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Old 06-13-2018, 04:25 PM   #41
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I've found laundromats in different countries fun. My favorite was in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland. It was a laundromat with coin computers for internet. Wash your clothes and surf the net
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Old 06-13-2018, 06:56 PM   #42
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Had two laundromat visits in Spain. 10 to 20 min walk. Soap auto dispensed in the machine. Small machines still big enough to take whole load. Washer took 30 mins. Dryer took 30 mins. We’re out of there. Minimal time lost and what a joy to have a suitcase full of clean clothes!

Finding them on the web was easy, and I usually found sites that had reviews, so it helped confidence before going.
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Old 06-13-2018, 10:30 PM   #43
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We found a laundrymat in Barcelona, but it was after we had already washed our clothes in the shower which had a small 4 inch lip which made washing the clothes easy.

Which was probably good, as I can't read Spanish, so didn't know how to use the machines. And nobody was there.
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Old 06-13-2018, 10:50 PM   #44
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Add me to the group that prefers to rent apartments with washing machines at least every other stop. Traveling with a family - it's almost required.

That said - the dry fit or athletic synthetic shirts are awesome... light, breathable, dry really quick.

DH swears by ex-officio undies. I learned about them from Sarah in SC here on ER.org. Since she and her DH did a lot of adventure travel in their short bus - her opinion carried some cred. DH now wears them as his daily undies... Fortunately Costco had them for a brief window so I was able to pick them up for less $$.

For me the key is to avoid bulky/heavy stuff. At most (and sometimes not at all) 1 pair of jeans. Jeans take to long to dry and take up too much suitcase space. I like thin cotton crop pants and t-shirts with a sundress or two tossed in just in case I need to dress it up. Then a nice comfy pair of crocs sandals, tevas, and sneakers.

We did 9 weeks in europe a few years ago. Family of 4. Each of us had a smaller roller (18") and a daypack. Anything more than 7 days I plan on doing laundry along the way. Travelling lighter means all of the transfers at airports and hotels are a LOT easier. No schlepping heavy bags.
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Old 06-13-2018, 11:31 PM   #45
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Great suggestions, thanks everyone!
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Old 06-14-2018, 06:48 AM   #46
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Quote:
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We found a laundrymat in Barcelona, but it was after we had already washed our clothes in the shower which had a small 4 inch lip which made washing the clothes easy.

Which was probably good, as I can't read Spanish, so didn't know how to use the machines. And nobody was there.
The two we visited recently in Spain had instructions in English as well as Spanish, and had instructions on their web site as well. Major tourist cities will usually have English instructions if the laundromat is not far from tourist areas.

Although I admit I can read Spanish and I am familiar with how European laundromats work. Often the machines dispense soap automatically, so you pick the size of the washing machine - even the smallest can take a pretty big load - you just have to close, pick your water temp before or after putting in coins, hit start and the machine locks and runs. Dryers you put in coins, pick temp, and maybe hit start. These you can usually open and they’ll resume, and you can add coins for more time.

Most laundromats have coin change machines and some will sell small boxes of soap if the machines don’t dispense soap.
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Old 06-14-2018, 07:09 AM   #47
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Malaga 2016: A small laundromat just opened near where we were living......we figured out how to operate it and while we were waiting for our laundry a few locals asked us, in Spanish, how it worked.

We were the temporary Spanglish laundromat consultants.
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Old 06-14-2018, 07:32 AM   #48
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For light underwear, check out Uniqlo's Airism collection.
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Old 06-14-2018, 07:42 AM   #49
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The clothing I packed for my recent Italy/Paris trip was posted earlier. I used some cheap packing cubes from Wallyworld, the largest of which would hold three each shirts, undies, and socks, plus one pair of pants. Four of those fit nicely into my 22” carry-on, one each for Rome, Florence, Venice, and Paris. Also carried two spare outfits, plus one for the ride home. Worked surprisingly well. The pants still looked presentable after 2-3 days wear, though I did need the spare shirts because the weather and walking were sweat inducing...

