Backpack Luggage (was: Planning Italy Trip, need advice)

On Jul 29, 8:55 pm, Iceman wrote:
On Jul 29, 8:37 pm, Bruce Stemplewski
wrote:

VainGlorious wrote:
I'd go with a plain old simple small backpack. I traveled for two weeks
by bike with just small panniers and a medium sized backpack. But I
had to carry tools, spare parts etc. I would think one could travel
nicely with a medium sized backpack. Lavenderia are plentiful and
washing your clothes at one is a great way to meet the local people.

I will add that almost all laundromats in European tourist areas will
wash your clothes for you and let you pick them up at the end of the
day for a small fee, so you don't have to waste precious vacation time
doing it yourself.

Are there any chains that operate in the major cities which have a
good reputation for being reliable?

On Jul 30, 4:49 pm, Thornhill wrote:
On Jul 29, 8:55 pm, Iceman wrote:

On Jul 29, 8:37 pm, Bruce Stemplewski
wrote:

VainGlorious wrote:
I'd go with a plain old simple small backpack. I traveled for two weeks
by bike with just small panniers and a medium sized backpack. But I
had to carry tools, spare parts etc. I would think one could travel
nicely with a medium sized backpack. Lavenderia are plentiful and
washing your clothes at one is a great way to meet the local people.

I will add that almost all laundromats in European tourist areas will
wash your clothes for you and let you pick them up at the end of the
day for a small fee, so you don't have to waste precious vacation time
doing it yourself.

Are there any chains that operate in the major cities which have a
good reputation for being reliable?


They aren't chains - just individual laundromats that will do a
"service wash".

I wouldn't give them an Armani suit, but if you give them T-shirts and
jeans you are highly unlikely to have anything damaged or lost.

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:10:58 +0200, Martin wrote:

If it looks normal to you, it could well be broadband then- as so much
video content nowadays is. (When I watch BBC stuff using real player, it
gives you the baud rate.) Does it have a reasonable amount of
definition?

Not at full screen mode

It does if I specify high quality.

224 Kbps gives you acceptable fullscreen video? That's incredibly
good - news is pretty easy to encode generally though, but that is an
incredible bit-rate for "normal" full screen video.

Jim.

On Jul 30, 4:54 pm, Iceman wrote:
On Jul 30, 4:49 pm, Thornhill wrote:



On Jul 29, 8:55 pm, Iceman wrote:

On Jul 29, 8:37 pm, Bruce Stemplewski
wrote:

VainGlorious wrote:
I'd go with a plain old simple small backpack. I traveled for two weeks
by bike with just small panniers and a medium sized backpack. But I
had to carry tools, spare parts etc. I would think one could travel
nicely with a medium sized backpack. Lavenderia are plentiful and
washing your clothes at one is a great way to meet the local people.

I will add that almost all laundromats in European tourist areas will
wash your clothes for you and let you pick them up at the end of the
day for a small fee, so you don't have to waste precious vacation time
doing it yourself.

Are there any chains that operate in the major cities which have a
good reputation for being reliable?

They aren't chains - just individual laundromats that will do a
"service wash".

I wouldn't give them an Armani suit, but if you give them T-shirts and
jeans you are highly unlikely to have anything damaged or lost.

Starting such a chain seems like a lucrative business seeing how
extremely expensive hotel laundry service is.

On Jul 30, 7:14 pm, Thornhill wrote:
On Jul 30, 4:54 pm, Iceman wrote:
On Jul 30, 4:49 pm, Thornhill wrote:
Are there any chains that operate in the major cities which have a
good reputation for being reliable?

They aren't chains - just individual laundromats that will do a
"service wash".

I wouldn't give them an Armani suit, but if you give them T-shirts and
jeans you are highly unlikely to have anything damaged or lost.

Starting such a chain seems like a lucrative business seeing how
extremely expensive hotel laundry service is.


You usually see a lot of laundries in backpacker areas - rather than
in the neighborhoods with expensive hotels, since the rents are too
high there.

Following up to B :

I remember someone who used to post to this group saying that after a
few days, she was talking to her suitcase, trying to train it to
follow her.

rotfl!
Who was that?
--
Tim C.

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:49:57 -0000, Thornhill
wrote:

[ laundromats]

Are there any chains that operate in the major cities which have a
good reputation for being reliable?

Chains or franchises of any sort are a rare thing in Italy. Most
businesses are owner operated.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 23:14:54 -0000, Thornhill
wrote:

Starting such a chain seems like a lucrative business seeing how
extremely expensive hotel laundry service is.

Almost all Italians have a washer at home, and almost no one uses a
dryer, or even wants one. A laundromat tends to serve only tourists
and the poor, so they're not found in most towns which don't have
enough of either to keep the business running.

Italians do use professional laundries, which are common all over.
(There are three in the center of my small town, and several more in
the outskirts.) These laundries do all sorts of washing and cleaning,
including some very specialized tasks, and will usually also do
mending. They are not very expensive. I don't think a franchise would
have much chance of competing with them.

--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 08:13:41 +0200, Tim C.
wrote:

Following up to B :

I remember someone who used to post to this group saying that after a
few days, she was talking to her suitcase, trying to train it to
follow her.

rotfl!
Who was that?

I think her name was Daisy; she travelled a lot in Spain.

--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 06:27:03 -0700, me
wrote:


Dunno much about Mr. Steves, and I probably should see this
bit of advice in its orginal context, but on the surface this looks
like some of the dumbest advice I can imagine. If you
have to walk a mile to your destination, take transportation.
I've rolled a bag a long way, but I'm not sure I've ever lugged
one a mile. I do alot of walking on vacation, but when transporting
luggage I'm more than willing to take a cab, bus, or shuttle to
get to the hotel.

I don't see the choice of a convertible backpack as "dumb". They come
in sizes similar to luggage and offer freedom of movement for
travelers. What's the drawback?

Sure, if you arrive at a big city at a reasonable hour, you can
probably hail a cab and dump your luggage in the trunk (and pay dearly
for the luxury of cab). But some of us enjoy staying at small places
off the beaten track. Try hailing a cab at 11:45pm in Newport Pagnell.
That town may be the home of Aston Martin, but you'll be hard pressed
to find a cab at that hour.

Furthermore, independent travel can often mean unpredictable
circumstances. You may find yourself marooned in a place you had not
planned on being marooned in. There's a story in this thread of an
elderly couple stumbling up and down the arched bridges of Venice with
their big wheeled bags (I've seen this dynamic firsthand; I was glad I
stayed on Lido). Most able folks can walk many miles comfortably with
a backpack. Lugging a wheeled suitcase for miles quite simply *sucks*.

I am currently in the market for a convertible pack. My next trip will
probably be the Yucatan and Belize. I'll be damned if I'm going to
haul some suitcase on/off buses and down dirt roads.

- TR
- there's always a naysayer.