How to Vagabond like an Epicurean: What’s in Our Luggage?

So . . . what’s in our luggage? And why?

[Editor’s note: This is Part One of our new series, How to Vagabond like an Epicurean. In this series, we’ll be describing in detail the ins and outs of traveling continuously for almost six years and all of the secrets and tips of doing it as Epicurean Vagabonds. Future installments will be for paid subscribers only, but this one is open to everyone, a fun free preview answering our most frequently asked question: What’s in your luggage?]

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The orchestration of travel becomes demonstrably altered when one makes the transformation from being a casual visitor to a full-fledged vagabond. Many things that the tourist or occasional voyager would pack their bags with to go on vacation become secondary or even obsolete to the vagabond, let alone the Epicurean Vagabond.

And just so we’re clear, we’re not talking about backpacking across Europe, Asia or South America. There are countless blogs, articles, and accounts from scruffy, mud-caked, hiking-boot-wearing Instagram users that cover this kind of thing. No, what we’re about to enumerate is more akin to Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas boarding a Cunard Line steamship for a transatlantic crossing circa 1935, only sans trunks and hatboxes and with considerably less currency.

So . . . what’s in our luggage? And why?

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First of all, here’s what our luggage looks like:

• 2 large hardside Samsonite suitcases (62 linear inches each)

• 1 carry-on backpack (40 liters)

• 1 hardside carry-on suitcase (22x14x9 inches)

• 2 laptop bags

• 4 large reusable plastic grocery bags (one from France, two from Greece, one from North Macedonia)

• 4 small reusable cloth grocery bags

• 2 small leather murses

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And here’s what’s in them!

Clothes: When you’re traveling continuously for several years, clothing items tend to take a backseat to make room for other more pertinent items in your suitcases and bags. It’s just a given that you’ll be doing laundry every few days. So here’s what little clothing is in our bags:

• 2 leather jackets

• 3 long-sleeved thermal shirts

• 2 long-sleeved dress shirts & 10 collared short-sleeved shirts

• 2 vests

• 2 pairs of dress pants & 4 pairs of sweat pants

• 4 pairs of shorts & 2 swim trunks

• 2 belts

• 8 pairs of underwear

• 12 pairs of long black cotton socks & 12 pairs of short black ankle socks

• 2 hats, 2 scarves, 2 pairs of gloves

• 2 pairs of shoes, 1 pair of boots & 2 pairs of house slippers

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Kitchenware: Over the years, we have learned that when the owner of an apartment lists its kitchen as “fully stocked,” this term means vastly different things to different people. As someone who loves to cook, I [Ryan Wildstar] like to make sure I travel with my own little kitchen just so I always know I can make a meal. Here’s what comes with us everywhere we go:

• 3 small plastic food storage containers

• 1 small wooden cutting board from France

• 1 rubber frosting spatula & 1 metal cooking spatula

• 1 wooden spoon

• 1 potato masher

• 1 three-cup stovetop Italian espresso maker

• 1 box of Ziplock bags & a roll of tin foil

• 2 dish towels from Croatia (we’ve had for 5 years)

• 2 reusable freezer gel ice packs

• 1 bottle of alcohol spray & hand sanitizer

• 1 professional wine key

• 2 sharp, professional chef’s knives

• 1 pair of kitchen scissors

• 1 large, stainless steel, 700 watt hand-held blender from Italy

• 1 cheese grater

• 1 small wooden mortar & pestle from Albania

• 1 small wok from Spain

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Tech: Our tech is essential to our nomadic way of life. We put the “digital” in digital nomad. In addition to being our primary source of income, our tech is literally the only reason we Epicureans aren't traveling with dozens of trunks filled with books, vinyl records and objets d'art.

• 3 laptop PC computers (one is a very old backup computer which we may get rid of soon) & power cords

• 2 Kobo e-readers (+2 USB charger cords and 2 protective cases)

• 1 bluetooth speaker (+2 USB charger cords and protective case/box)

• 2 external hard drives [1 terabyte each] (+2 USB cords and 1 protective case)

• 4 computer mouses (mice?)

• 3 pairs of USB headsets with microphones (+1 box)

• 1 professional USB microphone (+mic stand, USB cords, accessories and box)

• 1 backup audio jack microphone

• 3 USB thumb drives [20 gigs total]

• 2 power strips/surge protectors/extension cords

• 1 100-foot ethernet cable

• 1 25-foot HDMI cable

• 1 standard HDMI cable

• 2 3.5mm audio jack cables

• 1 smartphone (+charger and 3 USB chargers)

• 1 alarm clock (+charger) [Ryan Elston refuses to own a cell phone. However, his alarm clock is actually a very old burner phone that's probably 20 years old but can still hold a SIM card in case of emergencies.]

