Europe Edition Q+A With Em + Kate

Like all of our question series we answer everything separately and don’t read each others answers till we’re all done writing – keeps it more fun that way. Europe Edition…

Here we go!

1. Favorite place we visited?

Em: Paris!

Kate: I loved our time up in the outer Hebrides in Scotland.

2. Best meal you ate on the trip?

Em: This beautiful cheese board and insane chocolate mousse at a hotel in Paris.

Kate: Does chocolate croissants count as a meal?

3. Best item you brought home from Europe?

Em: Tunnex caramel wafer bars! The factory that makes these is about a 10 minute walk from where we stay in Scotland, and they are so good! Not too sweet and totally addicting.

Kate: I don’t usually buy big ticket items when I’m traveling (I always like to be able to return something if needed), but I splurged on this gorgeous dark green and navy purse by Cambridge Satchel Company. It’s made of beautiful thick leather & they monogramed my initials in the store. It was a really special experience getting to pick where my initials went, the stamp color and getting to see a test run of where it would be placed.

4. Worst slump of the trip?

Em: Probably the night we spend in Belgium when we were at the airport and they cancelled our flight back to Scotland. Traveling while not feeling well is, in my opinion, the absolute worst.

Kate: I think for me, the hardest part was not getting in our initial “rest” day at the very beginning of our trip. We had a flight delay & missed our first full day in Scotland so we had four flights four days straight in a row. It was really hard on my body being in the air that much. My muscles were extremely achy & my POTS was a mess.

5. Next time in Europe, bring more____?

Em: Tea bags from home. Such a simple way to ensure you can always have a good cup of tea you know you like and every restaurant/hotel has hot water!

Kate: Socks! My feet always get freezing (especially when I’m on a plane) because I also suffer from Raynaud’s Syndrome. I always bring one fuzzy pair of socks in my backpack but we were gone for over two weeks so I had to keep rewashing the same ones.

6. Best in flight movie watched?

Em: Love, Simon. Oh my gosh I was tearing up watching this… I swear every time I’m watching a movie on a plane I’m crying and scaring the person next to me

Kate: Molly’s Game. I had never heard of it before the flight and that was the only movie they were showing so I decided to give it a go – it was really enjoyable and made the time go by super quickly.

7. What’s one thing you wish you knew heading into such a long and busy trip?

Em: Pop into more local grocery stores and stock up on food so you can snack throughout the day sometime, rather than going out for meal after meal. Costs add up quickly and sometimes it’s nicer to enjoy a casual snack parked on a bench outside in front of a pretty view.

Kate: Pace yourself. It’s okay not to see and do absolutely everything. Make a list of the top thing’s you want to see/do so you know in advance what you’re trying to hit.

8. A great silver lining to coming home after 2 weeks away is?

Em: Having multiple episodes of The Bachelorette to come home to and binge.

Kate: Seeing my pup Oban (who is actually named after one of the places we went to in Scotland).

9. Most useful health related product you brought?

Em: Doctor’s Best Fully Activated B vitamins, really helpful for sustaining energy for such long and demanding days.

Kate: Electrolytes! I brought individual packets of Ultima replenisher as well as a few bottles of Nuun tablets (for when I was needing extra sodium). Such a huge help when I was slumping.

10. Most useful skin care product you brought on the Europe trip?

Em: Herbavoire Blue Tansy mask is a really hydrating mask that plumps up my skin and evens out the skin tone, and for the nights we spend it, it felt decadent to pamper yourself with a face mask.

Kate: Neutrogena oil-free moisture with sunscreen is also a great moisturizer+sunblock combo that lasted all day & doesn’t irritate my super sensitive skin.