Road to France Pt. VII - Travel Tech

Time for another travel-related post! Don’t hate me.

I don’t know about you, but even on vacation I have a ton of tech with me. I don’t like being completely disconnected, so I tend to bring more equipment with me than I probably should. So here are some of my tech must-haves.

Plug Adapters –

Plugs in the US don’t match those in Europe, so good luck trying to charge any of your gadgets without at least one of these. I bought plug adapters to save myself that frustration, and I get the most bang for my buck by buying these off Amazon. I bought these Type E/F adapters for a steal at 3 for $7.25. These work in Germany, France, and some other European countries, so they’re perfect for my needs.  

Camera Equipment–

My trusty Nikon D3200 will be accompanying me on this trip, and she’ll be my most faithful companion, apart from my mother, obviously. But my DSLR needs a lot of TLC considering how much I’ll be using it. So I make sure to carry two ENEL14a rechargeable batteries and two 16GB SanDisk memory cards. This might seem like overkill, but I can’t think of what would be worse than missing a photo-op because of a dead battery or lack of memory. I’ll also be bringing my two camera lens because…why not?

Kindle Fire HDX –

Except for that time I went to London while writing my senior thesis, I am against bringing my laptop on trips. Laptops are heavy and take up a lot of room, and I don’t want to be tempted to spend my time in my hotel room. With my Kindle though, I still get some connectivity without the temptation of sitting in front of my laptop for hours and hours. Plus, it’s great for reading books and magazines on the plane. This is like the one time when I’d ever promote e-book use.

iPhone –

Because who goes anywhere without their phone nowadays? I always get the global plan added by phone provider so that I can use my iPhone overseas which saves me a few bucks. I tend to rely only on data when I’m abroad though for sending quick messages through WhatsApp, uploading photos to Instagram, updating Facebook and Twitter, and the occasional glance at Google Maps. I really only send text messages in emergencies, and the same goes for calls.