.

Nº 20 // Travel size perfume – You’ll want to reapply your perfume just before you get off of your flight.

Nº 21 // Travel bag – You need a bag big enough to fit all of this stuff in that fits under the seat in front of you! My FAVORITE bag is this expandable longchamp bag – I have both sizes this larger one and this smaller one. However I LOVE this non-expandable version too and actually will use it as my purse on travel!

Nº 22 // Eye mask – You will want this for when the person next to you leaves their reading light on the whole flight. I like this silk one or my favorite one here.

Nº 23 // Toothbrush and toothpaste – So, 10 hours into your international flight, it is now suddenly morning time where you land and you realized you haven’t brushed your teeth in approx 24 hours. You’ll be glad you brought this!

Nº 24 // Slipper socks – I always take off my shoes while sitting in my chair on international travel and put slipper socks on over my regular socks. It keeps my toes warm… just make sure you put on your shoes before you start walking around the plane. You could take these foldable ballet flats which are super comfy and then you can wear them on your trip. They are so nice because they fold up perfectly into your carry on!

Nº 25 // Carry-on Suitcase – I personally travel an older version of this Tumi International Bag. My Father used to travel all of the time (seriously, 500k miles!) and the Tumi bag has survived! I seriously cannot sing enough praise about Tumi bags. They are expensive but worth the money. If you are mainly a domestic traveler, then this Tumi Domestic Carry On bag is GREAT as well ( have that one too!). The Rimowa Bags are extremely popular as well, but I don’t use them so I can’t give a review. Don’t know the difference between International and Domestic Bags? The international bags are slightly smaller and fit within the regulations of the European airlines!

Nº 26 // Jet Lag Mask – Since I’ve created this list, a brand new beauty mask came out this year and I cannot sing enough praises about it! It’s called the Jet Lag Mask and it is seriously FANTASTIC. Like if you had to buy one beauty thing to travel with it is this mask! It makes your dehydrated sorry looking airplane skin look amazing! It seriously did wonders to my face. The great part is you don’t have to rinse it off – you just wipe off the excess after 10 minutes.

Nº 27 // A Travel Pillow – On a really long flight it is nice to have an extra pillow besides the one they give you. There is this one that has 3000 reviews on Amazon, this one that is more like a scarf/wrap/pillow. My most recent trip I got these blocks that blow up – they seemed stupid at first but I LOVED them so much I am never going on an international flight again without them.

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Miss any of my Paris Posts?? Check them out here!

Headed to Paris or London? Check out my What to Pack to Paris and London post here.

What to Pack for your Vacation in Your Carry-On

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