Packing a Suitcase | Cozy Travel Rituals to Quiet Your Mind

Looking for a relaxing sleep podcast to help you unwind, quiet busy thoughts, or gently fall asleep? In this episode of The Insomnia Project, Marco and Amanda settle into a calm, meandering conversation about the simple ritual of packing a suitcase.
From Amanda’s beloved neck pillow — and how she always makes room for it — to Marco’s thoughtful packing habits (including what he tucks inside his shoes), the conversation drifts through the small, personal details that can make travel feel comforting. Along the way, Amanda shares a slightly “spilly” day, and Marco reflects on the surprise of discovering a birthday card months after it was meant to be opened.
As always, this is a low-stakes, soothing conversation designed to quiet racing thoughts and ease you into rest. Whether you’re lying awake at night, winding down after a long day, or listening at work to stay calm and focused, this gentle sleep podcast offers a peaceful space where nothing is urgent.
So if you’re looking for a cozy sleep podcast, soft bedtime listening, or a relaxing audio companion, let this episode guide you toward calm.
If you enjoy the show, consider sharing it with someone who could use a little extra quiet.
We’d love to hear from you: what’s one essential item you always pack in your suitcase?
#sleeppodcast #insomniarelief #fallasleepfast #calmpodcast #sleepcast #relaxingaudio #bedtimeroutine

Packing a Suitcase | Calm Conversations for a Restful Journey
The Insomnia Project podcast is meant to soothe you and relax you
Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to soothe you, relax you, chill you at work, and most of all, help you drift off to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
Marco Timpano: Of course, if you want ad free episodes of our podcast, you could go to YouTube and watch, and listen on YouTube or go to the InsideProject Supercast CA and follow us there. And Amanda, you know our backpack episode was very popular.
Amanda Barker: It is very popular. And now that we've got the housekeeping set aside, I just want to give everybody the permission. You have our permission and the world's permission to close your eyes, sit back, take a big deep exhale, and just follow the conversation.
I wanted to talk about packing a suitcase since the backpack episode was so popular
Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk about packing a suitcase since the backpack episode was so popular. Okay, so tell me, Amanda, for me,
Amanda Barker: the backpack was popular for the reason that I would. I like containment and I like following, things that are contained. I don't feel the same way about a suitcase as I feel about a backpack.
Marco Timpano: How do you pack yours?
Amanda Barker: I will say this. What I do like to pack. Is the, the challenge I most love is actually when we don't have a suitcase and we travel with just the backpack and the neck roll.
Marco Timpano: Okay, tell us about the neck roll.
Amanda Barker: Are you okay with that?
Marco Timpano: of course. And then I'll talk about how I pack my suitcase.
Amanda Barker: That's fine. Great.
Amanda uses a neck roll on a plane to relax on long flights
So the neck roll, if you don't know about the magic that is the neck roll, then let me invite you to the community of neck roll.
Marco Timpano: And I should just clarify neck necker roll.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: Because it sounds like you're saying. It sounds like you're saying one word. Neckerel. And so people might be thinking it's
Amanda Barker: now called a neckerel.
Marco Timpano: The neckerel.
Amanda Barker: That's what it's called. Like almost rhymes with mackerel.
Marco Timpano: Okay.
Amanda Barker: this is something that has changed my travel game. It is a pillow that clips. It's a long tube that has a zipper. It is made of like a nice velvety soft material. You open it up and you can gently roll whatever you'd like to fill this pillow. And then it clips on both ends and becomes a neck pillow.
Marco Timpano: So it's a zippered item that you fill with certain clothing.
Marco Timpano: And it becomes like a sausage.
Amanda Barker: That's right.
Marco Timpano: You then zip it.
Amanda Barker: Yes.
Marco Timpano: And then the two clips on either end clip together.
Amanda Barker: That's right.