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Portable/Digital Culture: We have literally thousands of books and vinyl records back in the U.S. in our storage unit. But this doesn't mean we don't carry an immense library of books, music and culture wherever we go! Here is the current breakdown of the portable/digital culture we carry with us at all times:

• 12 gigs of visual art

• 96 gigs of films, documentaries and TV shows

• 573 gigs of e-books and graphic novels

• 1 terabyte (1,000 gigs) of music

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Books & Writing: As noted above, the vast majority of our books are digital e-books, but the following physical books are beloved favorites we always carry with us:

• The Collected Poems of H.D. (aka Hilda Doolittle)

• The Poems of Emily Dickinson [the authoritative Franklin edition with all 1,789 extant poems, obviously]

• Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart: Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna

• Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns (the Loeb Classical Library bilingual edition in English and Ancient Greek)

We also regularly carry half a dozen cheap paperbacks of books we haven't read yet (preferably long novels), just in case an e-reader dies or we need something for a long flight/train ride/journey. Currently that includes:

• 1 book each by Charles Dickens, Rohinton Mistry, N. K. Jemisin, Margaret Walker, Herta Müller and a contemporary Albanian novel written by a friend of our hairdresser in Tirana

As far as our own writing is concerned, we currently carry:

• 5 notebooks and writing journals

• 1 three-ring binder containing a copy of the manuscript of Ryan Elston's novel

• 1 hardside carry-on suitcase full of all of Ryan Wildstar’s journals and writing (which is currently being safeguarded at our dear friend Elisabeth’s apartment in Paris because we haven’t been able to get back to it since Covid)

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Toiletries: Naturally, many travelers bring along their favorite shampoos, soaps, facial scrubs and toiletries, but we like to have lots of backup items. That way, depending on what is stocked in the apartment we’re checking into, we don’t have to go out looking for things when we arrive. Typically, we want to spend the first few days nesting rather than exploring. Here are some of our essential items:

• 1 Dopp Kit (with Ryan Elston’s initials on it) filled with jewelry, 1 sewing kit, 1 pair of backup eyeglasses, 1 pair of nail scissors, 1 pair of hair scissors, 2 nail clippers, 1 pair of tweezers, 2 containers of Taft molding hair clay, a Ziplock bag with the ends of bars of soap and a can of sandalwood and jasmine bathroom spray

• 1 Nyx cosmetic bag with Nyx cosmetics, Q-tips, two facial cleansers, 2 tubes of toothpaste, 2 deodorants, Clearasil, toothbrushes, razors and extra blades, two shaving creams, electric hair clippers with attachments, 2 micellar waters, Garnier Botanic Therapy Ginger Recovery shampoo, Kérastase Scrub Énergisant and 3 washcloths

• 1 Nyx cosmetic bag with medication: 2 extra Ventolin inhalers for asthma, Isomar nasal decongestant, lip balm, eye drops, ibuprofen, aspirin, adhesive bandages, hydrogen peroxide, diclofenac cream, hydrocortisone cream, allergy pills, antacids and 4 tubes of effervescent supplements: multi-vitamins, multi-minerals, magnesium & vitamin C

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Household Odds & Ends: These are things that make life easier no matter where we go.

• 2 Dormeo Memosan anatomic memory foam pillows

• 2 pairs of earplugs

• 1 deck of cards

• 1 pocket knife

• 1 tube of super glue & 1 heavy duty roll of packing tape

• 2 packages each of AAA batteries and AA batteries

• 1 box cutter

• 2 lighters

• 12 pens & 2 notepads

• 1 leather portfolio (which Ryan Wildstar has carried since junior high) for all essential documents, plane/train/bus tickets, reservation confirmations, etc.

