It is no surprise that if you travel to Europe, unless you are lucky enough to have a personal chauffeur, you will be doing some heavy-duty walking. And those pretty little cobblestones can be murder on your feet.
All that walking will undoubtedly take its toll on your tootsies. My first solo trip to Paris, I was unprepared for the amount of walking I did. As a result, I was also unprepared for the consequences. I had blisters on my blisters and it nearly ruined my trip!
Now, I am not proclaiming that your feet will never hurt, or that you can avoid blisters altogether, but I can recommend a few things you can do to be prepared and ease the pain.
- Treat yourself to a deluxe spa pedicure right before you leave. Slough off those nasty callouses and corns, trim those ingrown toenails and have the pedicurist rub lotion into those sore, tight foot and leg muscles. This ensures you’ll start your trip off on the right foot. Pun intended!
- Never bring a new pair of shoes on vacation. That is a no-no. If you must buy that cool new style shoe to fit in around Europe, buy them well in advance. Wear them for at least a few weeks to break them in and make sure they are comfortable. You may want to look good, but it is so much better to feeeeeeel good
- Speaking of shoes, always bring at least two comfortable pairs with you. Make you sure you switch on and off at least every other day. It isn’t the best thing for your feet to get used to the same shoes every day – you gotta shake it up a bit!
- Don’t hide those ugly Travelsox
in the bottom of your luggage after getting off the plane. Believe it or not, I wear them some days when my feet and legs need a little pick-me-up. They really do encourage circulation in your legs – which leads to energized, happy feet! I have even worn them overnight when I thought my feet would fall off and in the morning, I could tackle the world again.
- Pamper those tootsies! Every night, after a long day of trekking around, give yourself a mini-pedi. Soak your feet in the tub or bring an inflatable tub with you. Sometimes soaking in cool water takes the heat and swelling from your feet. Have your hunny give you a foot massage and rub some Peppermint Cooling Foot Lotion
in right before bed. If you’re traveling alone, no worries. Just pack a few golf balls with you, lay them on the floor and place your feet on top of them. Roll the golf balls in every direction-giving yourself a foot massage.
- Prevention is the key. When feet sweat it creates friction in the shoe, which causes blisters. Try to wear absorbent cotton socks to wick away the moisture. Or, try rubbing this Anti-Blister Stick all over your feet.
- Be prepared for the worst! After all of this, you may still get blisters. The important thing is to treat them right, especially since you may still have lots of walking to do on the rest of your trip. You don’t want to be holed up in your hotel room! Pack moleskin, blister pads, Neosporin and Ibuprofen. Compeed and Blist- O- Ban make some excellent products that are specific to the area where you have a blister. Make sure you use the Neosporin so that you don’t get an infection and the Ibuprofen comes in handy when you are in so much pain, you don’t feel like you can take another step!
Take care of your feet and in turn, they will carry you where you need to go!