Marco Timpano: And it forms a circle or a
Amanda Barker: c. Quite a large and substantial neck pillow that has. If you like a neck pillow on a plane, well then get ready because this thing is. One guy came on a plane once, like he was boarding and I was sitting and he went, well, that's a real neck pillow. And I was like, yes, it is, thank you very much. I take my neck pillows very seriously. It's also my luggage. I didn't tell them that part, but I actually like. What I like about it is it does have the clip on the end with like a little circle on the end and then you can clip it on. And then I use that clip. And when we do a really long flight, which we haven't done actually in a while, but when we do one of those long hauls, you know, overseas, you know, one of those long haul kind of flights, I like about halfway through going into the airport bathroom, clipping that little clip, hanging it down, I gently unzip it so that things don't come tumbling out. They're all kind of stuffed and have found their little place in there, so they usually are fine. I'm going to tell you something. I get completely naked in that bathroom in an airport. In an airline bathroom.
Marco Timpano: Oh, on the airplane.
Amanda Barker: Sometimes in an airport, but more likely on the plane itself. So, okay, so say it's like. Let's say it's a 12 hour flight. Around hour six or seven, time for Amanda and her neck pillow to go to the bathroom. I go into the bathroom, I take all of my clothes off.
Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
Amanda Barker: I have a little wipe.
Marco Timpano: Okay.
Amanda Barker: I do a little wipe down.
Marco Timpano: Okay. We don't need any more.
Amanda Barker: No, I'm not getting specific. I'm just saying I do a little wipe down.
Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
Amanda Barker: you can imagine what you want.
Marco Timpano: Okay.
Amanda Barker: He's trying to. Trying to cancel me.
Marco Timpano: I'm not trying to cancel you.
Amanda Barker: Editing me. We all know what a wipe down is.
Marco Timpano: All right.
Amanda Barker: It doesn't even matter. But like, even my hands like stuff like that.
Marco Timpano: Sure.
Amanda Barker: And then I put an entirely new outfit on, courtesy of neck pillow. Neck roller.
Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
Amanda Barker: And then I walk back feeling all refreshed, like I've just had a nice little change. And that's how I stay. I don't know, just feeling good on the flight. Like I feel like I've. It almost feels like a new flight.
Marco Timpano: That's how you roll, I guess. Right?
Amanda Barker: That's how I.
Marco Timpano: Pardon the pun.
Amanda Barker: Yeah.
Halifax listens to this podcast and gives me great feedback
So, yeah, I usually like, if we are going to say Halifax, which I want to soon, and we haven't planned
Marco Timpano: it, we need to figure that out.
Amanda Barker: I know. And Halifax is listening to this.
Marco Timpano: Halifax listens and gives me great feedback and I love Halifax for it.
Amanda Barker: And apparently Halifax likes it better when I'm not here.
Marco Timpano: Well, listen is what I heard. Halifax did not say that. Halifax said that they liked my solo episode. That's all they said, really.
Amanda Barker: Halifax is beautiful and supportive and we love Halifax, which is, these are family members. however, my sister in law
Marco Timpano: listens to this podcast and I couldn't be happier, I have to say.
Amanda Barker: I know. She's so lovely. So, if I were going out there and I have done this, a few trips to Halifax, I usually get a nice cheap flight. And I don't pay the extra for the carry on or for the. I just have the personal item, which is everyone's favorite, my yellow backpack. And now it's accoutrement the neck roll that I sometimes clip to the backpack or clip to my head like around my neck. And so that'll usually have two or three pairs of socks, obviously changes of underwear, a couple of shirts, maybe something like a nicer shirt that doesn't wrinkle something more comfy as well. And I usually wear whatever jeans I'm planning on wearing. If, say it's a three, four day trip, then I'll just wear whatever jeans. But I'll always have another pair of pants. Like a thin black pair of pants that goes in there. Really? You can only fit maybe one, maybe two, but you can usually get three or four shirts in there as well. Now the only thing that doesn't.
Marco Timpano: Well, I mean, your shirt, my shirt, you wouldn't be able to get through. You'd be lucky.
Amanda Barker: Depends on the shirt. Yeah, you know, something more casual, something less casual that doesn't wrinkle.
Marco Timpano: For the record, I could probably not even get one shirt in there.
Amanda Barker: That's not true. You use. You use it too.
Marco Timpano: I can get it like a little thin, like a. Not a buttoned up shirt, like just a.
