Travel Essentials I Packed for Paris at 72: What Worked and What Didn’t

A while back, I wrote a post about essential travel gear for women over 50 that I planned to take on my next trip. Then I took a 7-day solo trip to Paris, France. Some of the items I brought with me came in handy, and some I never used.

As an older female traveler, my goal was to pack as light as possible without losing comfort.

I originally planned to travel carry-on only, but that hope was dashed because of Air France’s strict weight and size limits for carry-on items. I flew economy, and even though I took a minimal amount of clothing, I was over the weight limit for carry-on.

I checked in my 22″ Away suitcase, which was a good thing because when I arrived at the gate, an announcement was made limiting passengers to one item only onboard. The reason was that the flight was “full.”

That meant I had to carry my personal item, a lightweight Biaggi Zipsak, on my back with my crossbody purse stuffed inside.

I had originally planned to strap my Zipsak onto my suitcase with its trolley strap. The Zipsak itself was light, but it got heavy strapped to my back while walking what seemed like miles to the gate at LAX. The trek from customs to baggage claim at CDG was also quite a distance.

I seriously thought I was going to have a heart attack lugging it around. Not the best way to start a solo trip.

Next time I fly international, my personal item bag MUST have wheels. Air France dimensions for a personal item bag are 16″ x 12″ x 6″ inches. That’s pretty teensy.

After my trip, I purchased a Runway Hybrid Expandable Underseater from Biaggi and will let you know how it works out. It has wheels and a tow handle. The bag measures 16′ x 12.5″ x 8″ and expands to 16″ x 12.5″ x 10″, so it’s still a bit big for Air France. I love that it has a drink holder and an easy-to-access small laptop sleeve. It doesn’t have a trolley strap, so I bought a Rydir band to attach it to my suitcase.

If I take it abroad again, I will still check my suitcase and hope that I can place the Underseater beneath my seat. If there is a problem, I can put it in the overhead and keep my crossbody bag in my seat to hold necessary items for the flight.

Flying economy is for sardines and not people

Economy is extremely cramped. As soon as my flight was in the air, the guy in front of me pushed his seat back, and I was totally squished. My seat was on the aisle, and the middle seat was empty, but it was still a physical endeavor to retrieve anything under my seat.

According to Frommers, we will all be standing during flights attached to our seats. I don’t see that being an option for anyone over the age of 20.

These are the travel essentials I packed in my Zipsak.

1. My Wanderfull Hydrobag – I LOVE this bag! It is a functional crossbody with two front pockets (one for my phone and the other for credit cards, passport, coins, and other documents). The deep pocket on top holds a water bottle and/or umbrella. It has a very strong strap and is RFID protected. Hydration is important as you age, so the concept of this bag is genius! It fits a water bottle of up to 32 oz, but I brought a much smaller one.
2. A 9-oz refillable water bottle – Paris has excellent tap water and many public fountains for refills, so there was no need to carry a large and heavy water bottle. I bought a collapsible bottle before my trip but didn’t take it with me. However, that is another option.
3. A leather travel wallet – I used mine to store my passport and extra credit cards that I left in my hotel room. (It’s always best to split the location of your valuables) At the airport, I put my passport, credit cards, and phone in my Hydrobag, which I carried across my chest from Security until boarding. Then, all went into my Zipsak during the flight.
4. $100 in Euros – I ordered foreign currency from my bank at home before my trip to use for tips. It was all gone by the time I had to leave, so I left the housekeeping staff at my hotel U.S. dollars. I hope they weren’t mad. I spent them tipping the tour guides for the tours I booked. I also tipped my airport transfer driver. I could have bought more Euros from an ATM, but it was my last day, and I didn’t want to end up with extra.
5. Trtl travel pillow, which is not really a pillow but a wrap-around neck support. It allowed me to lean my head over slightly to snooze without pain. I have never liked travel pillows, but love my Trtl.
6. A blackout sleep mask. I wore this with the Trtl. Sleeping on an airplane is ALWAYS challenging for me, but I caught a few Zzzs wearing both. At one point, we had major turbulence, and both the mask, Trtl, and Melatonin calmed me down.
7. A TSA-approved battery charger by Anker. Battery chargers must be carried in your personal item bag because they contain lithium. They are an essential travel item in my opinion, because having a dead phone can cause endless problems. I brought two chargers thinking I would need them, but that was overkill. I only needed one for long days walking around Paris.
8. Other items I carried in my personal item bag were devices that required charging. They were my travel water flosser, electric toothbrush, and portable travel bidet. Don’t laugh, my travel bidet is my favorite travel essential. It’s been a game-changer for me! I probably could have put them in my checked suitcase, but the water flosser kept going off, and I didn’t want security to go through my suitcase.
9. Over-ear headphones – I find earbuds uncomfortable and prefer over-ear headphones. I didn’t use them on the airplane, but they were essential for listening to my GPS when I was walking around Paris. That way I could keep my phone zipped into my Hydrobag, leaving my hands free. Thieves target tourists with smartphones out in the open, so it’s best to keep it hidden.
10. Electronics bag – This zipped case held my charging cables and other electronic accessories.
11. Clear liquid bag – I brought my Tripped hanging toiletry kit, which comes with a clear bag for liquids.
12. Plastic flat liquid pouches for my favorite shampoo and conditioner. You can use them for any liquid item, as they don’t leak and are flat. However, my hotel room was stocked with a nice variety of soaps and shampoo, so they weren’t really necessary.
13. Bamboo/Merino wool compression socks. – I didn’t put them on until halfway through my flight to Paris, and wish I had worn them from the beginning. I love how comfortable they were and didn’t leave a dent in my leg afterward.
14. Passport, passport card, two credit cards with zero foreign transaction fees, two ATM cards, a list of contacts, and printed copies of my documents, including my ID and credit cards. Surprisingly, I never used my credit cards or cash. All payments were made with contactless pay. For me, that was Google Wallet, which I set up with one of my credit cards to make transactions in local currency only. It’s cheaper that way and so easy to use. I just swiped the back of my phone.
15. Lipstick and Chapstick – Your lips can get dry on an airplane. I applied lipstick a couple of times but couldn’t find my chapstick as it disappeared into my Zipsak. Unlike other travel influencers, I didn’t feel the need to pack an assortment of sprays and moisturizers for the flight. Plus, as I said before, it was almost impossible to bend over to find anything.
16. My Samsung Tablet, which I only needed in my hotel room to check email, etc. I didn’t use it on the plane, but you have to put it in your personal item. I watched the airline’s entertainment using the wired earphones the airline gave us.
17. Assorted antibacterial wipes and surgical masks – I never used them either. I only brought the masks in case someone near me was sneezing or coughing.
18. Android Air Tracker Tags – These help you find your luggage or purse if it gets lost. They are essential. If you have IOS, use Apple AirTags.
19. Small and large carabiners – Carabiners are great to take while traveling. I used the small ones to lock my crossbody zippers and the large ones to hang stuff.

