Today I'd like to highlight one of the major problems with being a tourist in the city. Carrying things. Yesterday we went to the Queen Victoria Market in the pouring rain, necessitating a raincoat along with my fleece, gloves, and scarf. This raincoat ended up stuffed inside my large purse which was already weighted down with the following:- Water bottle - hydration, clearly important
- Notebook - for all the info and blog notes
- Granola bars - for snacks
- Wallet - for money and cards
- Knitting and knitting book - for the train ride
- Sunglasses - in case the sun comes out
- Pens - for writing stuff
- Phone - for calling people
- Mp3 player - also for the train ride
- Tissues - for my sniffles
- Cough drops - for my throat
- Map - for finding my way
- Banana - for lunch
- Camera - for photo-documentation
- Alfalfa sprouts - also for lunch
Then we went to the Queen Victoria market and I added to my burden:- A heavenly 20-cent orange
- A passionfruit
- Numerous souvenirs
Unwieldy to say the least. The boys opt to carry their bookbags everywhere. However, they do not appear to be immune from the "but I'm going to be in the city all day so I should bring this also" problem. Jared went to pay at a restaurant the other night and the following items had to come out of his pockets before he found his money.
- Wallet
- Large ipod
- Chapstick
- USB drive
- Mints
- Pen
- Notebook
All this makes me think that it would be truly useful to be a marsupial and have a nice little built-in pouch for carrying all my stuff around.
Notable among the items crammed into my suitcase are yarn and knitting needles for making a knitted kiwi bird, a bee veil, and numerous Penn State items to be given away to my gracious hosts, and not a few books. I always seem to want to carry around a library wherever I go. This time I have packed the following books:
- Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra by C.S. Lewis – because these books are awesome traveling stories, small and paperback. Why not complete the set with That Hideous Strength? Because that book is scary, kids.
- Manalive by G.K. Chesterton – This is another small book about enjoying life that I find myself reading over and over again.
- Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis – I read this a little while ago while on a solitary retreat and I’m still digesting it.
- The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith – Another mystery in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series set in Botswana, always a fun read.
- A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith – A friend sent me this memoir, which might be more suitable for the hard-core Austenites out there, but sounded pretty interesting.
- In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson – I gave this one to Ash to read and now have enjoyed several hours of listening to synchronized giggling as Ash and Jared are both reading this book on the plane.
Unwieldy to say the least. The boys opt to carry their bookbags everywhere. However, they do not appear to be immune from the "but I'm going to be in the city all day so I should bring this also" problem. Jared went to pay at a restaurant the other night and the following items had to come out of his pockets before he found his money.