Amanda Barker: Well, and we wear layers too. Like we'll wear a sweater over a shirt on the plane anyway. But. But, the only thing I can't usually get is pajamas. So I either just ask whoever I'm staying with, hey, do you have an extra set of, you know, sweatpants or T shirt or whatever? Or. I've done this. I've just ordered pajamas. Just the cheapest pair. One time I stayed there in April and I ordered Christmas pajamas because they were like $10, you know, and they were like quite big, but. But $10 Christmas pajamas. And I just wore those for three days and just left them there, after which, you know, isn't the most environmental choice. I get it.
Marco Timpano: But sometimes, unless you use them again next time you're there.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, but then you don't want your host to have to keep your old pajamas around, even if you've only worn them a few times. But hey, free pajamas for them if they want them.
Marco Timpano: Sure.
Amanda Barker: I don't know who wanted my Christmas pajamas, but somebody might have.
Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Amanda Barker: So that's my neck roll.
Amanda's backpack tends to spill out a lot of things these days
Marco Timpano: Amanda's backpack, which is bright yellow, tends to spill out a lot of things these days.
Amanda Barker: I have to say that's not something that's completely true. And I don't know how that's soothing for our listeners at all when we've established that the backpack is orderly and secure. Yes, we've been traveling a lot, and my life has been a little bit chaotic and messy in these last few weeks. So, yeah, there was a bit of spillage today. In fact, it was recent, so that's why he's saying that.
Marco Timpano: And you had a little spill earlier today too, but not with the backpack. No, with the shepherd's pie.
Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't even think of that. Listen, it was a spilly day. I spilled my coffee this morning. I spilt shepherd's. I made a beautiful shepherd's pie with lentils. I don't use ground beef, usually because we're not the Rockefellers, so I make it with lentils. but it's my. Like, it's my stage two with lentils. I make a big pot of lentils, and we have that with some bread, you know, almost like baked beans. And then that becomes the basis of my shepherd's pie, and I mix it up with vegetables. And then I had a lot of potatoes, so I made mashed potatoes today. And I made one shepherd's pie for us, and then three little casseroles that I put in the freezer. So those lentils. I'm getting a lot of mileage. Two cups of lentils, man, dry. Turn into a big old pot of a crock pot full of, lentil goodness.
Marco Timpano: Nothing wrong with that. Unless you're trying to put the shepherd's pie into your yellow backpack and then spill it everywhere.
Amanda Barker: Why are you making disturbing ideas for our listeners who ask to be soothed?
Marco Timpano: You didn't finish how you spilled the shepherd's pie.
Amanda Barker: Well, I spilt it. I took it out of the oven, and it slipped in my big, gigantic silicone oven mitts. And splash, splishity splash. All over the oven, all over the wall. later. I found it on my toes. Oh, so it really got everywhere.
Marco Timpano: Little bonus.
Amanda takes you through how she packs her suitcase
All right, so I'm gonna take you through how I pack my suitcase, because that's where we were gonna go with it.
Amanda Barker: Should I do disturbing comments that'll unsettle everybody?
Marco Timpano: You should never do disturbing comments on this podcast.
Amanda Barker: That's what you've been. I've been trying to create soothing ideas, and then you rat me out.
Marco Timpano: I don't rat anybody out.
Amanda Barker: You're like, amanda tends to do this awful thing. That's your contribution.
Marco Timpano: Your backpack spills a bit. Okay?
Amanda Barker: You spill a lot of things, too.
Marco Timpano: It's true. But my backpack. So my backpack doesn't spill. But it's all black, and the zipper pulls are all black, too. So I can't find the zipper pulls because there's a lot of areas to zipper.
Amanda Barker: But you have a good system for that.
Marco Timpano: Now I put bright m. Neon, elastic bands around the zippers. So smart.
Amanda Barker: So you know which one is which.
Marco Timpano: It doesn't look stylish anymore. It looks a little bit.
Amanda Barker: I mean, Black backpack is not the epitome of style. You're not on the catwalk.
Marco Timpano: This one here. The style is that everything blends together. So you can't tell where a zipper is. The problem is I can't tell where a zipper is, so.
Amanda Barker: Right.
