Packing the Light Way

The last time we traveled to Europe and also to Hawaii, I brought a large suit case filled with clothes. I promised myself that I would not bring my entire closet when I went to Rome. It's not like I'm a fashionista - far, far from it. (I mean, really, I shop at Goodwill.) But, I do have a tendency to overdo things whether it's packing or cooking. Also, I really didn't want to deal with checking luggage. It's a hassle and it's expensive. The backpack and the purse that you see in the picture contain everything that I'm bringing to Rome. Let's have a look inside, shall we?

In the backpack I have:

3 pairs of pants
2 sweaters
3 long sleeve shirts
3 T-shirts

5 pairs of underwear
2 bras
1 pair of gloves
5 pairs of socks
2 camisoles (1 is for sleepware)
1 pair of workout pants (sleepware)
1 quart size bag containing travel size sundries
1 Bible
1 package of handy wipes
1 package of Kleenex
1 folder containing travel info
1 can of baking powder **
2 packages of cilantro seeds **

** Special requests from my friends in Italy.

I rolled up all of the pants, shirts, sweaters, and even the underwear. When clothing is rolled, it's easier to stack in layers inside the backpack.

In the purse - The Day Purse by Reign Vermont - I have my medication, flight and shuttle info, Altoids, gum, coin purse, cell phone, cell phone charger, and an adapter plug. Sorry, I didn't really want to take a picture of all that. :-)

You don't grow up in Northern California without the idea of dressing in layers being drilled into you. Anyway, my flight outfit consists of one pair of comfy, stretchy jeans, a black T-shirt, a long sleeve blouse, a sweater and of course, shoes. The one pair of shoes that you see is the only pair of shoes that I'm bringing. Since we are leaving on Saturday morning and arriving in Rome on Sunday morning (because of the time difference), then technically, this outfit will be used for 2 days. :-)  I'm hoping that it will still be OK to wear on the return flight home. So there you have it. No, I didn't leave alot of room for souvenirs because I'm not really a souvenir monger. I'll just have to find something that fits in my backpack...or my son's backpack. I hope to post some pictures when I get back. TTFN.

10 Days and Counting

In 10 days, my oldest son and I leave for Rome...Italy, not Georgia. Although this isn't my first visit to Europe, it is my first visit to Rome and I'm very excited to do all of the tourist stuff. He's more excited about travelling on the plane and being out of school rather than visiting the actual destination. I take part of that back: he's excited about eating "real" Italian gelato. Seeing the Coliseum and the Sistine Chapel? Shrug. Who can blame him?

I've made my to-do list and it's surprisingly long. So, it's short and sweet today as I continue with my errands and work my way down the list.