Last Stop Venezia!

Our next and final stop on this trip is Venice! We took the Adriatic Jet over from Rovinj to Venice early Monday morning. I have been to Venice twice before, but Chris never has and it was exciting to explore the city with him, like a different city.

As soon as we arrived in Venice we headed over to our apartment in the Cannaregio, a more local area close to the train station. We really liked this place, it was probably our best AirBnb yet, spacious, clean and centrally located. After we settled in we realized how hungry we were and stopped by this local place for pizza (we went to the same place 3 times during our trip!) on the main street by our apartment.

This guy loves his pizza! 

We took the rest of our day to check out the big sites right away, first Ponte Rialto and after San Marco Square. Just like anywhere else in Europe this time of year, there were a ton of tourists flocking to see the famous sites. And it was hot. We hugged the shade and did a quick run through of the city popping into a few museums along our way. We finished the night off we a great meal and headed to bed.

On our second day we got up early and headed over to San Marco to take a tour of the Doge’s Palace. We spent a solid hour walking in and out of rooms in the palace; courtrooms, senate seating, prisons, here was where the power of the Venice lay. Once we finished that tour we took a quick break for lunch in the area and made our way back to San Marco’s Church.

The line for the Church is long, but moves quickly and is definitely worth. No photos (or selfies) are allowed in the Church so you’ll have to make the trip yourself to see what all fuss is about. The tall ceilings are gilded in small gold mosaics and are absolutely breathtaking!

After we stopped by the Doge’s Apartments located across the square from San Marco. The numerous rooms were filled with Murano glass chandeliers and brilliant frescos. A little larger than our apartment, but we have air conditioning.

The rest of the day we spent doing what everyone should in Venice, getting lost in the small streets and countless bridges. Weaving in and out of different neighborhoods and visiting a number of churches we stumbled upon on our way made for some off the beat touring. We treated ourselves to due Spritz (a traditional Venetian drink), a siesta, coffee, and dinner and called it a night.

The next morning we walked the now familiar walk to San Marco to take a ferry to the Murano and Burano islands for a day trip. Our first stop was to the island of Murano, famous for (you guessed it!) glass blowing. We were able to see a glass blowing demonstration as soon as we got off the boat. Generations of families have done this and it is quite impressive to see how quickly the artists are able to make a bowl or animal. We would have loved to stay a bit longer, however it was like an oven in there-literally there was an oven in the room-so we cut out and walked in out of shops until we were hungry. After lunch we bought a few glass souvenirs (I guess everyone knows what they are getting for Christmas this year), visited the Murano museum, and boarded the second boat to Burano.

Chris' color of choice

Burano, which is about 30 minutes from Murano (50 from Venice) is known for its lace making and colorful houses. I visited the island on a school trip in college and remember it being one of the most amazing things I saw. We passed through the main street and it was more beautiful than I remembered.  After lots of picture taking we went into a few shops and I was able to pick up a hand made photo album, something similar to Mom’s from her trip to Rovinj. Not sure when, but we’re going to make sure to fill it with the best pictures from our trip.

We went into another shop and were able to speak with a local woman for a while. She made hand-made lace, painted her own masks and was very friendly. We asked her why the houses were painted such vibrant colors and she said that she was told when she was a little girl that it every family had a different color and when the weather was poor fisherman were able to see the colorful houses and find their way home. She followed that with, but if you ask my brother he thinks that it was because everyone was drunk. Whatever the reason, it makes for a beautiful view and photo opportunity.

We boarded the boat back to Venice around 7:45pm and was able to catch a great sunset over the water. We went for a local dinner in our neighborhood, but cut the night short since we were a bit exhausted.

And then the last day. The final day of our two-week European adventure had finally come and we decided to make the most of it. We were up and out of the house early to discover a different area called Desoduro, a local area that was about 25 minutes by walking from our apartment. Along the way we stopped for coffee and a cornetto and making sure to get any last minute souvenirs crossed off our list. We went to the Ca’ Ora museum as well, another Doge family apartment. Similar to the Doge’s palace it was well adorned and a spectacular example of Venice’s powerful culture and history.

We got a little lost during our walk (this happened a lot) and a very nice New Yorker who now lived in Venice stopped to help us. We chatted for a bit and probed him for dinner spots and he suggested a few we hoped to try.

After another Spritz and a pizza (from our favorite place) we went for a fish manicure. No, that’s not a typo, we paid to have little fish eat our dead skin. After we left we smooth feet, we headed back to the apartment to pack up so we could have the rest of the night free.

