Day touring bag for men

Travel and Leisure

Credit: Paramount Pictures

Yes, it's a thing. The man purse, or "murse" for short, had been declared an actual men's fashion item by GQ back in 2017. But really, it has been around a lot longer than that, if you consider that it's essentially just a smaller version of the messenger bag, it debuted a long time ago, as an alternate way to tote around one's laptop. I've had at least three different variations of the messenger bag, dating back to the late 90s, alternating back and forth depending on what suit or accessories the day dictated. But over time, the laptop became less and less of a necessity, and personally, I found that even a slim messenger bag became too much for daily commuting requirements. Then along came the iPad, which all but abolished my messenger bags to the back of the closet.

The Keukenhof tulip gardens

What is it however, that a guy needs to carry around during the day, that requires a man purse? Well, my camera for starters. See, I have been a technology laggard, and still use a relatively old iPhone. So when it comes to taking photos, my compact Canon mirrorless camera takes pictures that are far superior to anything that could come from my iPhone. Sure, I could use a small, purpose-built camera bag, but once you have something slung over your shoulder, you might as well put it to good use. Besides, she was getting tired of me asking, "do you have room in your purse for my... ?". So at a minimum, it's got my camera, a bottle of water, a snack (that I've probably nabbed from the free hotel breakfast bar), and some hand sanitizer. On sunny days, I'll bring along some sunscreen, whereas on dodgy days, either a compact umbrella or my packable raincoat.

Comparing day bag to past messenger bag styles

As you can see, I've settled in on a go-to bag with this small canvas shoulder bag. It's only 10" x 7" x 5", yet holds all of the aforementioned kit easily. I found it on eBay for about $25, but there are an infinite number of options and sizes available. A word of caution however - get one that's too big, and you're likely to start toting around more stuff than you need, or forgo using it altogether. I bought a beautiful, smaller leather messenger bag (pictured above) at the Lorenzo Street Market in Florence; not big enough for a laptop, but perfect for an iPad and other essentials, yet at 13" x 10" x 3", it doesn't quite fit the bill for day touring in Europe.

Florence's Lorenzo Street Market is a great place to find your man purse

Sure, I sometimes carry a "personal item" sized backpack to maximize my carry-on luggage capacity, but it is also too big for daily use while on vacation. That's why I keep falling back on my cheapo eBay canvas one - just big enough for the stuff I need, but small enough to tuck into my suitcase and pull out when we arrive at our destination. And also, with a backpack, you pretty much have to take it off in order to get into it; accessing my camera with a shoulder bag is much easier. So make fun of me if you must, but I find the man purse an invaluable travel essential. Besides, as one member of a FB travel group said, "Indiana Jones had one. That's good enough for me."

2022 edit: Since I have been using my original man purse day bag for my camera gear 100% of the time, I picked up an MEC crossbody bag for travelling instead. It holds an ever-so-slightly bit more than the canvas one, and has a top handle, which is handy if my shoulder is already in use (i.e. when carrying my Osprey Porter 46 travel backpack). Post-trip edit: While this bag worked for our 2022 Eastern Europe trip, and it was more than enough from a capacity perspective, it lacked structure, consequently the bag sagged when loaded up. The bottom strap that keeps the flap closed got irritating too, so I always had to fasten the clip every time I went into the bag. When I got home, I got creative, and I glued in some padding in the bottom and back.

2023 edit: Then recently, a fellow Extra was telling me how bad the thieves and pickpockets are in Paris, which is part of our next trip itinerary later in 2023. So I started thinking about a better, more secure bag, and after much deliberation, decided upon the Travelon Courier Tour Bag. Selling features for me were the somewhat unisex design (according to my wife), canvas-like material (vs. shiny nylon), and general design of the bag (e.g. not too many pockets). Since I've decided that I will only be using my iPhone 12 Pro for travel photography going forward, I won't need space for my Canon camera. And while I'll probably put my water bottle in the main compartment, it will be nice to have the external pocket for instances when I've used up all the space (e.g. stuffed my jacket into it). In addition to the hidden wallet pockets that I've created for my trousers and shorts, I think I'll be as well prepared for thieves as I can; as a bonus, it kinda looks a bit like Indiana Jones' bag.

The Francesinha!

Travel and Leisure

Almost everywhere you go in the world, they will have their local specialty dish, which needs to be sampled, of course. And no, I don't mean eating pizza in Italy (but if you are in Naples, that would be appropriate!). Like the time we were in Florence, and I ordered the wild boar ragu on a bed of pappardelle pasta - it was amazing! Anyhow, when you think of Portugal, meals of grilled sardines usually comes to mind. But in the North, specifically Porto, they have a different specialty - the Francesinhna. Legend has it, that a returning emigrant wanted to put a local spin on the French croque-monsieur (Monte Cristo) sandwich.

