What I Packed for Paris at 72: The Travel Essentials That Worked—and the Ones I’d Leave Home Next Time

A while back, I wrote a post about essential travel gear for women over 50. Then I took a 7-day solo trip to Paris, France. Some of the items I brought with me worked very well, and some did not. In this post, I am giving you my honest opinion of what travel essentials I would take the next time I travel and what I would leave behind.

As an older female traveler, my goal was to pack as lightly as possible, but still have what I needed to be comfortable. I didn’t want to have to drag a heavy suitcase around.

I originally wanted to travel carry-on only, but that hope was dashed because of Air France’s strict weight and size limits for carry-on items. Unless you never change your clothes for your entire trip, flying carry-on only in economy is nearly impossible on some international flights. At the gate, they asked us to only bring one item on the plane because it was full.

I checked my Away 21.7″ x 14.4″ x 9 hardshell suitcase and carried my lightweight Biaggi Zipsak on the airplane with my crossbody bag inside. The Zipsak was supposed to fit over my suitcase handle with its handy trolley strap, but instead I had to hoist it on my back for what seemed to be miles to get through security, to the gate at LAX, and again through customs and baggage claim in Paris.

Next time I fly international, my personal item bag MUST have wheels.

I spent about a year collecting essential travel gear based on other bloggers and travel experts. To be honest, I bought a lot of useless crap that I didn’t end up using. I hope I will help you avoid those mistakes.

These are the travel essentials I packed in my Zipsak.

1. My Wanderfull Hydrobag – This is a functional crossbody bag 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!
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 water bottle. It was another winner.
3. A leather travel wallet – I used it to store my passport and extra credit cards that I left in my hotel room. 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, it went into my Zipsak.
4. $100 in Euros – I ordered them from my bank at home to use for tips. They were gone by the end of my trip, so I had to leave the housekeeping staff at my hotel with U.S. dollars. I hope they weren’t mad. My Euros were spent tipping the tour guides for the four tours I booked. I also tipped my airport transfer driver. I should have taken at least $20 more in Euros from an ATM, but it was my last day, and I didn’t want to end up with extra Euros.
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 loved my Trtl.
6. A blackout sleep mask. I wore this with the Trtl. Sleeping on an airplane is challenging for me, but I caught a few Zzzs wearing both. At one point, we had major turbulence, and they both calmed me down. Who knew?
7. Two TSA-approved battery chargers by Anker. Battery chargers must be carried in your personal item bag because they contain lithium. However, two chargers were overkill. I only needed one for long days walking around Paris.
8. Other items I carried in my personal item bag that required charging included my travel water flosser, electric toothbrush, and a portable travel bidet. Don’t laugh, my travel bidet is my favorite travel essential. I absolutely love it! I probably could have gotten away with putting them in my suitcase, but the water flosser kept going off, and I didn’t want security to go through my suitcase.
9. Over-ear earphones – I find earbuds to be uncomfortable and prefer over-ear headphones. I never used them on the airplane, but they were essential for listening to my GPS when I was walking around Paris. I zipped my phone in my crossbody bag, which left my hands free. Also, thieves target tourists who have their smartphones out in the open.
10. Electronics bag – This zipped bag held all my charging cables, a set of wired earbuds that I didn’t use, and an extra pair of over-ear headphones, which I also never used. The airline gave each of us wired earbuds, which I used to watch in-flight entertainment.
11. Clear liquid bag – My clear bag came with my hanging toiletry kit, which was in my suitcase. I also put my liquids in a quart-sized baggy in case of leaks.
12. Plastic flat liquid pouches for my shampoo and conditioner. You can use them for any liquid item, as they don’t leak and are flat. My hotel had shampoo and conditioner, so they weren’t really necessary.
13. A pair of loafers, in addition to my ASICS Gel Kayano 32 sneakers, which I wore on the plane. My Zipsak has a zippered bottom that works well for shoes. I only wore the loafers once in Paris when I walked a couple of blocks to a restaurant for dinner.
14. Bamboo/Merino wool compression socks. – I didn’t put them on until halfway through my flight to Paris, and my legs thanked me. They are very comfortable and not too tight.
15. 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.
16. Lipstick and Chapstick – I applied lipstick a couple of times, having forgotten where the Chapstick was.
17. My Samsung Tablet, which I only needed in my hotel room to check email, etc.
18. Assorted antibacterial wipes and surgical masks – I never used them either. My economy seat was too squishy to pull stuff out of my Zipsak. I only brought the masks in case someone near me was sneezing or coughing.
19. 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.
20. Small carabiners – These were for locking my crossbody zippers, and large carabiners for hanging objects like my water bottle. They came in handy, although I couldn’t find a place to use one on the airplane.

Other travel gear I carried in my suitcase

1. Travel Umbrella – It got a workout because it rained and was windy on several occasions. It was so thrashed that on the last day, I deliberately 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 photos and videos, but I only used it once at the Medici Fountain and still took sucky photos of myself. I felt weird as a 72-year-old influencer setting up a photo shoot while I was wandering around Paris. A Gorilla tripod is small, and you can wrap it around fences or benches to get shots.
3. An expandable tripod – I used this in my hotel to take fashion selfie shots before I left each morning. I also toted it around, but never set it up outside.
4. A lavalier microphone – I deliberately didn’t talk when I shot videos in Paris and was going to add voice-overs later. I did use my mic once to make a video in my hotel room. You see influencers waving these tiny mics around, but they are supposed to be attached to your clothing. It makes me crazy as a voice actor to see this.
5. A water-resistant tote bag to carry my tripods, umbrella, printed itinerary, and whatever I picked up along the way. It turned out to be not as water-resistant as I thought, but it was still a good bag.
6. Tripped and Epicka compression bags to pack my clothes so I could close my suitcase. I’m glad I used them.
7. Epicka Universal Plug Adaptor – This adapter works like a charm for EU, UK, and Asian Outlets. It adapts to 200+ countries and regions, but it is a bit bulky. There are flatter outlet adapters available. I liked it because it has 4 USB – A and one USB-C port. I also had an additional EU plug adaptor, but didn’t really need it. The Epicka adaptor isn’t a voltage converter, but I never needed one.
8. Carabiner Compass – I attached this cute little compass to my crossbody bag, and it came in handy when my GPS wanted me to go in a certain direction.
9. Travel First Aid Kit – I bought a sealed First Aid Packet with all the essentials. The only thing I used was a Band-Aid for a blister on my big toe, but you never know. I also brought travel-sized Tylenol, Tums, Claritin, and a Tide Stick, which I also never used. I did take some Natrol Melatonin gummies to help me sleep.
10. Unscented detergent sheets for rinsing out dirty clothing. I never used them on my trip, but I wash my clothes with them all the time at home.

You can see what I wore in Paris here.

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