Marco Timpano: It's problematic. But when it comes to my suitcase, what I usually like to do is, you know, there's always one part of the suitcase that has like these bumps in it.
Marco Timpano: That's where.
Amanda Barker: Where the pulley thing lives.
Marco Timpano: Yeah. So, kind of like where the. Where the. What's that book called? Where the Monsters Live.
Amanda Barker: Where the Wild Things Are.
Marco Timpano: Well, the wild things are like you're
Amanda Barker: where the monsters live.
Marco Timpano: I just can only picture the.
Amanda Barker: The monsters.
Marco Timpano: Yeah. Okay, stop saying that. People are trying to sleep. And so I. Marco sometimes takes his
Amanda Barker: suitcase and it spills everywhere. Isn't that a soothing idea for everybody to hear about?
Marco Timpano: So that's where I put my smaller things like socks and underwear to make a sort of level playing field there.
Amanda Barker: I m. See.
Marco Timpano: Then I'll put usually like any sort of big items like pants or whatnot to make a layer of that. It's almost like you're making a lasagna of clothes.
Amanda Barker: Clothes. A clothing lasagna.
Marco Timpano: A clothing lasagna in your suitcase.
Marco Timpano: Right. So a layer of pants or a
Amanda Barker: clothing shepherd's piece, I guess.
Marco Timpano: but I deal in lasagna. You deal in shepherd's pie.
Amanda Barker: I deal in lentils.
Marco Timpano: Right. So a layer of pants, another layer of pants then I'll use then usually it's pretty flat. And so I will fold shirts properly. My button up shirts, I'll button them all the way up and then fold the sleeves behind. Make a perfect square lay shirt upon shirt upon shirt. T shirts. Sorry, I had to breathe in there
Amanda Barker: for a second there. I'm holding your breath, nervous.
Marco Timpano: And then a shirt, shirt, shirt. And then any other sort of flat clothing will go there.
Amanda Barker: So you don't roll everything. You're not a roller.
Marco Timpano: I'm not a roller.
Amanda Barker: I'm a roller.
Marco Timpano: you're a roller.
Amanda Barker: I believe in the roll, the neck roll, the jelly roll.
Marco Timpano: Yeah, you roll. But I think it's because your clothes are smaller than mine, they can roll better.
Amanda Barker: Well, I live by an ethos of anything I have to iron, I won't. So I shouldn't own it. And I pretty much live that way. I have a few things that are ironable, including my freshly purchased linen suit that I bought.
Marco Timpano: And usually I travel with a suit Jacket too, so that. I can't roll that.
Amanda Barker: No, you can't really roll that. That's fair.
Marco Timpano: plus, women's shirts tend to be more rollable than men's. Like, you have a lot of, like. Yeah, Rayoni things.
Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, that's what I'm trying to say. I wear all oil and gas products. I wear. Everything I wear is. Is. Is.
85% of your wardrobe is secondhand
Does not break down. I shouldn't say that. That's not true. Now I wear a lot more cotton, so, I'm actually trying to wear more natural fibers. So that's something I'm consciously doing. But because I thrift, because I buy almost exclusively secondhand, pretty much, I would say 85% of my wardrobe is secondhand. a lot of that is rayons and nylons and so on. So, And there's a lot to be. I could do a whole episode on the clothing industry. But one thing I will say is that stuff doesn't usually wrinkle. So that, you know, it's better for me that way.
Marco Timpano: For travel.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it's thinner, obviously, but. But I will say in the spirit of trying to buy more natural fibers. When we were in Italy last June, we were very hot. It was the first week of June, but it was a full blast of summer. unseasonably hot even for Rome in the summer. And so after our, however, our week long trip, we went. We were at the airport in Rome and we had gone to Budapest too. And as we talked about, back when we went and that was a little bit less steamy, a little less hot, just a bit. It was still warm, but a bit more temperate. But Rome was definitely humid hot, all the things. So natural fibers. Absolutely. Anything loose. Absolutely. And by the time we were done, because we had worn a lot of cotton, actually I had brought a lot of cotton. But by the time we were done, we went to the airport and there was, a Benetton there, which is an Italian brand, if you remember it, from the 80s, like I do. But even if you don't, it's just an Italian brand. And they had linen shirts and linen
Marco Timpano: pants and linen shorts.