Once we were all set we made our way to a gelato place near one of the restaurants the New York gentleman suggested, La Zuca. When we arrived to the restaurant, there was a sign on the door saying that they were fully booked. While we didn’t get to eat here, the menu looked extremely reasonable and appetizing, so we suggest anyone visiting Venice should make a reservation a few days before.

For dinner we went back to a restaurant we tried to get into an earlier night called Osteria Promessi Sposei and it was great! It was a perfect last dinner for us.

After dinner we wandered around a bit and stopped for another Spritz and some more dessert. We made one last trip to San Marco to say goodbye and took a long stroll home.

In the morning we got up early and had our last cappuccino and cornetto before catching the ferry to the airport.

We managed to fit a lot into our 2 weeks in Europe and after much planning and anticipation we have a ton of great memories to look back on. And thanks to all of you who read along the way, we are so excited to share all of our stories with you when we are back.

I am so proud of all of Chris’ many accomplishments and so happy that we were able to make this trip as a celebration of all of his hard work. Looking forward to many more trips in our future with the best travel buddy!

The Whole Rovinj Story!

Rovinj was amazing. The small fishing village turned beach town was a beautiful mix of locals and tourists. While many flock to this unique island in Istria for its beaches and family-friendly nightlife, we singled this out as part of our trip because of the Sponza-family history there.

Great grandpa with cousin Johnny at 8810

My grandfather’s father was from this town and I grew up listening to family legends of Rovinj and our relatives that hailed from there. My great grandfather came to the US in the late 1910s, met my great grandmother and settled in Brooklyn. They had three children, Angela, Bruno and Antonio (mio nonno) and in 1936 they bought the house that I spent most of my life in, 8810 in Bensonhurst. After my great grandmother passed away, Antonio Sr. visited Rovinj and decided to move back home and remarry a woman named Ita.

Antonio and Ita

In 1973 my Uncle Bruno and his family went to visit his father in Rovinj and at the last minute my mom joined the trip. I’ve looked at her red leather photo album from this viaggio more times than I can count and told myself that one day I would make the trip myself. When Chris and I were brainstorming where to go for our vacation after the Bar, Rovinj came up and we thought it would be a great addition. We arrived from Dubrovnik on Thursday afternoon, settled into our apartment and called Lidia, my grandfather’s cousin. Much to our surprise she wanted to meet right away and through broken Italian and English, we met her and her granddaughter Daria 30 minutes later.

Mom on her trip in 1973 (I know I thought it was me too!) 

Lidia, her husband and son David 

A little about Lidia and her family; every family has its famous stories that turn into family legend over time, for us that is Lidia and her father Giovanni.

Article about Uncle Giovanni

In the late 20s my Great-great Uncle Giovanni, Antonio Sr.’s younger brother, came to the US at the age of 18 as many Italian youths did, looking for more opportunity. The story I always heard was that he was an experienced cliff diver who saw the Manhattan Bridge and decided it would be perfect to dive off of-in the middle of January. He taped his hands and did a perfect swan dive off of the Bridge, survived and was picked up by a passing tugboat. Not speaking a word of English it was written in newspapers that he attempted suicide, but changed his mind on the way down. This of course was completely false.  He was quickly sent back to Rovinj, which at the time was under Italian rule and back to the Sponza family. Word spread quickly of his record breaking dive and Hollywood was calling my Great grandfather looking for the young daredevil.

The other famous story we always heard about Uncle Giovanni was that when the famous St Eufemia statue fell down in 1946, he strapped it to his back and free climbed it back up the side of the tower and it‘s current resting place. This tower is the highest point in the city and can be seen from almost everywhere in the city.

Lidia in 1964

His daughter Lidia, was equally as famous in our family. A professional rower, we heard from different family members that she was a 2 time Olympic rower and discus thrower and trained national champions in Ex-Yugoslavia.

This was who we were about to meet and I was both excited and intimidated. Lidia and her grand daughter Daria waited for us outside of a local museum. I immediately knew who Lidia was. Although, later in her years, she was extremely strong looking and her athletic build was tanned to perfection. Her grand daughter Daria is 14 and tall and slender and thankfully well versed in English.

We introduced ourselves, hugged and then quite abruptly were on our way to get a quick Sponza tour.

