Who do you want to be when you travel?

So many shoes to consider... not enough days to wear them all

This admission may come as no surprise, but: I am over-packer. Not only am I the left-brained, cautious planner who wants to make sure that every possible travel scenario is covered - from lost luggage to freak mid-summer snowstorm - but I'm also the right-brained dreamer who revels in the opportunity to be whoever I want to be in each new place I visit. I can't be the only person who sees travel as a kind of escapism from who you are in daily life (right..?).

Travel to me is a lot like being an expat: you are anonymous and new (not so-and-so's daughter, or that girl in high school who did something horribly embarrassing), and therefore can be anyone you want to be. So an excursion like next week's road trip across the entirety of France presents a particularly challenging packing dilemma: who do I want to be this trip? Do I want to be the fashionable Parisian? The knowledgeable wine country woman? The seaside luxuriator? Or something else entirely...?

I imagine my luggage will consist of a lot of blue, red and stripes, in a very French, but also very me, statement. Little nods to the French countryside (floral accents and a bag big enough to tote a bottle of wine and a baguette for the impromptu picnic) and the south of France coast (sea-tousled hair and large sunnies) not to mention a few of-the-moment items (wedge sneakers, anyone?) for the likes of Paris will be tucked in there amongst some of my favorite items. For me, it's all about balancing who I am with what I want out of a holiday and what the locals are like. One part me + two parts the location = what I dream my holiday self to be.

Who I dream of being in Bordeaux...

Who I'd like to be in Arcachon...

Here's to culling down the piles strewn all around our apartment into some semblance of a cohesive wardrobe in time for our departure early next week!

Who are you when you go on holiday..?