• 1 BACtrack S80 Breathalyzer (professional-grade accuracy)

• Several Ziplock bags containing unspent coins from various countries

• 3 stuffed animals/puppets for Ryan Elston's online teaching job (to entertain the younger kids): Peter Panda, Oscar [Wilde] the Owl and Edvard Monkey

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Sacred Objects: As unaffiliated, spiritual-yet-skeptical, secular-yet-transcendental, cynical-yet-mystical, humanist-yet-polytheist, Greco-Egyptian, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Epicurean pagan aesthetes with Neoplatonic, Hermetic, Theosophical, esoteric, animist, druidic and occult tendencies . . . we also bring sacred objects wherever we go. And every apartment usually has a shelf or two where we can set up our shrines/altars. We carry most of these diverse sacred objects in:

• 1 antique wooden cigar box (Ryan Wildstar's)

• 1 handmade wooden jewelry box (Ryan Elston's)

These two boxes contain:

• 3 Tarot decks:

  1. Thoth Tarot by Lady Frieda Harris (which Ryan Wildstar discussed in our podcast here)

  2. The Pythagorean Tarot by John Opsopaus

  3. Classical Mythology Deck by Jacques Theron [81 cards containing images of gods and goddesses from the ancient Greek pantheon - which is much more portable than 81 separate statues!]

• 11 small statues of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian deities and bodhisattvas

• 5 wooden and ceramic turtles

• 3 jade elephants

• 2 jade serpents

• 1 bronze owl

• 1 crystal pendulum (in a tiny wooden box with a lunar motif)

• 1 small black-and-gold Egyptian-Kemetic pyramid (from Cairo)

• 1 little jewel-studded circular box (from India)

• 1 antique gold pocket watch (from Bohemia)

• 3 Greek 'Mati' charms to ward off the evil eye

• Many special rings, bracelets, necklaces and amulets

• Numerous sacred stones, shells and other “lucky charms” from our many travels

In addition, we’ve packed:

• 2 velvet altar cloths (1 green and 1 purple)

• 1 silver libation bowl from Athens

And in an empty suitcase waiting for us in Paris, we have several slightly larger statues and other sacred objects, including:

• 1 marble statue of Hermes

• 1 bronze statue of Ganesha

• 1 bronze statue of Lakshmi

• 1 terracotta figurine of an unidentified Mycenaean goddess (which we believe represents Hera)

• 1 crystal phurbu from Nepal

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Food & Spices: Over the last several years, almost all of our travel around Europe in general (and the Balkans in particular) has been by car or train, which enables us to pack two or even three large reusable grocery bags full of the contents of our cupboards and sometimes even fridge and freezer, depending on the length of our travel. Here’s what came with us on our recent journey from Skopje, Macedonia to Tirana, Albania (where we’ll be for the next three months).

• 1 bottle of apple cider vinegar

• 1 bottle of olive oil

• 1 small bottle of soy sauce

• 1 bottle of Worcestershire sauce

• 1 small bottle of red tabasco sauce

• 1 bag of flour

• 1 jar of brown sugar

• 1 bag of bread crumbs

• 1 shaker of sea salt & 1 pepper mill

• 2 boxes of tea

• 4 bags of instant ramen noodles

• 1 bag of baby potatoes

• 1 head of garlic

• 1 bag of crunchy muesli cereal with dried blackberries & raspberries

• 1 bag of white beans

• 1 bag of basmati rice

• 1 package of spaghetti & 1 package of linguini

• 1 three liter box of Tikveš white wine (chilled)

• 1 very large plastic container filled with labeled Ziplock bags of the following spices and dried herbs that we have amassed from all over the world. While the contents may change, this tub comes with us no matter how we travel: garlic powder, ginger powder, bay leaves, Greek spearmint, Albanian wild mint, thyme, oregano, rosemary, chili powder, extra hot red chili flakes, smoked paprika, mustard powder, coriander seeds & powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, galangal, dried dill, kaffir lime leaves, turmeric, fennel seeds, cloves, star anise, cardamom, cocoa powder, baking soda and my hand-ground garam masala

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Murses: And of course, our murses carry our most essential items (including the aforementioned smartphone, e-readers and Nyx cosmetics):

• 2 passports

• 1 wallet [Ryan Elston also refuses to carry a wallet!]

• 1 coin purse

• 2 pairs of eyeglasses (+cases)

• 2 pairs of sunglasses (+cases)

• 2 small bottles of hand sanitizer

• 2 black N95 masks

• 1 Ventolin inhaler

• 2 pens and 1 pad of post-it notes

• 2 paperclips to restart a pesky frozen e-reader [He won't carry a phone or a wallet, but he goes nowhere without a paperclip.]

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And that's everything! Here's the playlist we were listening to while packing for our most recent journey from Skopje to Tirana:

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