Amanda Barker: And linen shorts.
Marco Timpano: So we bought linen.
Amanda Barker: So we just went, you know what? I'm never going to be without linen again. Because this type of heat, you just want to be in full linen. You really, really do. I really understood it more than I ever had. So I bought just an un. Not even an. Like, it's not even colored. It's this. The color of linen, I think, shirt and pants set. So it's like a suit. I guess it's not really a suit because it's a short sleeve shirt. But kind of feels like a suit when I wear it a little bit and then it feels put together and I love traveling with that. But that does require ironing at least. Or you just lean into the wrinkledness of the linen. Depends on how you roll, I guess.
Marco Timpano: On the other side of the suitcase, here's what I do.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: So I try to keep all my clothes on that one side.
Marco Timpano: And the other side I put my shoes.
Amanda Barker: So I'm not sharing. I thought the other side of this case was my side.
Marco Timpano: Well, sometimes it is. But if, if I have my druthers and my suitcase and, and I'm just neck rolling it up and you're neck rolling it and I'm like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna live the life of luxury and bring all the clothes I can. I'll usually bring shoes.
Marco Timpano: That I tuck my belts into. I'll tuck my, my If I'm wearing a watch, I'll tuck my watch into those shoes and any other things I can fit inside the shoes. M. I bring my slippers, my Birkenstock slippers. Because I.
Amanda Barker: They're sandals. But he calls them slippers. Just so you know.
Marco Timpano: These aren't sandals. Is that what you'd call a sandal?
Amanda Barker: Birkenstock does not. I mean they might make a slipper, but these would never be called slippers.
Marco Timpano: Oh, this is.
Amanda Barker: You're like an old man that calls lunch dinner.
Marco Timpano: No, no, this is, this is a slipper. In Italian this would be a slipper.
Amanda Barker: I know that's why you call them slippers. But I'm gonna, I'm gonna break your heart and tell you the rest of the world would call them sandals. Birkenstock sandals.
Marco Timpano: That. You know what that is in Italian? It's a ciabatta. And that's not what you put meat into and eat bread. That's a, ah, proper slipper.
Amanda Barker: Well, it's a sandal.
Marco Timpano: Okay.
Sandalo is how we would say it. These are Birkenstock sandals, just for the record
Amanda Barker: Sandalo is how we would say it.
Marco Timpano: Okay.
Amanda Barker: Because that's what it is.
Marco Timpano: I disagree. But anyways, it's a Birkenstock.
Amanda Barker: And folks, it looks like a, this isn't a special slipper version of a Birkenstock like the Birkenstock clogs. This is straight up the two, the, the two flaps over with the buckle made, out of, Is that silicone plastic?
Marco Timpano: That's plastic foam.
Amanda Barker: Some sort of foam, you know, good grade, whatever. Birkenstock. I. I'm wearing the exact same ones.
Marco Timpano: I have the leather ones too, but those are my. My casual slippers. So anyways, I bring those two that are also sandals.
Amanda Barker: These are Birkenstock sandals, just for the record.
Marco Timpano: Okay. I bring them, call them what you will, ciabatta. And then I will put my toiletry bag. I think I mentioned that. And any other non. Non cloth item that I have to bring. Toothbrush.
Amanda Barker: you put your toothbrush in your shoes?
Marco Timpano: No, no, no. My shoes are full with. With socks, belts, watches, cufflinks, whatever I might need. if I'm wearing a suit. Okay, we'll go in there.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: Yeah. And then I have my toiletry bag. And then I'll have any other little accoutrement. Ah. That I need that's not a clothing item.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: Stays on the other side. And then what I like to do, Amanda. And I do this, but Amanda could care less. I travel with a non permeable pillowcase that I can zip up and I can put the pillow that I sleep on in this pillowcase and I zip it up and I've written on non washable marker my name on it so I don't forget it in the hotel.
Amanda Barker: But you don't do that a lot.
Marco Timpano: I forgot to bring it last time. But I do, I do usually bring that.