We started at her and her brother’s (another Bruno) apartment in the Old City. It is a beautiful apartment that has a balcony overlooking the harbor, but they no longer live there primarily because of the loud discotech that resides below.  I had so many questions and we dove right in using old pictures as a guide in the telling of our family’s history.

My first question of course, what was the true story about Uncle Giovanni and the Manhattan Bridge?

She began “allora…” Uncle Giovanni did come to the US at the age of 18 to stay with his brother Antonio in Brooklyn in the late 20s. He had a friend in New York that was also from Istria and the two young men set their sights on opening an Istrian-Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. In the New York Times, Uncle Giovanni saw an article where a man who dove off of the Brooklyn Bridge and survived was given $10,000 as an award. He then turned to my great grandfather and said “I am going to do this.” Antonio not believing his younger brother, laughed and thought he was joking. Giovanni then went to the bridge and studied it, making sure he would be able to successfully complete the dive. On January 6th 1927 in the New York cold, Giovanni stripped down to his swimsuit, waited for a boat to be within reach and dove off the Manhattan Bridge. The boat immediately scooped him up and brought him to the hospital, his only injury being minor bruising.

At the hospital he was interviewed and without being able to speak any English, it was determined that this was a suicide attempt. My great grandfather tried to speak with the reporters to clear up any miscommunication, but by that point it was already printed and no one was willing to correct the story. Hollywood did call Antonio asking him if Giovanni would be interested in auditioning for Tarzan in the latest rendition of the movie.

Lidia continued saying that 25 years later there was some kind of slander trial against several newspapers for printing the incorrect story, however by this time Uncle Giovanni no longer wanted to continue pursuing this.

My second question was for Lidia about her career. No, she did not participate in the Olympics, rowing was not recognized as a female sport when she was competing. However, she was national champion of Ex-Yugoslavia 11 times and trained the Yugoslavian rowing team when they came in 2nd in the Olympics. She proudly brought out a number of medals and awards she had at the house. This was incredible to see! She still trains the rowing club and is considered a local hero; in the short walks we took with her several people came up to her to say hello and rolled out the red carpet at any restaurant she took us to.

After our short, but informative stay at her apartment, I asked another question my mother sent with me; what happened to her grandfather’s house at Via Nello Quarantotto No. 7? We quickly left the apartment and made our way along the harbor to a tall house on the other side of the city (5 minutes walking, its not a big city). The house was 3 stories tall and echoed my home at 8810. There was an elevated porch made shady by grape vines and a fig tree that faced the water and on it was a woman seated facing us. Lidia began speaking with her in rapid Italian-we just smiled and nodded.

Lidia introduced us as the cousins from New York. We were immediately ushered in and welcomed with heaping glasses of wine, hugged and were told to sit down. More women came out to say hello and we began to put the pieces together of who was who. The first woman we met was the niece of my great grandfather’s second wife, Ita. Then another petit woman with dark hair came out and introduced herself as the daughter-in-law of Ita, her husband, Ita’s son, has since passed away.  Three younger women came out after and these were Ita’s grand daughters. I had my mother’s album with us and we poured over the pictures, each of them telling me who was who and how we were related. It was a whirlwind of names and questions, but very informative. Lidia and Daria had to part a little earlier in the evening so we stayed and stumbled through questions and answers with my poor Italian and charade-like gestures. They explained that my great-grandfather had lived there with Ita after they were married and that he built the fence and planted the fig tree and grape vine that still stood above us.

We finished our wine, said our goodbyes to Via Nello Quarantotto No. 7 and quickly grabbed a bite to eat. We followed this up with a drink at the Café Mediterranean bar that sits facing the water. It was the perfect end to our first day.

The next morning we got up early and made out way to the Church of the patron St. Eufemia (pop quiz: this was the statue that Uncle Giovanni replaced). The church sits atop a hill overlooking the rest of the island and we were able to climb the steps (if you can call them that!) to the very top. From here we were able to get a great 360 view of the city. We wandered around a bit and decided to stop for a quick bite and drink before heading back to the apartment for a reprieve from the heat.

Lit three candles for Aunt Angie, Uncle Bruno and Grandpa 

We later met Daria and Lidia again at 5:30pm near our apartment. She picked us up by car and took us to the cemetery where my great grandfather and her father are buried. I think I am the only one to see his grave from my family as no one returned to Rovinj after he died in 1982.

Lidia then brought us to where her parents are buried and on Uncle Giovanni’s tomb stone under his first name is written “American.” Lidia went on to explain that this was his nick name because of his Manhattan Bridge jump.

