5 Tips to Make A Short European Trip More Enjoyable

Last week I flew to Barcelona for a 3 day girl’s trip and it was the absolute best. It was my very first trip away from Ben and the girls at the same time so it was a lot.. but in a refreshing, “I need to feel like a human, not just a mom” kind of way. It was my friend’s first time to Europe and although I have been trying to convince her to travel for years, it was Harry Styles in the end that got her overseas. So needless to say, attending a Harry Styles concert was pretty much the main event of the entire trip. We did all the Barcelona things we could fit in of course, but while I was mostly excited to knock out sights I didn’t do last time I visited Barcelona, she was mostly excited when she saw other “Harries” wandering through the city. I learned a lot about Harry Styles on this trip if you didn’t guess, lol. I should also admit that I have in fact been listening to more of his songs since getting home. I’m sure my friend would be so impressed. But getting back to it being my first trip away from Ben and the girls, I was weirdly emotional at the strangest times. Like, for instance.. I cried the entire concert. Legit cried. Whole concert. It wasn’t ideal, but it happened. There was a mother and young daughter seated right in front of us and I just could not shake mom energy while there. I kept watching these two have the time of their lives dancing together, singing, and hugging each other and I was standing behind them creepily tearing. I kept thinking about how I hope I’m that mom with my girls some day. So anyway, if you’re looking for tips to combat mom feels while away, I do not have any. Except maybe skip the 3 stadium sized vodkas. I do however have a few tips on making a short European trip much easier on you though.

Take a later flight

THIS! Okay, so this may be the most incredible recent discovery for me in awhile. I know it makes total sense, but if you travel often, you’re probably aware that later flights are actually scarce. I feel like they’ve been starting to pop up more recently for U.S based airlines though and I do hope it continues. I’m mostly used to taking afternoon flights, landing in Europe in the morning, not having slept much at all, being insanely tired, and having to wander around and kill time until I can check in at my hotel. Sound familiar? Well, last week I flew to Barcelona on a 10:10PM flight on Delta and it was an absolute dream. No, I did not sleep the entire way, but I did sleep for maybe half the flight, which was about 4 hours. This alone doesn’t sound too exciting, but paired with arriving later in the day, it’s a game changer. Since we arrived later, we were able to shoot straight to the hotel, drop our things, freshen up and head out! We managed to get a whole extra half day of exploring and crossing off extra sights too. By the time evening rolled around we were ready to crash and viola, we were synched up with Barcelona time. Especially with shorter trips where time already feels like it’s fleeting, I definitely suggest trying to find a later flight to your destination. It’ll not only give you more productive time, but it’ll help you get on track for the rest of your trip. When later flights aren’t an option, you can even consider upgrading your seat if it’s doable and an affordable option. Getting that rest is just so important.

Stay Regular

Bring something to keep you regular if a disruption in your routine easily throws your system off. You might be thinking, “oh, I’m like clockwork.. I’ll be fine..” But you’d be surprised how fast a shift in hydration, different foods, and an upside down sleep schedule can impact how you feel. Short trips are absolutely amazing for so many reasons, but not if you’re uncomfortable the entire time. Three products I definitely recommend would be Oxy-Powder, Dulcolax Suppositories, and Calm products. The Oxy-Powder is great and will definitely help you when you haven’t gone in awhile. You take it before bed and by morning, you should be all set and feeling loads lighter. I recommend testing it out before your trip though. The directions range and you may have to find the right number of capsules for your body. “Dulcolax suppositories” may have you wondering what you’re doing reading this blog post. I get it. But these suppositories work pretty instantly and if there’s something I’d like to have control of while traveling it would probably be bathroom time. Unlike the oxygen capsules, you don’t have to wait around hoping you took enough of a dose.. but also terrified you may have taken too many. There is no wait time at all with the suppositories. So in my opinion, they are king. A more natural approach would be the Calm products. This is powder that you stir into water before bed and by morning you should be making your way to the bathroom. It’s a magnesium powder that is also used for many other issues, including stress relief. I started using this when I was pregnant to help with constipation and it was super helpful. It even comes in different flavors and capsules as well.

Hydration

I usually bring a reusable water bottle on all my trips and completely forget to refill it. One day I’ll be better, but in the meantime, I’ll emphasize how important it is to drink water to everyone else. Seriously though. Staying hydrated will benefit you in all the ways. Flights dehydrate you immensely. So loading up on water during the flight is huge. When I was flying regularly for the airlines, drinking enough water was my daily goal. And honestly, airlines do not hand out enough water to passengers. So this is the main reason I always have a water bottle with me for trips nowadays. It’s really the only part of the trip that I’m good about finding water bottle fill stations and making sure I have enough. Depending on where you’re heading though, you can even fill up at outdoor fountains in certain cities. When we stayed in Lucca, Italy there was a giant fountain outside our airbnb and we would line up with locals to fill all our bottles. Barcelona was rough last week though. It was hot and humid and we were often realizing too late how thirsty we were. So I definitely recommend planning ahead and having even a small bottle in your bag with you for those hot touring days.

Make an Itinerary

Having an itinerary is not for everyone, but if you’re heading all the way to Europe, chances are you’re someone that already has a plan in mind. Especially if you’re going for a short few days. My friend and I had a plan for each day we were in Barcelona, which checked off most the things we wanted to see and do. We also left a little wiggle room though in case we were jet lagged, hungover, or just wanting to chill. I think it’s important to leave room for some downtime and then make the decisions in those moments. If you decide to rally instead of rest, you have your backup sights you can visit. This happened to be the case for us the day we arrived. We left the evening open to relax, but did some sightseeing instead. This allowed us to essentially squeeze in two additional activities over the 3 full days we had. It’s always nice to feel like you got in some bonus sights instead of falling short of your too packed itinerary. So make a list with all the things you want to do/see and make a realistic itinerary prioritizing your top picks.

Maximize Your Time

This is something that varies from person to person and definitely goes hand in hand with having a plan. In my opinion, there are two ways to best maximize your time while traveling. The first is efficiently squeezing in more sights and activities. The way I like to do this is by mapping out what I hope to see and do and grouping things by location. It’s also nice seeing what else is around when you pull up google maps. You may realize a beautiful cathedral you saw on instagram is right around the corner from a museum you have booked. Or maybe certain sights are near the brunch spot you found and you can go to brunch and then bang out all the nearby sights before the afternoon caffeine/cocktail fuel up. It sounds easy enough, but planning efficiently is sometimes challenging. The other way to maximize your time isn’t so much squeezing in all the things, but rather focusing on a smaller list of things and spending more time appreciating them. This could look like guided tours or even guided experiences. Airbnb has a great selection on their site and they’re typically done by locals. In Barcelona, we maximized our time by doing both. We efficiently squeezed in everything we could, but also chose to add on a couple audio tours and take our time in certain places.