Amanda Barker: Do you use the mesh thingy in the middle of the suitcase? The divider?
Marco Timpano: You know, sometimes I do. And I think I have stuff that I forgot in. In there. I'll usually pack. sometimes I'll pack like powdery things in there, like drink aids or whatever and.
Amanda Barker: And not what I thought you'd say.
Marco Timpano: What do you pack in that machine?
Amanda Barker: Not drink aids. I don't know. I pack. Usually I pack my underwear in there and I pack my travel jewelry case in there. Usually, yeah.
Marco Timpano: You haven't used your travel jewelry case for necklaces that I got you? Yes, I have the zippy one.
Amanda Barker: Oh, no, I haven't. Where is that even?
Marco Timpano: I don't know, because sometimes your necklaces tangle. That's why I got you that one.
Amanda Barker: I'm trying to picture what that one looks like. I don't remember what it's like.
Marco Timpano: It's like an accordion. And each one has a little zipper for each individual necklace.
Amanda Barker: Oh, I gotta find out where it is. I guess I was looking for my shamrock necklace and I couldn't find it.
Marco Timpano: Where is it?
Amanda Barker: I don't know.
Marco Timpano: Hm.
Amanda Barker: Not sure. I have a Shamrock. Don't know where it went. Okay, well, better wait till next year.
Your mom used to wish you a happy birthday two days in advance
Marco Timpano: I found something today that so.
Amanda Barker: Oh my goodness.
Marco Timpano: I know we're recording this March 17th and my birthday is December 17th. Just for, for perspective. And my in laws gave me a birthday card in November.
Amanda Barker: My mom is early with the birthday.
Marco Timpano: She's early, but she gave me a birthday.
Amanda Barker: She's chilled out. But she used to like to wish you a happy birthday, like a Facebook tribute. And she would do it solidly like two days in advance, so then everyone would start wishing you happy birthday, like two days early.
Marco Timpano: So she gave me my birthday card when we were all together on a recent trip to New York City. And so I was planning to open it in front of them even though it would be a bit early for my birthday, but I wanted to open it from that. And so I brought it down to lunch with us and I did not open it because we were just talking with friends and whatnot and so it just didn't happen. And then I had this card all through New York, came home, could not find the card.
Amanda Barker: Right.
Marco Timpano: Could not find the card. Couldn't find the card. Couldn't find the card. And then we went to Florida for Christmas and I didn't have the card. And so your mom asked, oh, did you open the card? Blah, blah, blah. I said I didn't. And so she felt bad and she, she, you know, gave me another present and whatnot. And I said, I know I'm going to find the card. Well, today, exactly three months later, I found the card.
Amanda Barker: And where was it?
Marco Timpano: So I keep a copy of our car insurance and our health, insurance in the meshy part of the suitcase.
Amanda Barker: That's right.
Marco Timpano: And that's where it stays.
Amanda Barker: And our passports, Copies of our passports. So if those go missing that we have copies of them.
Marco Timpano: Yeah, So I keep them there just in case we need them. So I know where they are.
Marco Timpano: Well, I guess I took them out when we got back for whatever reason, and the card was in there. So I took it out with the insurance and I put the insurance paperwork down so I would have it for future travel. And the card was there, buried amongst the insurance paper and the passport paper photocopies. And so today I grabbed a whole bunch of papers and I was going to go through them and lo and behold, out pops the card. I'm like, what card is this? And then as I'm opening, I'm like, oh, is this the. And sure enough, it was the card.
Amanda Barker: How was the card?
Marco Timpano: It was really Lovely.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. You should call my parents.
Marco Timpano: I will. I'll call them tomorrow and let them know I found the card.
Amanda Barker: Oh, they'll love that.
Marco Timpano: And, I'm. I'm usually really on top of things like that. I don't generally lose things like that. And then that happened. I think that's happened twice with your folks. Where I've lost the card.
Amanda Barker: They give it to you so early, and then by the time it's your birthday, you're like, what did we do with it? It happens a lot to us.
Marco Timpano: We now have a designated space for early cards and things like that in our home. So we don't. We don't misplace them.
Amanda Barker: We can use an organizational overhaul. Overhaul.
