Tips

What a fun evening tonight! It was so nice to put faces to names, and have a little time together in anticipation of our trip.

If any of you would like a follow-up session with Joe in order to practice some more Italian, please just email me.

Here's a packing tip I forgot to mention: bring along a small flashlight (or a book light, or one of those lights on a headband thingies, or whatever). In case the power goes off in the hotel, you won't be stuck in total darkness. I don't anticipate this to be a problem specific to Italy - I just usually do this whenever I travel.

Don't pack a hair dryer. Your hotel room will have one, and you'd need an adapter/converter in order to use yours, anyway.

You can save some space by not packing a pair of socks for every day of the trip. You can wash them out at night and wear them another day.

For other tips, please click on the "packing ideas" label in the right column.

Thinking ahead: packing

Many hotels in Europe do not provide washcloths.

So, add THAT to your packing list!

But here's an idea... if you have an old washcloth or two that are wearing out, you could bring it along and throw it away at the end of the trip (or, one for Assisi, one for Rome!) That way, there is just *that* much more space in your luggage for souvenirs on the way home.

This also works for old underwear... although I'd suggest not wearing those on the day we fly... just in case you get that *extra* special patdown!

You know what else works great for traveling/packing? Those mesh sponge pouffy things:

You can squish them down to almost nothing. Just bring a small plastic bag in case it hasn't dried fully when we have to move from one hotel to the next. (And again, keep it or toss it at the end of the trip)