You peer at a small carry-on suitcase—or whatever luggage you plan to bring—and are stumped when it comes to planning your clothing for the trip.

What do you put in your suitcase, carry-on, backpack, or bag and what do you leave at home? 

Here are five items you should have—or not have—in your luggage.

 1. Pack a small umbrella or water-repellent jacket with a hood.

Walking will likely be one of your methods of touring in cities and towns. Being drenched is no fun! If your luggage is filled to the brim, remember that you can wear a coat onto the plane in addition to your permitted carry-ons, and then place it on top of your luggage in the overhead bin. Some people use this technique to bring a sport coat or blazer, if they need one.

2. Depending on the season and the geographic location of your destination(s), bring compressible layering garments for warmth.

3. Pack a money belt that can be worn underneath your clothing to hold money, credit or debit cards, passport, and train passes. In large cities, train and bus terminals, and near major tourist attractions pickpockets may target foreigners.

4. Unless you plan to frequent places or have business or social events with an understood dress code, don’t pack fancy clothing. Most of the restaurants I’ve encountered in Europe permit their customers to be attired in casual or dressy casual clothing, by which I mean a shirt and slacks or skirt, or a dress.

5. Bring shoes in which you can comfortably walk long distances over hard cobblestone streets.

Buon Viaggio!

You are only days away from your trip abroad and now it’s time to get serious. It’s time to pack!

What do you put in your suitcase, carry-on, backpack, or bag and what do you leave at home?

Here are five items you should have—or not have—in your luggage.

 1. Bring, or have quick access to, emergency documents and numbers. Carry or know how to quickly find the emergency telephone numbers for lost credit or debit cards. Have secure access to your card number, such as from secure, encrypted cloud storage or from a trusted friend or relative back home. In similar manner, have readily available a photocopy of your passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, and medical powers of attorney, if any. Having this access is like an insurance policy you hope to never need.

 2. Don’t bring unnecessary credit, debit, membership, or identification cards with you. If you don’t plan on driving during your trip, you may find you do not need to bring your driver’s license since you will be carrying your passport.

 3. Consider bringing a sleep aid—over-the-counter, prescription, or natural—to help you rest during night flights and for when you first return home from Europe.

 4. Bring snacks and water onto the plane for delays, tight connections, and emergencies.

 5. On the plane and throughout your journey, one thing you should always have with you—your smile! Your pleasant demeanor will allow you, and the people you encounter, to enjoy the trip.

Buon Viaggio!

You are headed to Europe and now face that dreaded, much anticipated, terrorizing prospect—packing.

What do you put in your suitcase, carry-on, backpack, or bag and what do you leave at home?

Here are five items you should have—or not have—in your carry-on luggage.

1. Pack your passport. Verify—long before you trip starts—that the expiration date on your passport is after your planned return to the U.S. (or home country).

2. Carry your medications with you. Luggage can get lost or delayed and at times even over-the-counter medications may be difficult to acquire at your destination.

3. Bring chargers for electronic devices onboard with you, unless you don’t mind spending precious hours of your time hunting down replacements.

4. Don’t attempt to carry-on anything that will be reason for security officials to stop and question you, such as: anything deemed a security risk, cash over $10,000 without having filed a Form FinCEN 105, illegal drugs, etc. You don’t want to delay your departure and miss a connecting flight!

5. What else should you carry on the plane? Pack one or more good books—paper or electronic—to help you pass the time on the long flight over the ocean! 

Buon Viaggio!

Why is the prospect of packing for a European vacation so befuddling, terrifying, or confusing?

Here are four reasons why packing for a trip abroad elicits these reactions, and what you can do to end the pre-packing jitters.

1. You don’t know the baggage rules and fees for international travel and are afraid of a disaster at the airport.

Luggage restrictions and the related baggage fees are often stricter and more costly for travel between the United States and Europe. So what should you do? Educate yourself!

Check with the specific airline carriers your flights are booked on for their rules and fees. Airline websites typically contain this information. Know that there may also be different rules for your various flight segments: within the U.S., between the U.S. and Europe, and between European countries.

2. You don’t know how to deal with the issues if your luggage happens to get lost in a foreign country. The mere prospect of lost luggage is terrifying!

