Best item I bought to take to France - a WIG!!

Yes, a wig! I contemplated taking all the hair products I'd need -
hot rollers, hair straightener, hairspray, shampoo, conditioners, mousse, a converter for the correct electrical current, and a plug adapter! Oh my!! With only a small carry-on to pack, these products alone weighed at least 5 lbs of my allotted weight limit. Besides, they took up more room than an extra pair of slacks and a sweater, which I decided were more important!

So, I swallowed my pride, went to our local department store that sold wigs, and emerged a short-haired blonde. My hairstylist often colors my hair this shade but this wig might end up costing me less than 2 trips to the salon and last ALOT longer!

As it turned out - it was perfect! I always had a Great Hair Day!
Even at the top of the Eiffel Tower, with the wind blowing it wild and crazy, with just a little
combing with my fingers, I had it as good as new and the envy of my friend who had "lost her style"!

The best part was that every morning, after showering and putting on my makeup, it would take me an additional ... maybe FIVE minutes to "put my hair on" and off I could go, out the door to the local
patisserie for a croissant!

Why haven't I thought of this sooner! I call it my "Travel Hair" :-)

Traveling to France!

                 This post is NOT completely about gardening ... but Gardeners DO
            take time off to go and "smell the roses" in gardens around the world :

Tuileries Garden in Paris

I hesitated to plant a back-yard vegetable garden this spring because I knew I was going to take a vacation to France. It's always hard to impose on friends and family to come over and water while you are out of town. But I planted it anyway and will let nature "take its course" and hope for a bit of rain to water it while I'm gone.

Traveling to France!! I've been making plans for months and it's been as fun getting ready to go as the actual going will be.  It's similar to perusing garden catalogs in winter - dreaming of what to plant and where, as well as purchasing a few of the newest gardening gadgets to make it easier.
I haven't traveled abroad since I was in my 20's and I wasn't sure how to travel with just a carry-on.
Since I had trouble finding "mature women" travel ideas on the internet, I thought there
might be some others out there that are wondering the same things I did.
I'm going to be posting some ideas for the Seasoned, More Mature Woman traveler.

I'll cover what I found about such topics as:
*what kind of purse do I take?
*what do I wear on the plane?
*what kind of clothes do I pack for 2 weeks in France?
*can you really get 2 weeks of clothes in a carry-on bag?!
*what is the best way to pack a carry-on, with that many clothes, so they don't wrinkle?
*do I wear a wig or do I really pack 5 lbs. of hair products (rollers/straightener/mouse/etc)

1) What kind of purse do I take? Everyone said it's essential to take a crossbody bag so you
don't have to worry as much about pickpockets. But ohhhhh the choices! Big one? Little one?
I ended up purchasing a bag by Travelon because it had some extra-savvy safety features that
made me feel like I would be as protected as I could possibly be:
- slash proof strap, side and pocket material
- wide strap so it won't dig into my shoulder when I get it packed extra heavy with souvenirs!
- a side pocket to carry a water bottle
- locking zipper pulls
- I chose black so as not to be too conspicuous to those that might want to steal my stuff!
                               Here's a picture of the one I bought:

Travelon-Anti-Theft-Adjustable-Crescent-Bag
I got it on QVC and the price was the best I found on the internet.

I also bought on QVC a Travelon-RFID-Blocking-Zip-Around-Wallet.
In case you don't know about RFID protection, the thieves out there can actually take a scanning device that can copy the numbers off of your passport or credit cards without even having to steal the physical card! This purse and wallet have a protective layer inside that keeps those rays from penetrating and keep your valuables safe. I also really like the features in the wallet such as the zippered coin section, credit card slots, and zippered closure. The black one I got has a beautiful turquoise lining but they also come in other great colors. I love mine!

One worry and 2 items checked off my packing list!