What to Bring:
1. Clothing- Very disappointed in my "clothing" advisors. We brought way too much and way too heavy. TIP: Read online tips, follow your gut, watch the temperatures before you leave and don't listen to others advice. Again, Follow your gut.
FYI: Italians do wear jeans (all colors, long, short, skirts) and white tennis shoes. They, like us, know what good footwear is all about. At least I fought that one.
2. Shoes. My shoes were my Tevas (which I wore out and must now either accept their demise or super glue them), tennis shoes (WHITE) and my dressy Tevas. That's it. Shoes I bought, at Lake Garda, on sale? Name Brand KEYS, Red, open toed flats. I paid E 29. Original Price @ E 75
3. Necessary clothes: All of these should be easy wash and wear. Follow the 1 on, 1 off and 1 washed and drying theory Underwear-3; Bras-3 (but I don't wear them)(perk of mastectomies!); socks-2 pair.
4. Summer Wear: I can only attest to this. Shorts-3 pair (same theory); Pants-1 pair-You will wear these probably once when you go out to eat. All of these should be easy fold/roll types. It's never a bad idea to have a pair of long pants. In the summer, jeans are too hot. Something light, like Chico's Travel stuff or Travel Wear items, roll up easy and are light to wear. These I brought in black and brown (following my advisor's statements that all Italians wear dark clothing)(Only if they are lawyers going to work or waiters/waitresses!!) Fav pants I brought were the Columbia that zip off the bottoms and make shorts. Got lots of wear out of these.
5. Dresses. Women (Men too, if so desired!): Invest in light airy dresses, sleeveless. This is what is worn. Easy to pull up when you have to potty on those disgusting "squatty" without seats toilets (That's another topic!!) Or wait till you get to Rome or Venice, hit an open market and buy them for less than 15 euros. I can't see any reason to go to Venice or Rome and buy clothing from a name brand store. We get the same stuff-YES we do!!- and it's much cheaper. So, buy from the open air markets for cheap made in Italy cutesy dresses. These will cover your knees (needed in Vatican City) and be wonderfully comfortable and you feel so elegant and beautiful! And remember, It's much easier to pull something up and out of the way than down and let it touch the floor. (Again a toilet tip--later!)
6. For the Men: Okay, your lower legs embarass you? Listen, unless you are between the ages of 21 and 39, your legs look like everyone elses' . Get over it. Also, the person taking pics can always cut off your legs, not your head, in the picture or crop it later. But if not, bring a loose pair of comfortable pants...Not jeans. They will be scorchers. The Italian Men do wear jean, but the material is lighter weight and much tighter. I noticed these things only in an effort to provide accurate material on what you should wear. Also, either no undies or thongs. I saw no panty lines on tight jeaned Italian Men. Not that I was looking hard, just sayin....Khakis look nice. Hey, don't bring the blue ones. They know we are tourists (yet another topic-later) A light color is just more sensible. Only bring one pair. You will figure out they are too hot to wear during the day. But a nice dinner, yeah, wear them. You want us to be beautiful for dinner. Shorts. Same as the ladies. Only 2-3. Wash and wear styles with pockets. Oh, get used to wearing your wallet in the front pocket or get one of those ridiculous looking money belts that make you look fat.
Howard never wore his. His pants always had either a front pocket or a back which buttoned and he always buttoned. And we were always on "high alert" and never put ourselves in stupid situations (yest another topic-later)
7. Tops: This I hit right on. 3-6 tops (I brought sleeveles tops with the bra fitted in). Bring 2 shirts as cover ups. I brought a long sleeved white Chicos top that I often use as a cover. I also brought a light jacket, with pockets, also a Chico item, that I could use as a cover up. And probably the best items- 2 Columbia shirts that can roll into short sleeves. I could have brought these 2 and my nice long white top and left my jacket at home. Note of interest: Not only am I menopausal/breast cancer survivor but a med I am taking totally throws off my temperature control mechanisms. It can be blazing hot and I am icey cold on the inside. I always have a cover up in the states when I go into a restaurant because they really run the AC over the top. It can be the same here. I also brought the beautiful pinkish scarf that Howard gave me, for my birthday, which matched the white and taupe dresses I bought and which accented them lovely. Easy on/Easy off. Appropo... Men-Light tops, short sleeves. Def not sleeveless. Eeeeew. Not a pretty site. Even on the Italian men. AFTO = An American Female Turn Off.
So, if I were to pack my suitcase again, here's how it would look:
Clothes:Shoes- (3) dressy sandals, walking sandals, Tennis shoes (white); Dresses-3-light, sleeveless, easy to roll up; Tops-1-long sleeve as a cover up-white is best/goes with everything I will bring, 2 Columbia tops (white and either blue or salmon color) Sleeveles-3 with fitted bras-Brown/Orange/Beige. Scarf-1 long-Color to match the 3 dresses.; Pants-Long-1/Shorts-3/Brown zip type Columbias, Navy, Brown. All of these are the dry fast material. Poncho-just in case it rains. Sun Hat-wide brim that fold easily in suitcase (mine is actually 65% paper!!!)
Personal Items: Deodarant; Conditioner; 3 Scrunchies /clips for long hair or a baseball cap (ladies understand); Razor; lotion; box of Wet Ones or other brand (clean face or remove makeup); Hand sanitizer (why that surprises you, I don't know!); Lip gloss; Sun Block; Toothbrush/Toothpaste. Hotels provide shampoo or come to the realization that soap is soap whether it is liquid or solid. If you are going to wash your hair and need a "gentle" soap, bring a bar of Ivory. Really, it works and it doesn't count on your liquid carry on thing.Make up-keep it light: Face cream (I used my conditioner), mascara, eye liner, light brown shadow and lip gloss. Brush and a comb. That's it.
FYI-Don't get your nails done with acrylic before coming here. Get a nice mani/pedi and put on clear polish. I only saw a few people with Acrylic nails and they looked like they were in dire shape and needed to be repaired, etc. The Italian women? They had natural short length nails with clear polish.
Jewelry: Don't be stupid! Leave it at home. Who cares if you don't have on your wedding bands or diamonds. Danger Danger Will Robinson. And your holes in your ears won't close up. I brought one necklace that Howard had given me and my watch. That was it. We purchased some beautiful Murano jewelry, but I'm not wearing it all over the place and now that I'm settle at Buddy's, it is being shipped home.
Small Backpack to carry items like water and fruit. Your hotel probably has a little fridg/freezer. Freeze 1/2 bottle of water and top off in am. Keep hydrated. We used Howard's. It was the perfect size.
Don't Forget Items: Your glasses / contacts with solution and case; Sun glasses. Bring the cloth to keep them clean. Electric converters for appliances and gadgets. Avoid what I did "as I was told" . You need probably 2 okay 3, in case you lose 1. NOT ONE FOR EACH THING. Really, you will not plug everything in all at once and many hotels only have 2-3 accessible outlets. FYI: I HAVE SEVERAL FOR SALE.
If I've forgotten anything, I'll have an "Oh Yeah" section.
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