Seriously consider whether you can survive with only carry-on luggage. (I know, easier said than done.) The advantages, if you can do this, are five:

• You have less laundry to wash or dry clean when you get home
• You have an excuse to shop for missing items while abroad (but remember—you have to find room to pack your purchases when you return home)
• Unless you leave it somewhere, your luggage won’t get lost on the way
• Ground transportation—rental cars with tiny trunks, trains, and buses—will be easier to use if you have less luggage to drag along
• My favorite reason to consider bringing only carry-on luggage: You won’t be denied a new, replacement flight with a tight connection because your luggage won’t make the plane.

Yes, the inability to switch to a new flight because of lagging checked luggage has happened to me. Sadly, more than once.

3. You don’t know what clothes to pack. 

Clothing should be multi-purpose and able to either be re-worn without laundering or hand washable and quick drying. Plan your wardrobe around a color scheme that is neutral and mix-and-match. For women, one space-conscious accessory, such as a colorful scarf or inexpensive statement necklace, can be used to spice up your outfits. Scarves are normally on my list of fun things to shop for in Italy, as markets often carry beautiful, inexpensive scarves that make a functional and lovely souvenir from my trip. Bottom line? You will need less clothing than you imagine!

4. You’re worried about being unprepared for unpredictable weather while in a foreign country. Plan for a variety of weather with compressible layering pieces for warmth and rain protection that won’t take much space, such as a compressible rain jacket with a hood and/or an umbrella. Unpredictable, torrential rains or unexpected frigid temperatures can happen.

 Does this sound like wild weather has happened to my husband and I? You’re right. It has, but it didn’t stop our fun!

Whew! Now you’ve finally packed and are ready to go, but now you’re worried about getting your luggage, and yourself, checked in at the airport.

Get to the airport early or, at a minimum, on time, especially for international flights and in large, busy European airports. My rule of thumb is to allow at least three hours in the airport terminal when travelling abroad. Finding the appropriate check-in counters, going through security, and accounting for any strikes or work stoppages that might occur in your host country can require more time than you imagine.

In case you wondered, ignoring the logic of 2. above, my husband and I normally check one bag when travelling abroad and we hope for the best. What can I say? We’re optimists! 

Buon Viaggio!

Thinking of traveling to Italy in December or January? What holidays occur that should you keep in mind when planning your trip?

There are a number of holidays during the two month holiday period to consider when booking your year-end travel to Italy.

  Here are nine dates to keep in mind:

1. December 6: The Feast of San Nicola (St. Nicholas). While celebrations vary north to south, children may write letters to San Nicola on December 5^th and be rewarded with a present or sweet treats on the morning of the 6^th.
2. December 8: The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is an annual public holiday in Italy to honor Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus. Many Italians will attend a church mass in celebration and government offices, post offices, banks, and schools are closed because of the public holiday.
3. December 13: The Feast of Santa Lucia is celebrated with fairs, special foods, and even parades in many Italian towns, particularly in Sicily and Calabria.
4. December 24: Christmas Eve is celebrated with the Feast of the Seven Fishes, also known as The Vigil. The tradition of only eating seafood dishes dates back to the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat dishes on the eve of holy days. Some Catholics choose to celebrate with nine, 11, or 13 different seafood dishes.
5. December 25: Christmas Day is celebrated by attending Mass and then sharing a massive multi-course meal with family and friends.
6. December 26: The Feast of Saint Stephen is another public holiday in Italy, which means closure of government offices, banks, schools, and post offices. It commemorates the martyr of Jerusalem and is celebrated by holding festivals and visiting Nativity scenes in churches.
7. December 31: Feast Day of Saint Sylvester honors the saint on the day of his death. Saint Sylvester was one of the early popes of the Roman Catholic Church. The traditional New Year’s Eve meal varies across Italy but the symbolism of abundance is the same.

8.  January 1: New Year’s Day is often celebrated by an exchange of sweet treats to ensure a sweet new year. Ancient Romans exchanged jars of figs and dates in honey.

9.  January 6: The Feast of the Epiphany, another bank holiday in Italy, celebrates the arrival of the three Wise Men (the Magi), who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. The night preceding the Epiphany is the twelfth night of Christmas and in some regions, Italian children will set out stockings for the Befana, the friendly witch, to bring sweets to those who have been good.

Many Italian cities and towns hold their own festivals during the year, so check the locality’s website when planning your itinerary. Buon Viaggio!