Packing 101: Italy

Packing 101: Italy

I was just reminiscing about our first trip out of the country together, a 10 day vacation to Italy visiting Rome, Venice and Florence in mid-May. The weather in Rome and Florence was perfect, warm but not too hot. It rained in Venice but even the rain was perfect because it added some excitement to our venture…

italy_coliseum

We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Rome right by the Coliseum. It was a wonderful little place, centrally located to many sights. We were able to walk every where and skipped the bus route. We really enjoyed experiencing life as if we were a local so we shopped at the grocery store as well as the Farmer’s Market, did laundry in our room and hung our clothes out the window to dry like the locals as well as stopping by the laundry mat. Rome was really warm in May and we didn’t pack a lot of shorts and tanks tops but with some soap and water and the evening heat, our clothes dried rather quickly. After washing our clothes, we looked at the crap we had packed but not worn and decided to leave them in the large suitcase and have the bed and breakfast store it for us while we traveled to Venice and Florence. We were going to come back to Rome on our way home. It was pretty ridiculous but we had packed one huge suitcase, one large carry-on suitcase, one large backpack and one rolly backpack of dressy clothes and matching shoes along with jeans and slacks plus the things we actually wore. I think we had envisioned nice dinners and clubbing but we didn’t plan on doing any of that once we arrived. We preferred the laid back dinners sitting outside with a bottle or two of wine.

This is just a list of the suggested essentials and if you don’t mind going to the laundry mat.

This is what I ended up wearing:

  • 1 pair of cargo pants – wore onto the plane
  • 3 pairs of shorts
  • 6 shirts/tanks – wore one onto the plane – you don’t want to have the same clothes on in your pics
  • 2 casual dresses
  • 2 light sweaters or zip ups – wore one on the plane – they won’t let you in The Vatican if you show bare shoulders like I did but if you forget just send your beau to the gift shop there for a wrap
  • 1 pashmina wrap – easy to pack and you can tie it to your backpack if you need to save space
  • 1 pair of Teva flip flops – they were awesome even for all the walking
  • 2 pairs of walking shoes – wore one onto the plane
  • PJ’s
  • 5 pairs of undies
  • 5 pairs of socks

    This is what Steve ended up wearing:

  • 1 pair of jeans – wore onto the plane
  • 1 pair of khakis
  • 3 pairs of shorts
  • 5 t-shirts – wore one onto the plane
  • 1 button down shirt
  • 2 zip ups – wore one on the plane
  • 1 pair of flip flops
  • 2 pairs of walking shoes – wore one onto the plane
  • PJ’s
  • 5 pairs of undies
  • 5 pairs of socks

    rolled up clothes
    Roll everything up and it should all fit in your one suitcase and two backpacks along with your toiletries. If you roll up each clothing item, they’ll fit better. I learned this from my friend who backpacked through Europe.

    • Published: May 14, 2014
    Categories: World Travelers
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