This fall Rob and I spent five weeks in Spain based out of Barcelona.

It start out back in the spring, Rob texted me asking “do you want to go to Spain?” I responded with “yes, I mean that’s always been a place I’ve been interested in going, but what’s up, why now?” to which he responded that he’d found really cheap tickets, a sale or possibly a mistake fare. “Should I buy them?” he asked. I considered what that would mean. At the time I was unemployed, but I was hoping that I would be working by September! It would be hard to take time off, especially five weeks in the first six months of a new job. But in the end I figured, that even though my employment future was fuzzy, we’d cross that bridge when we got there. “Hell yes, buy those tickets!”

Flash forward to September and it was time to get packing. Fall in Barcelona is probably the best time of year. It’s still warm enough to go to the beach most days, but towards the end of October there is a little crisp in the air and it starts to feel like fall.

I knew layers would be my friend.

And while I might have over packed a bit (two pairs of tennies probably wasn’t necessary, but whatever, I like them both), our trip was over a month long and included a few little side excursions. I feel like I wore everything I packed and didn’t get bored having to repeat outfits over those five weeks.

So here is my actual packing list for five weeks in Spain with the clothes I packed and wore.

1.Striped Tee (similar) // 2. Short Sleeved Chambray // 3. Light Flannel // 4. Geometric Tank Top // 5. Wander Forever Tank // 6. Patterned Blouse (similar) // 7. White Tee // 8. Dark Gray Tee // 9. Light Gray Tank // 10. Black Jeans // 11. Blue Jeans // 12. Joggers // 13. Red Dress (similar) // 14. Chambray Dress (similar) // 15. Tee Shirt Dress // 16. Jean Jacket // 17. Cardigan Sweater // 18. Jean Shorts // 19. Swimsuit // 20. Crew Neck Sweatshirt // 21. Flip Flops // 22. Floral Headband // 23. Felt Hat // 24. Maroon Tennies // 25. White Tennies // 26. Booties

When I pack for any trip I try to keep to a certain palate so that all my clothes will go together and I won’t be stuck with any pieces that don’t go with anything. As you can see I went with mostly blues and grays, with pops of red and maroon.

Packing for activities and temperature

Barcelona is a lot like San Francisco, there are lots of good restaurants and bars so I knew I’d want cute but casual clothes for going out at night. While shorts and tee shirts would be fine for running around the city during the warm and humid days. I did a good amount of sight seeing and wandering through the twisty alley ways so having a good pair of tennies was a must.

When the weather started to cool down I was happy to have my sweaters and jean jacket, it never got real cold, but definitely cool enough to want another layer.

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My packing philosophy

I am a big believer in packing clothes that you like. That might sounds silly, but if you don’t wear something at home during your everyday life you probably aren’t going to wear it while visiting somewhere new. I like to think of my packing list like a mini capsule wardrobe, after taking activities and weather into account I pack only my favorite pieces of clothing. Because that’s what I’ll feel comfortable in and what I’m going to want to wear. Ever once in a while I’ll get in in my head that I should get a pair of those “travel pants” or something like that, but the problem is I never end up wearing them and always defaulting back to my favorite jeans. So pack what you love and that way you’ll always feel comfortable and cute.

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