Ciao!

Well, not really.  Almost.    Italy is looming, and the one thing that I'm focusing on?  Clothing to wear!  I don't want to be targeted as a tourist (and therefore become burglar-bait), but comfort is huge - especially since Rome is so freakin' hot right now.

Italians are very much aware of "la bella figura" and treat people better when they look well put together.  Unfortunately, Italians are also thin and most haven't experienced the (dis)pleasure of plus-sized shopping.

The other problem my PIC and I have is that we'll be gone for quite a while - and we're not sure about visiting laundromats while we're there.  So my solution is to pack clothes that I'd wear three times and use febreeze in between wears.  And if something gets particularly funky, I'll wash it in the sink.

So, my packing list includes: 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of jean capris, 1 pairs of black pants, 1 pair of brown pants, 1 skirt, 8 tops, 1 pair of pjs, 10 pairs of underwear (they will be washed),  2 bras, four pairs of shoes (tevas, Clark thongs, Dansko sandals, brown closed toe shoes).  I vacuum seal my clothes so that they fit better (and then I can seal off my dirty clothes for the trip back).

Miscellaneous materials: camera, maps, books, toiletries, iphone, ipad.

I swear I'm bringing more things on this trip than I did last year, but it doesn't seem all that bad.   My carry-on will be very heavy, though, since I'm bringing my camera in a camera bag.  I plan on taking nice photographs on this trip, so it's needed.

Almost there!

-Ciao!