Thus, I did twelve days without checked bags, or needing to do laundry. My lady friend needed a tad more storage... [emoji6]
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Old 06-14-2018, 10:33 AM   #50
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Another vote for ex officio for undies, for both travel & everyday.
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Old 06-14-2018, 11:40 AM   #51
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With AIRBNB, et al, it's easy to do your laundry in Europe these days. I'd say that about 1/4 (purely a guesstimate for all you number crunchers out there just waiting to pounce ) of the listings we've looked at have at least a washer - dryer less common. We still travel light for all the good reasons mentioned, but do like the option of doing laundry as we travel.
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Old 06-14-2018, 08:28 PM   #52
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I’m very glad to see that ex-officio undies are still in favor around here! They are indeed still my favorites.
I’ve grown a bit fonder of knits for the ease of rolling them up and not wrinkling.
I still love the Bass Pro Shop “fishing” shirts with vented backs that we bought years ago and still wear. They are cool and dry quickly.
I do have a laundry drama story, though. When I was in Puerto Rico back in November, my kindly boss and I located a laundry (many places were still without power and so one in operation was quite a find). It was jam packed so we decided to splurge and have them wash and return in 2 days.
Although we gave them two separate laundry bags, my boss went to pick them up and there was but a single bag, with about half of his clothes and half of mine!
You can’t really know the definition of awkward until you have to itemize your intimates to a man you’ve only known 2 weeks so that he could go hunt for them at the laundromat along with his own missing items.
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Old 06-14-2018, 11:33 PM   #53
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Originally Posted by Sarah in SC View Post
I’m very glad to see that ex-officio undies are still in favor around here! They are indeed still my favorites.
I’ve grown a bit fonder of knits for the ease of rolling them up and not wrinkling.
I still love the Bass Pro Shop “fishing” shirts with vented backs that we bought years ago and still wear. They are cool and dry quickly.
I do have a laundry drama story, though. When I was in Puerto Rico back in November, my kindly boss and I located a laundry (many places were still without power and so one in operation was quite a find). It was jam packed so we decided to splurge and have them wash and return in 2 days.
Although we gave them two separate laundry bags, my boss went to pick them up and there was but a single bag, with about half of his clothes and half of mine!
You can’t really know the definition of awkward until you have to itemize your intimates to a man you’ve only known 2 weeks so that he could go hunt for them at the laundromat along with his own missing items.


Sarah, I love this story! This must have been during your Red Cross deployment. We were able to do some laundry in our hotel in St. John which really helped!

Do you have any recommendations of specific knits you like?
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Old 06-15-2018, 07:46 AM   #54
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You can’t really know the definition of awkward until you have to itemize your intimates to a man you’ve only known 2 weeks so that he could go hunt for them at the laundromat along with his own missing items.

Especially is he is a crossdresser...
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Old 06-15-2018, 02:42 PM   #55
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I was just in Costco today, blowing that dough, and picked up a couple of Ladies Travel Button Down Short Sleeved Blouses by 32 Degrees Cool. Lightweight, machine washable, and looks like they will dry in about half an hour.

I've worn workout clothes from this brand before, but never seen their regular clothing. I'll try them on my trip next month.
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Old 06-15-2018, 03:29 PM   #56
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We were in a laundromat in Palermo, Sicily. I went for a walkabout in the market. DW stayed with the locals (older, portly women).

DW was quite amused that the locals exhibited a great deal of interest in our laundry while she was taking it out of the dryer and folding. This was not such an unusual experience.

My son and I were travelling in Italy a number of years ago. We met a couple from Seattle in the laundromat. He was a recently retired bank vp. They were travelling with carry on only. They had just bought their second month long Eurail pass. No set plans, they were just travelling about. Buying the pass one month at a tjime. They were planning to be out for three months and said that they were having the best time of their lives.

They told us about the prep they did prior to their trip. They decided to try out their luggage plans on an Amtrak trip from Seattle to LA. They came home and ditched the suitcases in favour of carry on only. They said it was the best thing they did.

In Thailand, we had everything washed and pressed for $5. No need for a laundromat.
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