WHAT SHOES DO I WEAR??? haha

[aprilsun]

well im basically just stressing over a silly little thing but i really need some shoe ideas, thanks

[jennifer]

Well, when will you be abroad?

[sil]

If aprilsun don't mind I will tag along into her question. I was wondering the same thing. I'm going to England (London), France( Paris), and Italy(Venice, Florence and Rome) for 3 weeks on September. I bought Timberland waterproof hiking boots, but now I'm afraid my feet my cook in Italy for intance. I wanna take sandals along too, but if I end up using those the whole time then I will have to carry my kind of heavy Timberlands on my pack for 3 weeks. What would you guys recommend. Thanks in advance for any imputs.

Silvana

[me]

it'd be a good idea to wear those hiking boots plenty before the trip. make sure they're broken in before you go.

brand new shoes are a no-no when traveling. you could easily get blisters from them.

for your case, i'd suggest always wearing the boots while you go from overnight stop to overnight stop. that way there'd be no carrying them on your back. the boots could just stay at the hostel while you explore the towns/cities in your sandals.

however, in some cities, you might *want* the extra protection your feet would get from the boots.

- d

sil said:

I bought Timberland waterproof hiking boots, but now I'm afraid my feet my cook in Italy for intance. I wanna take sandals along too, but if I end up using those the whole time then I will have to carry my kind of heavy Timberlands on my pack for 3 weeks.

[sil]

Thank you David! It makes sense what you're saying. I was about to regret that I bought these boots. Now I have to figure out what type of sandals I'll take which shouldn't be a problem. I'm very comfortable walking with sandals and flip flops. My idea was to get some kind of confortable flip flops or sandals that I could use to shower as well as to walk.
Thanks again!
Sil

[Jules80]

Sil,

That's what i did. Teva makes some extremely comfy but really nice looking flip flops. they have reasonable arch support (for a sandal). but rainy days and cold days sometiems the hiking boot is better. i also used it between cities... takes less room

Jules

[aprilsun]

Im going to london at the start of may and then going all over. i mainly wear thongs these days so i dont actually have any good shoes that can endure alot, except david said not to get new shoes? or maybe if i get new shoes right now and then wear them heaps up until departure? but then what kind of shoes do i buy? so confused, help would be so much appreciated. -A

[herrbert]

Get yourself some good shoes, that you can walk on a lot. Check out an outdoor shop, as they tend to have more of these shoes in store, than the normal shoeshops (at least here) As you haven't got any at the moment, I would indeed suggest, to wear them a lot. But get yourself shoes that you are comfortable in, the moment you put them on your feet at the shop, that helps a lot. Shoes (esp. the leather) will mold themselves around your foot, after a while, and that is when they get really comfy, but that takes a couple of weeks.

On my last trip I needed to get new shoes in Finland. (as the ones I was wearing, had holes in the soles. I had hoped that they would last, but they didn't). I found myself some great looking shoes (Dockers), and wore, them for the rest of the trip. They didn't gave me any problems, but a lot of shoes will.

[sil]

Thanks Jules, I'll take a look at Tevas sandals. Any other brand or kind that you guys have tried and works? And thanks for everybody's input, this subject was giving me a headache since I know shoes are really important for my trip.

Sil

[me]

that'd be a good idea, getting some & wearing them a good bit before you go.

i still wear the ones i got for my last trip, in 2004, 3 or 4 times a week. per Rick Steves, i got a pair with "Vibram" soles. they're made in China and the brand name on the side of the shoes is "Raichle." the inside tongue sez "Dayton Low MS."

so, with those shoes i contributed to America's current account deficit with China in 2004.

- d

aprilsun said:

<snip> or maybe if i get new shoes right now and then wear them heaps up until departure? but then what kind of shoes do i buy? so confused, help would be so much appreciated. -A

[googleygoo]

Unless you're planning to do some hiking, I don't think it's necessary to bring/wear hiking boots. Although, light-weight boots would be fine I suppose.

I went to Europe for two months and wore a pair of New Balance sneakers and they were fine for support, even when I walked around with my pack. I hiked the trail in Cinque Terre with the sneakers and had no problems.

When it was too hot or when I didn't feel like wearing sneakers, I had a pair of Teva flip flops- if you go to the website, the style is called Olowahu (under the Women's flip flop section). I absolutely LOVE them because they were comfortable and provide enough support to walk around all day. I loved them so much that I bought a second pair when the first pair was worn out! They have criss-cross straps so your feet are less likely to slip out. Also, most backpackers wear thong flip flops, so if you want to be a bit different, the Olowahus are great ;-)

Oh, and I also brought along another pair of cheap flip flops for the showers in hostels.

[Eagle]

I encounterd a group of girls on the C.T. trails that were hiking with the cheap "dime store" rubber flip-flops!! I had the opinion that my Rockports were inappropriate for the trails, but had a different view after I saw that.

[googleygoo]

I also saw people on the CT trail wearing thin flat flip flops... don't know what they were thinking...

[herrbert]

I saw people visiting the ice-caves of Eisriesenwelt in bikini and flipflops. (needles to say, they turned back after 30 meters, did they think there would be ice-caves with a cosy temperature?).