We are readying ourselves for a journey to Italy, the land of romance that I have oft dreamed of visiting.
We are on a tour not of our own making, as has been our experience as we have traveled with our extended family for the past two years, but with a Rick Steves tour. Rick Steves, he of the PBS series, is a believer in the “close to the ground” type of tour, wherein you live as a temporary European. His “Europe by the Back Door” philosophy seeks to help travelers experience new lands like locals. To accomplish this, he avoids the big chain hotels and restaurants and seeks out charming places run by the people who own them.
Our journey will begin in Florence and go from there to Lucca, then on to Cinque Terre, off Siena, Assisi, Umbria and finally, Rome. We will be trekking through Italy for eleven days.
And here’s the catch—(you knew there had to be a catch, didn’t you?)—we are each only allowed to bring one suitcase and it has to be of the “carry-on” variety. That is to say, it must be 22”x 14” x 9”. That means that everything I am going to need for eleven days has to fit into 2,772 cubic inches of space. I totally plan on bringing along a fold-up bag that will double as a second suitcase to bring home goodies, but seriously, people! This is going to be a challenge!
They send you a suggested packing list, but of course, one must fine tune it. I am trying to figure out which of my clothes will be able to be washed out and will dry in a reasonable amount of time for recycling purposes. I remember when my daughter Li z and I went to Paris in August, and it was 104 degrees. I ended up washing out my khaki skirt every night and wearing it every day. This trip may prove similar. The weather in Italy has been sunny and very warm lately.
Of primary concern to me is finding the right shoes to wear for the miles of walking that we are promised. In fact, Rick Steves’ literature warns that this is a strenuous trip, so I hope I can keep up. I plan on taking my most broken-in sandals and a pair of sneakers. Maybe I should pack roller skates!
I also purchased a new camera, since my last one was donated to the employees of Hertz rental cars in Tampa. “No, Mrs. Werner, no one found a camera in that car you returned.” Now I just need to get a few lessons on how to operate it once we get there. I won’t have my usual tech team on hand to help me in Italy.
Everyone who has been there has told us how much they loved Italy. The food! The wine! The beautiful countryside! The marvelous cities!
I am totally psyched about going. All I have to do is fit my worldly goods into a very small space.
Wish me luck.
We are on a tour not of our own making, as has been our experience as we have traveled with our extended family for the past two years, but with a Rick Steves tour. Rick Steves, he of the PBS series, is a believer in the “close to the ground” type of tour, wherein you live as a temporary European. His “Europe by the Back Door” philosophy seeks to help travelers experience new lands like locals. To accomplish this, he avoids the big chain hotels and restaurants and seeks out charming places run by the people who own them.
Our journey will begin in Florence and go from there to Lucca, then on to Cinque Terre, off Siena, Assisi, Umbria and finally, Rome. We will be trekking through Italy for eleven days.
And here’s the catch—(you knew there had to be a catch, didn’t you?)—we are each only allowed to bring one suitcase and it has to be of the “carry-on” variety. That is to say, it must be 22”x 14” x 9”. That means that everything I am going to need for eleven days has to fit into 2,772 cubic inches of space. I totally plan on bringing along a fold-up bag that will double as a second suitcase to bring home goodies, but seriously, people! This is going to be a challenge!
They send you a suggested packing list, but of course, one must fine tune it. I am trying to figure out which of my clothes will be able to be washed out and will dry in a reasonable amount of time for recycling purposes. I remember when my daughter Li z and I went to Paris in August, and it was 104 degrees. I ended up washing out my khaki skirt every night and wearing it every day. This trip may prove similar. The weather in Italy has been sunny and very warm lately.
Of primary concern to me is finding the right shoes to wear for the miles of walking that we are promised. In fact, Rick Steves’ literature warns that this is a strenuous trip, so I hope I can keep up. I plan on taking my most broken-in sandals and a pair of sneakers. Maybe I should pack roller skates!
I also purchased a new camera, since my last one was donated to the employees of Hertz rental cars in Tampa. “No, Mrs. Werner, no one found a camera in that car you returned.” Now I just need to get a few lessons on how to operate it once we get there. I won’t have my usual tech team on hand to help me in Italy.
Everyone who has been there has told us how much they loved Italy. The food! The wine! The beautiful countryside! The marvelous cities!
I am totally psyched about going. All I have to do is fit my worldly goods into a very small space.
Wish me luck.
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