Marco Timpano: True.
Amanda Barker: I think we're due for a little bit of an organizational regroup. what do you think?
Marco Timpano: I agree.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, I think that's. Maybe we'll talk about that on the next one. Like how we're going to reorganize some things in our house.
Marco Timpano: I'd like time.
Amanda Barker: It's time.
Marco Timpano: And spring is here, so it's always
Amanda Barker: nice to have spring cleaning. Yeah. Open the windows.
Marco Timpano: Although today was very cold.
Amanda Barker: It was very snowy, still in the snow.
Marco Timpano: And we have to get our Vespa because the place where we store it, they're like, you gotta come before the 31st.
Amanda Barker: But it was a snowstorm yesterday.
Marco Timpano: Snow.
Amanda Barker: They don't care.
Marco Timpano: They don't care. I can't wait to see crocuses. I'm sure some people listening have already seen the crocus, have seen the tulips coming up.
Amanda Barker: And there's people everywhere.
Marco Timpano: So it's true.
Amanda Barker: They. They're seeing all sorts of stuff. Or maybe it's fall. We're there.
Marco Timpano: Fair. Fair enough.
Amanda shares some tips on what you should carry when traveling
Well, I wanted to talk about suitcases, so thank you for that. Thank you for telling us about the neck roll, Amanda.
Amanda Barker: it'll change your life. Folks.
Marco Timpano: another thing that. That I told our friend. Our mutual friend Mark Browning about, and he went on a trip to the Philippines, and he was so grateful, I told him to bring a travel scale, the kind that's like. It's like a hook on a handle. And. And you put the hook on the suitcase, and you. As you lift the handle with the hook on it, it lifts up your suitcase. And that will weigh the weight of your suitcase.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, it tells you the weight. Yeah.
Marco Timpano: And so he was like, we. He's like, we thought my girlfriend's suitcase was. Was perfectly in weight. Or she. She told him, no, no, it's within weight. And he said, let's just weigh it. And it was £20 over the legal limit.
Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
Marco Timpano: So he's like, I was so grateful because we were able to distribute.
Amanda Barker: So he didn't have, he didn't have one. And you told him, go get one.
Marco Timpano: I told him. He's like, you travel a lot. What are some essentials that you would say to travel with? And I said, one of the things that I love.
Amanda Barker: Did you tell him about the neck
Marco Timpano: pillow, the travel scale, the neck pillow?
Amanda Barker: Did he get one?
Marco Timpano: No, he did not get a neck pillow.
Amanda Barker: When you, when you have, when you've already allotted for the big suitcases, then there's less need. It's more for those, you know, three, four day weekend trips.
Marco Timpano: But the other thing I told him to get, and he was grateful for as well, was spray propolis.
Amanda Barker: Yes.
Marco Timpano: And so we need to tell our
Amanda Barker: listeners what that is. Anyone who's still away.
Marco Timpano: His girlfriend used it when she was feeling like a bit of a sore throat and it helped.
Amanda Barker: Propolis is a magic thing that bees make, and that's what they use to seal their hives. It is antiviral and antibacterial and antifungal. So it keeps any viruses out, any bacteria, foreign matter out of the hive of the hive. And it has properties to repel or kill those things. And so, they make a spray with it. And if you're feeling like you've been around some sick people or you feel that little tickle in your throat, I'm telling you, you spray it in your throat and it feels like magic. It really does.
Marco Timpano: However, I will say this with a big caveat. If you're allergic to bee stings or bee pollen or honey, do not use propolis.
Amanda Barker: We're also not medical doctors, so for
Marco Timpano: the record, don't use everything we say with discretion. And speak to your doctor.
Amanda Barker: I'm going to say, is it. If you like honey, like I do, like I'm obsessed with honey, if you like honey and you like the taste of pollen and things like that, then this product is probably for you. And it's a great thing to travel with. Absolutely.
Let us know what you like to travel with
Marco Timpano: So there you have it, our suitcase. Some of our essentials. Let us know what you like to travel with and what your travel essential is. And for those of you who listen to our podcast, thank you for listening. If you're a new listener, thank you as well. And we hope this episode allowed you to listen and sleep sat.