London/Paris in August - Clothing and Camera Questions

[silmarg]

we are doing the ABD adult only London/Paris trip in August.

Which trip are you doing? We are also doing London/Paris in Aug. We are doing Aug 13!

 

[denisekayt]

Which trip are you doing? We are also doing London/Paris in Aug. We are doing Aug 13!

We’ll be right after you, we’re doing the Aug 23rd adults only trip!

 

[Sparkly]

It's been quite warm here in the UK, bring some shorts as well as longer sleeved stuff. Basically layer. The weather can be boiling, then turn really quite chilly in the evenings. And bring a good sized reusable water bottle, because air con is rare here too unless you're in a big supermarket.

 

[silmarg]

We’ll be right after you, we’re doing the Aug 23rd adults only trip!

We will have my well traveled DDs (16 and 19) on our trip. Sounds like there will be a lot of small kids on our ABD... Im sure my DDs will wish they were on your Adults only ABD - LOL! (they've had enough of little kids since they are camp counselors)

We were lucky to do a DIS exclusive Back Stage Magic where they were the only kids - boy did they love that!

 

[SonnyEclipseFan]

we are doing the ABD adult only London/Paris trip in August. A couple of questions about clothing and cameras.

Do we need to worry about buying pick pocket proof items and/or clothing or is just being vigilant enough?

It looks like casual clothes are for the most part the norm. Are khakis or jeans too casual? We’ll have a couple of nicer outfits for a few of the evenings, but I’m thinking pretty casual for the day to day touring. Is that a mistake?

I plan on bringing our mirrorless camera in addition to our cell phones. I have a nice, small cross body case for it. Will this be a pain to carry around with us?

Thanks![/QUOT

My wife and I are on the August 24th London Paris Adventure. Maybe this is the same one as you?

 

[lovetotravel]

Do we need to worry about buying pick pocket proof items and/or clothing or is just being vigilant enough?

It looks like casual clothes are for the most part the norm. Are khakis or jeans too casual? We’ll have a couple of nicer outfits for a few of the evenings, but I’m thinking pretty casual for the day to day touring. Is that a mistake?

I plan on bringing our mirrorless camera in addition to our cell phones. I have a nice, small cross body case for it. Will this be a pain to carry around with us?

Thanks!

Just got back from London and Paris, and we were really worried about theft and it was a non - issue for us. We felt very save in both cities. I carried a cross body purse with no issues. Causal clothes are perfect for day to day touring. I prefer to wear work out material tops which are more comfortable for hot weather touring. Enjoy!

 

[denisekayt]

Just got back from London and Paris, and we were really worried about theft and it was a non - issue for us. We felt very save in both cities. I carried a cross body purse with no issues. Causal clothes are perfect for day to day touring. I prefer to wear work out material tops which are more comfortable for hot weather touring. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for the follow up! I’ll be organizing and starting my packing this weekend

Just curious, on the day you took the train to Paris and then go to the Louvre, did you have to bring your carry on with you from the train to the Louvre, or did they have somewhere to store it when you were at the museum?

 

[Rebecca White]

we are doing the ABD adult only London/Paris trip in August. A couple of questions about clothing and cameras.

Do we need to worry about buying pick pocket proof items and/or clothing or is just being vigilant enough?

It looks like casual clothes are for the most part the norm. Are khakis or jeans too casual? We’ll have a couple of nicer outfits for a few of the evenings, but I’m thinking pretty casual for the day to day touring. Is that a mistake?

I plan on bringing our mirrorless camera in addition to our cell phones. I have a nice, small cross body case for it. Will this be a pain to carry around with us?

Thanks!

I was just in Paris two weeks ago, and I've been to London many times before. I don't think I've ever heard of pickpockets in London (except for Dickens' time), and there are police and military everywhere now because of the terror threats. Obviously, it is wise to be vigilant in a foreign country regardless. Paris, on the other hand, has a problem. Pickpockets are abundant in places like the metro, Notre Dame, and other large tourist draws. That being said, when I did the "Knights and Lights" trip as it was called 8 years ago, people had normal north face backpacks on and didn't seem concerned. The guides told us not to keep anything in your pockets and keep your bags in sight, but that's really it. I got a small 20L "pac-safe" bag to carry my own things around, but it keeps getting "dinged" at airport security because it has a metal mesh in it to stop slash and grab crime (actually, I flew back home via Amsterdam after my time in Europe, and the security there told me I should get a different bag as some security screeners may refuse to let me carry it on the plane due to all the metal within it...really strange...) Totally unnecessary I've found and I now carry around Eddie Bauer's new 20L packable backpack. I didn't fear at all when I was there a few weeks ago.

If I remember correctly there is a lot of walking, so whatever you feel the most comfortable with. The farewell dinner is in a nicer restaurant though.

For your camera, maybe try and carry it around a bit with you for practice so you can get used to the feel and see if it bothers you at all.

Hope that's helpful!

 

[OhanaCuz]

I got a small 20L "pac-safe" bag to carry my own things around, but it keeps getting "dinged" at airport security because it has a metal mesh in it to stop slash and grab crime (actually, I flew back home via Amsterdam after my time in Europe, and the security there told me I should get a different bag as some security screeners may refuse to let me carry it on the plane due to all the metal within it...really strange...) Totally unnecessary I've found and I now carry around Eddie Bauer's new 20L packable backpack. I didn't fear at all when I was there a few weeks ago.

Thank you so much for sharing this! I too have a small Packsafe bag with a wire mesh. I took it on both of my river cruises but I put in it the suitcase that I checked with the airline. I'm going to make sure that I don't ever try to bring it as a carry-on item.

 

[Rebecca White]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I too have a small Packsafe bag with a wire mesh. I took it on both of my river cruises but I put in it the suitcase that I checked with the airline. I'm going to make sure that I don't ever try to bring it as a carry-on item.

Good idea. My family doesn't ever check bags, even on long vacations like to europe or australia, so it has been a big problem for us. After I had posted my comment I remembered that my dad bought a larger pacsafe bag to carry around in europe, and it had a small metal latch on the inside to close up the internal compartment. Not a problem in the US, but once we got to europe, the TSA at London Heathrow made him cut it out of the bag before they would let him carry it on to the plane! It was ridiculous! Now we can't use the bag anymore because there's a large hole in the side!