The Downside of Packing Light

Our royal steed outside Old Racecourse Hotel in Ayr

After three nights in Edinburgh, we packed our bags and took the Airlink back to the airport to pick up our Fiat 500L from Europcar.

As usual, the rep tried to upsell us to a larger car, but having driven in the UK previously, we know that roads are frequently tight for even small cars, so we declined. Only by packing light was it possible to fit four adults and luggage into that fuel-miserly Fiat, which proved to have plenty of head and leg room and was quite comfortable throughout the trip. If we had four medium sized suitcases, I doubt we could have crammed in, but the trunk held each of the kids’ large backpacks, plus the rolling suitcase and duffle bag Julie and I shared.

No, this is not a Vogue ad

The downside of packing light, of course, is that your fashion statement abroad doesn’t jibe with the glamorous images from magazine ads and movies, and you may note in photos that we re-wore our limited clothing choices, never inching above casual attire.  I have, for example, a handsome London Fog overcoat with a zip-in faux fur lining that Julie bought me twenty years ago in anticipation of our first trip to the UK which would have been perfect on some days, but it was deemed too bulky to make the trip. Similarly, I also left at home my light brown corduroy sports jacket, a relatively new acquisition that is a throwback to my college days when I wore a similar jacket at times when my puffy navy blue nylon jacket with the bright red letters spelling “JANITOR” on the back was inappropriate. And I brought no ties that might've upgraded to semi-semi-formal the one pair of Dockers I brought to supplement my one pair of Levi jeans, even if I had brought more than the black Skechers Shape-Ups that I wore throughout the trip.

Edinburgh Skyline

Most people who see me at home know my clothing choices are usually flip flops and swim trunks or white Skechers and shorts, either set-up worn with tee shirt or Hawaiian shirt, so if I felt limited on my clothing choices, you can imagine what went through the minds of the more fashion conscious Julie, Jay and Amy. Passing some of the great tweed stores near the Royal Mile, Amy fell in love with the best women’s tweed suit, with a double-breasted vest and matching English riding pants, which we all agreed was an amazing outfit.

  There was, however, no room left in her backpack, and realistically it was too expensive for a young journalist, even if the price that seemed high in pounds would have had been a 1:1 exchange rate to dollars, which it was not. It was tempting enough to return to the same store when we returned to Edinburgh for the last day of our trip.

Okay, I admit the aqua ones aren't available here.

When she went in to “just see” if they might have the suit in her size, Amy found a great oversized bowler derby in a dark aqua color in which she really looked stunning, but it was 75 pounds. At 75 U.S. dollars, that would seem a bit excessive to me (I may be only 2% Scottish, but I definitely have that penchant for thrift associated with the Scots in jokes), and considering how many times I fought in favor of Amy's decision as a teen to buy a hat that ended up never leaving her bedroom after the first day, I discouraged her from buying it.  

Jay also was tempted by tweed, in the form of a natty Harris Tweed sports coat. He liked the idea of buying one in Scotland, even if it was far more than he would spend on clothes back home. That’s the temptation of shopping on trips when you packed light.

After a few days, you become accustomed to the fact that everything is more expensive than back home, and a few hundred dollars for a sports coat sounds reasonable, even if you wouldn’t normally go down to Macy’s during a sale to snag a similar one for $79.



Bagpiper on Royal Mile in Edinburgh

For those offended by my fashion insensibility, I do concede there are differences in quality as well as the visceral shopping experience, but when you live in California, most likely the lapel sizes will change before you can wear out a tweed sports coat of any quality.

Instead, Jay opted for a far more practical fashion purchase on the last day in Edinburgh: a navy blue and green kilt, with the mandatory knee-high socks. At least the total came in at under 25 pounds. And somehow he found a way to squeeze his purchases, including a few souvenirs for friends, into his backpack.

Better service leads to better trips!