Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

Over the last 12 months, my husband and I have gone on 12 short vacations (three to four days on average) across France and a few neighboring countries. From smaller towns like Amiens and Montreux to cosmopolitan capitals like Madrid and Amsterdam, we’ve tried to keep things fun and varied. On paper, 12 trips in 12 months sound quite excessive, but we had our (many) reasons to go on this bout of tourism. So we let ourselves be seduced by the ease of movement across Europe and the simplicity of the train-hopping and backpacking travel lifestyle.

But what kind of geek would I be if I hadn’t used those travel opportunities to test all kinds of products, devices, apps, services, and features? And what kind of writer would I be if I didn’t report on the ones that made a significant difference in my experience? That’s why I’m now here talking to you about my favorite discoveries of them all — these are the 10 products that have completely changed the way I travel.