Other travel gear I carried in my suitcase

1. Travel Umbrella – The umbrella I brought got a workout because it rained hard and was windy on several occasions. By the end of my trip, it was so thrashed I left it in Paris. I wish I could have left myself there. Next time, I will make sure to bring a windproof travel umbrella.
2. Gorilla Tripod – As a travel blogger, I needed a tripod for self-photos and videos, but, to be honest, I felt a little weird setting up shots as a 70ish influencer. A Gorilla tripod is small and flexible. You can wrap it around fences or benches to get shots.
3. An expandable tripod – I toted this tripod around, but again felt weird acting like an influencer at my age. I did use it in my hotel room to take shots of what I wore in Paris.
4. A lavalier microphone – This is another item I barely used because I wanted to enjoy the sights fully rather than try to narrate it on camera. I did voiceovers afterward instead.
5. A water-resistant tote bag to carry my tripods, umbrella, printed itinerary, and whatever I picked up along the way. The bag I brought turned out to be not as water-resistant as I thought, but it was still a good bag. I also love BeeGreen bags (pack of 6) and always use them for grocery shopping. They hold up to 50 lbs, fold up in your purse, and are washable.
6. Tripped and Epicka compression bags to pack my clothes. Compression bags make it easy to organize your clothes and make them fit in your suitcase. However, they are optional. I used them on my way to Paris, but going back, I laid out my clothing items over my suitcase and folded them over each other. That worked just as well.
7. Epicka Universal Plug Adaptor – This adapter works like a charm for EU, UK, and Asian Outlets. It adapts to 200+ countries and regions. I like that it has multiple USB ports. It isn’t a voltage converter, but I never needed one because I didn’t bring any appliances with me. If you do bring appliances like hair dryers/curlers, make sure they are dual voltage, and you won’t have to worry.
8. Carabiner Compass – I attached this cute little compass to my crossbody bag, and it came in handy when my GPS wanted me to turn in a direction I wasn’t sure of.
9. Travel First Aid Kit – I bought a sealed First Aid Packet with all the essentials. I also brought travel-sized Tylenol, Tums, Claritin, Tide Stick, and Melatonin gummies. I took some of the gummies to sleep but thankfully never needed anything else except for a Band-Aid for a toe blister.
10. Unscented detergent sheets for rinsing out dirty clothing. I didn’t use them but brought them in case I spilled something on myself. However, when I’m home,I wash my clothes with them all the time.

What travel essentials are non-negotiable for you when you travel? Please leave a comment and let us know.