It is made with stale bread, with layers of steak, ham and Portuguese sausage, with a few layers of melted cheese on top, then covered and swimming in a spicy beer and tomato sauce. Sometimes served with a fried egg on top, just in case you thought there wasn't enough protein there. If you thought that you weren't going to be full after this sandwich, it usually is accompanied by a side of french fries! Normally a lunch item, we decided it was time to try one around the dinner hour.

An evening stroll in the Ribeira district to walk off the Francesinha

The first bite (knife and fork are mandatory) was very interesting - the mix of flavours and texture is definitely appealing. I found however, that the key to eating a Francesinha is to ensure that you have a little bit of everything in each bite - steak, ham, sausage, cheese-covered bread, and sauce. Missing a bit of sausage or steak alters the flavour just slightly, enough to make me ration out the rest of the ingredients to make sure each bite was the same. Two of us had the Francesinha at a little restaurant on the bank of the Douro in the Ribeira district - almost every restaurant there will serve them. As a meal, most folks could split one, if accompanied by fries. Eating one (without fries) was more than enough for me, and I spent the rest of the evening lying down, cradling my full belly; happy, but very full.

Oh and Porto's other claim to fame? I'll save that post for another rainy day.

Taking the mystery out of train travel

Travel and Leisure

Europe has an extensive rail network, and travelling via train is fast, efficient, and stress-free. High speed trains can get you to your destination faster than using a car, and avoids the hassle of navigating, tolls, and finding parking at your destination.

Swiss trains are fast, comfortable and on-time!

However, after just returning from Portugal, where we used the train to travel efficiently from Porto to Lisbon and then to the Algarve, I was surprised at how many tourists were struggling with how to use the train. I am assuming it is because as North Americans, we don't often use the rail network to get around, and so the basics of train travel can be new to a lot of first-time European tourists. The tips that follow are for inter-city routes; regional trains will be very similar to the metro or underground rail that you have likely already used at home.

Google translate will help you figure out what your ticket says

Buying your inter-city ticket at the counter is a very simple process, but pre-purchasing online will usually save you some extra money. It is usually at the station where I see tourists start to struggle. The issue I have found, is that most folks don't know what station is at the end of the line for their route.

Let's have a look at a recent ticket as an example (click on the image to see larger version). As you can see, the train route goes from Mulhouse to Paris Gare de Lyon, with a few stops in between; if you were going to say, Dijon, you need to know that your train eventually terminates in Paris. So when you enter the Mulhouse train terminal, you would look on the video monitors for the departure platform for Paris - Gare de Lyon; there won't be a listing for Dijon. It is easy to cross-reference the train departure time on the monitor with the one on your ticket to make sure you are at the right platform; the ticket on my iPhone for the SNCF train goes one better, and lists the platform number. The online site or the counter will tell you this information, but sometimes it will not be shown on the actual ticket. You also need to watch the signs and listen to the speakers for any last minute changes, as sometimes your train does not arrive at the platform that was originally listed.

Note: If you have purchased an unassigned seating paper ticket, there may be a need to validate it in a machine somewhere on the platform; these will typically have a mag strip or barcode that gets scanned. Tourists often get caught without validated tickets, and end up paying a stiff fine; tickets purchased on train apps typically are not validated at the machines, and you simply show the barcode to the conductor who will scan it. 

Once at your platform, you may see signs overhead noting where the 1st class and 2nd class cars will show up on the platform; proceed to the section of the platform corresponding to your ticket. From my ticket info above, you can see that we are in Coach 6; the monitor shot shows that we needed to be between around zone V to board our specific coach. Wait at the wrong area, and you'll end up having to hot-foot it down the platform to your coach. 

If there are no signs denoting this, or you're at a small rural station like the one at Tunes (right), you will need to watch for the large numbers 1 or 2 on the outside of the train cars as they pull up to the platform. Since trains can run in both forward and reverse directions, 1st class cars are not always at the front of the train where the engine is.

Next, does your train ticket show assigned seating, or is it general seating? If it is the latter, simply grab your luggage, and hop on the class of car for which you have paid, and find some agreeable seats. If you have assigned seating however, sometimes you need to watch the outside of the train for your coach number. For our Portugal ticket example, on the return journey to Lisbon (#672), we were assigned coach number 11, and my seat 93. Once we identified the correct carriage, there were two sets of doors - they listed the seat numbers on the outside that were in that half of the car. Enter at the wrong end, and you'll be swimming upstream to get to your assigned seats. Just like on an airplane, the seats are numbered in an ascending or descending fashion, depending on which end of the carriage you entered from. There is often a luggage rack by the doors - if you have heavy items, they are best stowed there; lighter cases can be stowed overhead. There is plenty of space for small bags etc. by your feet, so you can keep your snacks and reading material handy.

That's all there is to it... now sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery roll by!

End of the line on the Rocky Mountaineer - luxury sightseeing rail trip in BC, Canada