Lucky for me I’m a neurotic mess when I travel and start packing way ahead of time. Yesterday I took out my old medium-sized suitcase to air it out (a carry-on just wasn’t going to do it for a week in London) and it made a strange rattling noise. So I opened it up to find the entire plastic backing had shattered and lay in a pile of shardy bits between the lining and the outer casing. WTF? Okay, I hadn’t used it in a long while, and it only cost about 30€ back in the day, but I still hadn’t expected to self-destruct like that, all on its own in the closet. So this morning some emergency suitcase shopping was required.
I went back to the shop where I’d bought my cheapie case and saw a similar model was now 50€. So then I decided to pop over to El Corte Inglés to see what they had. And guess what? They had soft suitcases by Kipling (my new handbag obession)! Really cute ones too. Not cheap, but light as a feather and with lots of “expandible” space with clever compartments. Basically a very well-designed travel bag (well, except for those superfluous “duffle bag” handles) and so I went for it. And suddenly I feel quite grown up. I’ve never had a suitcase before that didn’t come from a cheap import place. First noticeable difference is that my new Kipling doesn’t have a weird smell – those other ones must use very dodgy materials, glues, etc. Also, it’s more versatile as it is only grows as big as you fill it. Okay, it won’t pass for carry-on, but I would take it on trips (Málaga, etc) that I usually use the carry-on and be more comfortable with the extra space “waiting to happen”. But on the other hand, nobody was ever going to steal my crappy no-brand cheapos… will a cute Kipling be more of a temptation? Yep, first world problems.
What kind of luggage do you use?
casa azahar 
I use trunks. No one uses those any more. They’re excellent for fitting all your things in.
Actually I think I was the only one who arrived with a trunk on my first day. I’m from another age.
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Trunks do indeed seem more civilised. Lots of space for lots of stuff.
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I also had my valet with me. I really was quite different. Sigh. 😜
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You’re entitled to have your problems upgraded from economy to business class. So to speak. I have these same thoughts when the store runs out of marinated artichokes. 🙂
I’ve had a few articles with cheap plastic linings self destruct like that — change purses, tote bags. As for luggage, the last time I bought any — on my ill fated excursions to Britain in the name of “romance” (hack, cough) — I got a set of expandable, nestable soft sided luggage whose lining I now can’t remember. Two of the three pieces are in the attic and the third I gave away. They had a strap and buckle arrangement so you could buckle packed pieces together and trolley them along on the wheels of the largest. A pretty nifty design. They were forty bucks US in 1997, at a big “last season” retailer that has provided me with a thirty-buck Adirondack chair and a bunch of twelve buck decorative mirrors, etc… Does Spain have those kinds of businesses? Well made clothes and household goods that didn’t sell at major stores the season before, at a knock down price.
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