travel.progress

We got our tickets to Europe today! Although it's coming up soon (and Rick Steves recommends purchasing summer tickets by March) we ended up with tickets that, while not exactly cheap, were $150 less than what I was expecting for August travel. We fly direct from Boston to Frankfurt on August 5th, and then from London to DC to Boston on September 4th. As you may expect, my blog updates will be severely reduced during the month. I'll try to update when I have computer access, and will fill you in on all the fabulous things we do. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself...we don't leave for a while yet.
On a similar note- I got my backpack! I'm not sure if I posted about this yet. I don't think so. I had been on a search for the perfect backpack for quite some time (like since last August when we first started thinking about the trip). At first I was all for travel packs which are built more for the backpacking/hostel type of trip. They have front panel access and often have a detachable daypack which zippers or clips onto the front of the pack. I decided that I wanted a smaller pack than the normal traveler, and was having a hard time finding a travel pack that was in the 50-55 liter range that had the daypack. Most of them were around 65-70 liters. Then I talked with a guy at EMS who recommended I buy a hiking backpack instead because the structure is much more comfortable than in travel packs. (ie- the weight is much closer to your body in a vertical style as opposed to the more horizontal weight dispersion in travel packs.) Good point. I still was having trouble finding the perfect pack- the size would be right, but it was top access, or the design was good, but the pack was ugly (superficial I know, but I am not spending this kind of money on a hideous pack that I have to live out of for a month). I said to *tm* at one point that I wanted the right pack to just pop out at me- everything about it would be just what I wanted. I think I equated it to the perfect man or something. So, my sister and I went to Hilton's Tent City on my birthday, and that's exactly what happened! My new pack is an Osprey Switch 55. It's technically marketed as a snowy weather pack (for hiking around in the wilderness with your skis or something) but it's perfect for what I need it for. It has a nifty back panel access (like front panel, except people can't sneak into it as easily) a water bladder insulator, is red, is 55 liters tops, and....it has a removable daypack!!! So exciting!