We returned to the city and Lidia treated us to some ice cream. Have we mentioned how hot it has been in Croatia?! After dessert we returned to Lidia’s apartment where she showed us a family tree going back as far as she was able. It would be a bit difficult to go through here, but I am looking forward to going through it in great detail with everyone back in the States.

From here we parted with Lidia and Daria and made plans to meet with Lidia’ son and wife the next day. Chris and I had a great typical Istrian meal and returned back to our favorite spot, Café Mediterranean for a night cap.

The next morning we went back to Café Mediterranean for a coffee and a swim. The water is crystal blue and a great escape from the heat. We spent an hour or two swimming and tanning and then walked around the village looking at different shops on our way.

Later that evening we met Lidia’s oldest son David and his wife Goranca, the parents of Daria. We joined them for a coffee at the foot of the St. Eufemia. What we thought might be an hour meeting turned into 3 and we learned even more about the family and our new found cousins. David is a computer engineer and his wife is a doctor and Daria, also an only child, is a talented artist and will be starting high school this year in Zagreb. We were so happy to meet them and discussed our families on both sides of the world in greater detail. David told us about his grandfather, Giovanni and the St. Eufemia statue. He said that Uncle Giovanni was the only one in the village who could climb above the highest landing on the tower. He created the first part of the scaffolding and then was able to make it strong enough for others to come up after him to put the statue back in its place. David also said that since Giovanni was the last to come down, he quickly etched a picture of the Manhattan bridge, a calling card of his, at the very base of the statue. Because he was instrumental in putting the statue back up, Giovanni was awarded a large sum of money from the town, which he used to buy the 2 apartments that Lidia and her brother own.

The next day Chris and I took the morning to go to Rosso Island, which is a short ferry ride away from Rovinj. We went swimming and tanning and swimming and more tanning for a larger part of the day and came back a little more rosso then we wanted. 

Be careful its slippery! 

We got showered quickly and made our way to meet David and the rest of the family for dinner. Lidia took all of us to this wonderful Istrian restaurant along the coast, which happened to be owned by one of her former students. We were greeted warmly and enjoyed great conversation and good food on our last evening in Rovinj.

Our view for dinner! 

We took a final walk around the island and Lidia showed us the house where my great grandfather and her father were born. We said our goodbyes here and promised to keep in touch.

I wasn’t sure what to expect during this short trip to Rovinj, but I do know that whatever I did, it was very much exceeded. It is very rare to reunite with distant family and reconnect in such a powerful way. We are so thankful for how welcoming Lidia and the rest of her family were while we were in Rovinj. I was also so happy to share this experience with Chris-thanks for making the trip with me darling.

Rovinj Stories

Sorry these posts have been a little slow lately. We arrived in Rovinj on Thursday and we immediately met up with some Sponza relatives. Since the internet isn't so great and we have such a short time here, we decided to take notes and write a very detailed account of our stay when we are on a boat to Venice. For now we are adding some pictures of this beautiful city! 

Last Day in Dubrovnik

On our final day in Dubrovnik we hopped on a boat to check out the Elafati islands, three neighboring isolas (Koločep, Lopud and Šipan) that are known for their sandy beaches and clear water. There are a number of these tours available and they are virtually all the same, so any one you chose should be just as successful as ours. 

Our Tour 

We started the day by sailing to the island of Lopud. This would be our longest stop of the day, about 4 hours, because of its famous beach Banj. It is one of the most coveted beaches along the Croatian coast and it is claimed that those who swim in the water together shall never part.

We docked on the opposite side of the island, as boats are not permitted directly on the beach. Chris had a quick coffee (of course) and then we began the 1,600 meter walk to the other side. There are golf carts that can take you across the island, but we thought we would be able to see a little more via walking. We did see more, but on a day as hot as this one, the 10HKR (roughly $1.50) to get a ride, may have been a reasonable investment. On the way we did however run into a small chapel, so that was pretty cool. By the time we reached the beach we were ready to dive in! The water was a cool clear blue and remained shallow for about 50 feet; it was actually quite difficult to swim until you were much further out.

After we dried off we took the golf cart back to the boat and sat down for lunch, fresh white fish cooked right there on the boat. Once lunch was finished we got what else, ice cream, and boarded the boat again to go to our next island.

The second island we visited was Šipan a tiny island with a small monastery and a few shops. We were a bit tired so decided to grab an iced cafe latte by the water. We only had about 40 minutes on the island and thought we would just take in the sights.

