HELP! What do I pack??
 

I leave in 3 days and I am still struggling with what to pack. We will be staying for a few days in Paris and then on a barge in the south of France. What is most appropriate? Should I add another skirt and take away a pair of shorts? I have a couple of skorts (skirt/short combos) will they be versatile enough? Or am I best to stick with long pants?? Men have it so much easier!!! Also, I have read that sneakers are not ver accepted. Is that true? I need some advice SOON.

Hi Terri, <BR> <BR>You are welcome to look at my packing list that I use for my travels: http://sites.netscape.net/monicapileggi/travel. I wear pants on my trips, although I took 1 pair of shorts for my trip to Germany (just came back on the 16th). As for shoes, I bring sneekers and Easy Spirit shoes as they are very comfortable. The E.S shoes don't have that sneeker, casual look. Don't worry about how you look. BE COMFORTABLE! You'll be walking alot and it will definitely be better to have comfortable shoes. Have a great trip! I love Paris.

I agree with Monica: I stick to pants and stirrup pants/leggings on trips, and one skirt. We're taking a self-drive boat trip this September, so I'll take a pair of shorts. Recommended for boats are rubber soled shoes, like Easy Spirit flats or a pair of sneakers (for safety as well as protection for the wooden decks). <BR> <BR>For the south of France, in June, I'd take a couple of pair of 'city' shorts and lighten up on long pants.

I lived in Europe for ten years and I visit back often.... the most ideal shoe I have seen is the Birkenstock, provied you have a broken in pair. Nobody will harass you about wearing sneakers, but everyone will know you are a tourist. as far as travel clothing goes, Europeans tend to dress up a bit more. I am bringing a cargo khaki skirt with buttoned side pockets to prevent pickpocketing... skorts sounds like a great option... I also like to bring a day sundress, as you can go from daytime waler to nightime bar crawler very easily.

Terri, the best advice I have is pack a variety-- we had weather (between May 27 and June 15) all over the map, from 80+ heat (with humidity) to 50's and cold, as well as some rain. However, the old layers trick works, as well as packing things that go with everything, not "outfits". I threw in the top to my synthetic long underwear at the last minute, and I actually wore it on one of the cold days. I would vote in favor of casual skirts. I wore them instead of shorts on warm days. We also went on a barge trip (in Burgundy), and our hosts encouraged us to take our shoes off on board-- that's personal preference obviously. For shoes, I wore "comfort sandals" (not Birkenstocks, but the same idea), and they were great. On a couple of cold days I felt foolish in sandals, but that was offset by their functionality for most of the rest of the time. Hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy the barge as much as we did!