I FEEL LIKE A TURTLE OR PACKING LIGHT

Repeat after me, "Rick Steves is right. Packing light is the only way to go. I must pack light. I must pack light". On a domestic trip here in the states, or on a cruise ship or road trip this advice probably does not apply. For a trip to the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland) or Europe packing light is absolutely imperative.

You would be surprised how often you have to carry your luggage.  Yes, carry. Even the bags with the wheels will need to be carried often. Remember that most of the buildings are very old and do not have elevators (Lifts - as they say). If they have elevators they are usually broken. Just about every city was at one time, probably during the middle ages or before, a walled city for protection from invaders. So they built UP not out. Most buildings are at least 6 flights up or more. Did you know that there were tribes named Vandal and Maraud that invaded all over the UK and Europe during the 4-6th century?

This flight of stairs is typical in size; actually it's a little bit wider than most and better decorated.

The subway (tube, metro, underground) in any city usually has at least 4-5 flights of stairs that you must climb to get to and from the platform. If you're lucky there is maybe one escalator but you may still have other sets of stairs ahead of you.
My rucksack weighed about 22 lbs maybe when I finally had everything all packed up. I carried that  on my back every time I moved locations.  I often felt like a turtle: carrying my home and all my belongings with me. It's amazing how you can abbreviate your life and what you need.

When you are in a big city you can check in to your B&B/Hotel any time you like. But when you go to small towns or small cities, they often have limited check-in times. Here's an example: one day I had to transfer trains 4 times (standing with my luggage on my back for lack of benches) and I finally reached my destination at about 2pm. The B&B didn't have check-in time until 5pm. The people who ran the place didn't live there, they just managed it and served breakfast. So they weren't there for me to leave my luggage. The town was so small that the train station didn't have a "left luggage". So I had to walk around for 3 hours with my rucksack. This scenario happened often in the United Kingdom because I went to a lot of small towns.

Okay, so now you're in a big city and you can check-in any time you want but first you have to find the hotel. From the train station you might have to take the metro and transfer a few times and then walk to the location. Many hotels in Europe share a building with other residences so you may have to walk up several flights of stairs to the reception desk.

Do yourself a favor, pack light.