Suitcases on Cobblestone Streets

02022-07-07 | Jon Gagan, Lx, Touring, Travel

Venice is cursed. I walked cursed Venice in a cloud of confusion. Why did so many people bring so many roller suitcases? Did they not know they were coming to Venice? Did they not know Venice has a stone-stepped bridge every fifty yards? Sweat soaked beneath the savage sun, they heaved their suitcases — all of which were big enough to hide a dismembered body or two — up and down and huffed and seemed distraught at the amount of heaving required to make headway.

Walking Venice — Ridgeline issue 144

This opening paragraph from Craig Mod’s very enjoyable Ridgeline Newsletter could have been written about Lisbon as well. One hears them from afar, the tourists’ suitcases clattering up or down steep cobblestone streets, their wheels squealing from the abuse while the people get the workout of their lives. Mod calls this noise the Rimowa Thunderdome.

Some cities have cobblestone streets while the sidewalks are concrete or asphalt or otherwise fairly smooth. Not Lisbon. Here many sidewalks are made from a different color cobblestone, a smooth beige stone that becomes super treacherous when it rains. I am still experimenting with different pairs of shoes, hoping to find some that offer enough grip during a rain shower, so as not to break a leg. The experience of walking on snow in Santa Fe for thirty years gave my body the very useful ability to react to a slipping foot without going down. So far so good.

What’s the ideal baggage for travel? I don’t think there is one right way. Jon is in the duffel camp and has carried a Tumi duffel for at least two decades. It’s traveled all over the world and has been repaired several times. I used to be a duffel man but a few years ago I switched to a suitcase. There are times when it is so much easier to push a suitcase with one hand (those wheels have become really great, haven’t they!), with my backpack riding on top of the suitcase and the guitar case slung over the other shoulder, while Jon carries his bass case (not exactly light!) in one hand and the Tumi in the other. But arrive at a cobblestone street and he is the one smiling while I have to put the backpack on my back, hold on to the slipping shoulder strap of the guitar case, and drag the suitcase along pitifully.

A few things I have learned:

    – we carry more than we need to and could make do with less
    – be aware of the terrain of your destination
    – will you ride to the hotel or will you need to walk and carry or pull your luggage
    – suitcases, especially hard plastic or metal cases, break like oak trees while duffels can bend like bamboo
    – can your luggage be repaired or will it need to be replaced?

Even if a company replaces the broken suitcase, as they did with mine after the frame got bent, it would no longer lock properly, and a wheel came off, it’s a waste of materials and not a good solution.

Back to the clattering suitcases on cobblestone streets and sidewalks… Take heed and don’t start your journey with a long and exhausting and noisy nightmare of a walk.

View

02021-11-15 | Photos, Travel

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Early morning view out of a hotel room window, last week. I like this photo because it seems part of a story, like a still image from a movie. There is tension and I can almost hear the music informing us that something is about to happen.

Sunday Morning

02021-11-07 | Phone, Photos, Santa Fe, Travel



I woke up early and went for a walk. Many trees in town are showing gorgeous autumn colors. Took a few phone snaps. What’s the best camera? The one you are carrying. It was the coldest I have felt in months, but the clear mountain air was a pleasure.

The Perfect Cup

02019-05-14 | Travel

The perfect cup doesn’t exist, but some cups are more perfect than others. For many years I have been carrying my own cup when I travel, for coffee, for tea, for drinking water at the venue. I also always carry chopsticks with me and sometimes a bowl.

For a few years I used a Keep Cup. That mug is made from sturdy glass with a ring of plastic, so one can touch it without burning oneself, and a plastic top. The advantage of glass is that it is taste-neutral and one can switch from coffee to tea or water without the mug retaining the coffee scent – as stainless steel mugs always do. However, I discovered that steam from hot coffee or tea works its way up and around the top and then drips down onto my hands and the floor. Not a lot, but too much. So I was looking for a new mug. It must not be steel, because I don’t like the taste.

I looked at Snow Peak, a Japanese company that specializes in Titanium ware. This is a double-walled titanium mug from Snow Peak with a top from Klean Kanteen, which happens to fit perfectly:
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The mug is super sturdy and yet very light. Snow Peak make a similar cup with folding handles but I don’t need handles with a double-walled mug because it never becomes too hot to handle. They also make a top for the mug but I like the sleek Klean Kanteen top better. So far I am very happy with the mug. Titanium is taste neutral and the cup never spills a drop.