The next and last island was Koločep, another beautiful island with very nice sandy beaches. One hour and another coffee later we were back on the boat and heading towards the mainland. The trips between the islands offered beautiful views of the city and additional islands that we would have not had otherwise.

Since we got back quite late, we decided to have a quick dinner and head back to the apartment to pack and clean up before our early morning flight to Pula and then another bus to Rovinj. We are really looking forward to the next leg of our journey!

Dubrovnik Day 3

We decided to be a little more adventurous yesterday and take on sea kayaking. It is a very popular activity in Dubrovnik and offers a beautiful view of the old city and the Lokrum Island. We started at 9:00am in the morning and made our way around the island and back to the mainland in 3 hours, with several stops along the way. Despite what Chris may claim this trip was definitely a two-person effort!

Our route

We paddled our way to the northern side of Lokrum Island where we took our first break. The island is about stands about 315 feet above the water and houses the city’s botanical gardens and multiple swimming areas. We were told several times during our stay that the island was cursed by Benedictine monks in the 1800s after they were evicted from the island. Since then several owners of the island have died under strange circumstances; some past owners include Franz Ferdinand and Napoleon. Talk about disgruntled tenants!

Our next stop was to a small cave on the island. Here we were able to take a quick rest and some pictures.

The next and longest break was on the mainland at Betina beach, a hidden beach in a cave just east of the city. We ate some lunch here, took a dip in the clear blue water and snorkeled a bit. The water was a prefect temperature and we were able to see lots of big and little fish just beneath us. After a little drying off we were back in our boats and off to our starting point.

We pulled in around 12:00pm with newly defined arm muscles and a sense of accomplishment.

Once we were land based we took a well-deserved reprieve from the sun and got a quick bite. Around 3:00pm we went for a long walk and a coffee (Chris’ first of the day!) and then made our way to D’Vino Wine Bar for a light dinner and wine tasting.

I wasn’t feeling so great so we headed back to the apartment and I was able to get a whopping 10 hours of much needed sleep. Feeling back to normal, we are ready to take on our next excursion today to the Elafati Islands! 

Dubrovnik Day 2

Yesterday was a busy one! We started early in the morning touring the old city. The city was originally settled in the 17th century by refugees from the neighboring Roman city Epidaurum and was known as Ragusta before Dubrovnik. It was seen as an important city in the Mediterranean due to its positioning along the Adriatic. For years the city existed without a standing army, instead they used diplomacy as the first line of defense. Ambassadors for the city-state visited other countries to pay tribute to larger powers to secure the city's safety.

A number of the buildings are architecturally similar due to a major earthquake in 1667 that destroyed the city. Once rebuilt, the buildings followed a simpler format. Most of the roofs are more recent; during the Homeland War in 1991, a majority of the houses were badly damaged or completely burned.

After the tour we revisited the Sponza Palace (sound familiar?) located at the end of the Placa to take a more in depth look around. The palace is one of the only remaining buildings left intact after the 1667 earthquake and a view of what the rest of the street used to look like. It was the first stop for any traders coming into the city so they would be able to measure their materials before bringing them to the market Today it holds archives of the city and is an art gallery. 

From one Sponza to another! 

Our next tour was later in the evening (because it is so hot!) walking the city walls. The walls surround the ancient city and go on for over 6,000 feet high above the city. It is a great opportunity for some exercise and amazing views. 

We finished up the day with dinner at a restaurant along the water called Dubraka. We enjoyed our meal and were surprised that it was reasonable as well! 

Dubrovnik Day 1

So we've finally made it to our first stop in Croatia, the ancient city of Dubrovnik. We arrived in the early am yesterday, boarded a bus and first entered the walled city through the Pile gates. This is the main entrance to the city and is guarded by the patron saint of the city, St. Blaise. He is represented throughout with a model of Dubrovnik in his left hand and adorned on the facade of several buildings. 

Pile Gate 

St. Balise

We then made our way to the main street, called Placa, got some lunch (and our 1st ice cream of the day) and found our apartment hidden on one of the side streets. After we took a break for a little bit (its humid and hot here) and then went out into the city to poke around. We walked through the city and saw a sign advertising "cold drinks and the best view in Dubrovnik" and stopped in. They weren't kidding about the view, the bar we went to was perched on the side of the cliff and over looked the coast, well worth it! 

