My romantic trip to Rome got saved by a pair of compression cubes

I was in Rome last June and my girlfriend packed a full sized suitcase for a 4 day trip. She laughed at my single carry-on until we had to haul her bag up 4 flights of stairs at our Airbnb near the Colosseum. The steps were so narrow her luggage barely fit, and I just walked right up with my backpack. She asked me to show her my packing system the next morning, and now she swears by compression cubes too. Has anyone else had a partner convert after a tough luggage moment on a trip?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jennifer19d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy Mark learned this lesson the hard way in Prague. He showed up with a giant duffel bag for a weekend trip and his girlfriend had one of those tiny hard shell rollers. They took a tram to their hotel and he had to carry his bag up about 50 steps from the station. She just wheeled hers right along. Next day he went out and bought two compression cubes and a smaller backpack. Now he brags about fitting everything for a week in that thing.

bettym8919d ago

100% been there. Feels like Mark's girlfriend has been living in the future while the rest of us are still packing like it's 1999. @the_jennifer, that tram and stair combo is basically the final boss of bad travel decisions. I remember hauling my own duffel up three flights of stairs in a Berlin hostel while my sister rolled her little carry-on right past me. She didn't even look tired. Now I own three different packing cubes and I'm down to a 25 liter backpack for trips under a week. It does feel like cheating but in the best way.