Busy main street 

Cafe Buza

Swimmers on the rocks below 

Yes, this is the real view

We continued to walk around for a while and then decided to do like the Europeans do and take a siesta, the heat was definitely starting to get to us. After our little nap we went to the port for some dinner. We ordered mussels (a whole heap of them, grandpa would have loved it!) and cuddle fish risotto, a local specialty. 

Port

After dinner we headed over to the cable cars at the top of the city to catch a view of the city from above at sunset. We stayed up there for a while and got some great shots of the city.

Even with our afternoon nap, we were still fading a bit, so decided to get our second ice cream of the day and head to bed. Had an early am tour of the city the next morning! 

24 Hours in Stockholm

Our Europe trip started with a 24 hour layover in Stockholm. After our amazing, and we mean amazing SAS flight to into Sweden, we took the bullet train into the city early this morning. Once we settled into our hotel, the HTL, we went out looking for some breakfast and much needed caffeine (anyone who knows Chris, knows that this is needed for survival). Conveniently down the block from us was the famous breakfast spot, Vete-Katten, and we popped in. It was a very good choice! 

Vete-Katten

Our breakfast 

After we were fully full, we made out way towards the water and crossed into Gamla Stan, the Old Town. It is a quaint and beautiful little town that is mostly overrun by tourists, definitely the inspiration for Bush Gardens and Disney World, but a must see in the City. We weaved through the streets filled with little shops and cafes eventually finding ourselves by The Royal Palace. Completed in 1760, the Palace sits alongside the Stromkajen river and we were able to see the Royal Chapel, the courtyard and the changing of the guards. 

Crossing into Old Town

View to the Water 

Changing of the Guard 

The Royal Palace 

The royal chapel 

Our next stop was to the Vasamuseet to see the restored Vasa ship. The Vasa sank on its maiden voyage in 1678 and remained under water until it was excavated in 1961. Due to the mud and cold water, the ship and many of its contents were kept in pristine condition. It was quite a site!  

The Vasa 

Running on fumes we decided to head back to our hotel for a European nap (Chris couldn't wait).

On our way we ran into a huge parade for Stockholm's Pride Week. Tons of people turned out to participate and watch the colorful parade throughout the city. 

Pride Parade in Stockholm 

3 hours later we are a little more rested and hungry so we walk over to Speceriet a great little restaurant about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. Best meal I think we have had in a long time. We started with the fried broccoli and Charcuterie, which was finger licking good. For our entrees we had Swedish chantarelles with potato and cheese purée and egg yolk and a Tarte-Flambée with garlic, cabbage and ”Isterband” sausage. Delish. We rounded the dinner out the way every meal should be finished, with dessert, Summer cake with fresh berries and vanilla cream and a Poached peach with lemon verbena, almonds and yoghurt ice cream. 

After dinner we took a last long walk along the water back to our hotel. Even though it was short, we got a lot out of our day in Stockholm. I am sure we'll be back to visit soon! 

Mission Accomplished

I even surprised myself with this one, but habits be damned–I packed a 2 week Europe trip in a carry on. Definitely took some mental tetris, but by rolling most clothes and stuffing smaller items in the empty spots between, it ended up being a breeze. In my Mary Poppins bag I was able to cram in: 

• 3 shorts 
• 3 pants 
• 6 shirts 
• 1 skirt 
• 3 dresses
• 3 dressier tops 
• 1 bathing suit
• 1 cover-up 
• pjs and undergarments 
• 2 bags 
• a hat 
• 4 pairs of shoes

Okay, so not a true light carry on, but proud I got all of that in there! Chris was shocked I fit all of it in, he owes me a beer now. He also packed a carry on, but with minimal effort. 

Packing Challenge

I am a habitual over packer. I like options and stand by my mother's advice to "always pack in case you are invited to an impromptu wedding." For serious, during a trip down the CA coast mom and I once packed a separate suitcase just for shoes and then couldn't fit all our luggage in the back of a rented mustang. Yes, we are that type of women. 

But I am throwing years of cautioned packing  to the wind and embarking on my greatest traveling challenge yet, fitting a 2 week trip in...a...carry on (what?!). Since we are going to be traveling to three different countries and staying in AirBnb's with washing machines for just 2 weeks I figured let's try this thing out. 

So I did what any millennium would do, researched on the internet. I looked at pins, youtube videos, forums, diagrams; the list goes on. To date I found these helpful: 

PureWow's (love this publication!) AHEAD OF THE PACK

Your Future Your World 

Greater Than Rubies

I'll keep doing some research and let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!