sgbargyle

I am 56, not in the best of shape and was traveling with my daughter who had a heavy bag so she could offer only limited help. Traveled for 2 weeks in very hot weather. I found a four-wheel carry-on at Target no less and it was the best buy and I had a small gym duffle bag that easily fit over the handle. I easily navigated through crowded airports and train stations. I was able to carry my bag up flights of stairs (no escalators or elevators at most train stations) JFK I had to navigate down steps from the plane and climb up 2 flights of stairs.

I saw people miss trains and struggle with too many heavy bags.

Women my age wore light long skirts, capri and crop pants, Dressed in light sundresses and pretty blouses with slacks for dinner

I packed: 7 cotton\poylester sleevless blouses and slinky shells for evening. 3 capri pants, one pair was black for evening. 2 slacks, one for the plane and one pair black for dinner
1 slinky skirt and shell for dinner
Indian long light scarf for churches
1 pair sneakers, 1 pair sandals, 1 pair flats.

Couldn't wear the sandals because the pavement was cobblestone and uneven and my balance isn't great. Wore the flats for evening, used the sneakers to walk everywhere but needed running shoes, not thin soled sneakers. Didn't need the black slacks. Took a small beachtype bag that fit in the top of my carry-on and used it frequently. We used money belt a lot.
Thank you for those who stressed travel light and travel small. It made the biggest difference in my trip. Ciao

CarolA

Can you talk to my mother?

She's 71 and THINKS she travels light. Actually she travels with a porter... (AKA as me! LOL!)

sgbargyle

Your funny, you know the saying, can't teach an old dog new tricks? I'm just learning now, so I had no ways to change.

Pegontheroad

You sound like a sensible but stylish traveler. I once went to Germany with not one, but two suitcases, one of them quite large. We were traveling by car, but it was still a hassle to try to woman-handle those two cases up some of the stairs we encountered.

That taught me to pack light, using black pants and a few tops that went with the pants. I use a 22" (carry-on size) and sometimes a small case to hang from the handle.

I'm 72, and sometimes it's not easy to hoist even a carry-on, but I'd never be able to travel alone, especially on trains, if I didn't pack very light.

zeppole

Good for you for wearing running shoes!

annw

I am proud of my 4 sisters ( ages 56-70) for heeding the advice to take a rolling carry on (22) and a tote for our two weeks in Italy recently. Hardest part was getting them into the overhead bins on plane and train, but *thankfully* nothing larger to worry about.

My sister whose clothes worked out the best took black and white variations and a light green for accent pieces. We were able to have laundry done twice. Everyone ditched something on the way and we bought little (fizzling dollar as well as space). No one needed to check a bag on the way back. I wished I had not taken a knit jacket and a hoodie; I never wore them or the windbreaker due to the heat wave.

I too like the black slacks and wore them the most with the various tops.

Blacknight

I went to England and Scotland in August of 2006 for 2 weeks. I took a 26 inch suitcase and a small, rolling cosmetic case. First off, the suitcase was way too big. Secondly, I packed too many clothes!

Black sandals & brown sandals for evening; black Merrell walking shoes, green Merrell walking shoes and a pair of flat Timerland sandals for daytime walking. Yes, I lost my mind.

And don't get me started on the clothes. Half of the stuff I took I didn't wear. Let's see, a red skirt, black skirt, brown skirt, numerous tee shirts (Target makes them in many colors) 3 pashimas, 1 pair of jeans, one pair of long, light colored pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 3 long sleeve blouses; along with a rain coat and light jacket.....that's all I can remember.

Needless to say, I wanted to look cute for my first European trip. Haha!

All I can say is thank goodness it was a bank holiday when I arrived or else those Londoners would have thrown me on the tracks in the Tube.

I managed to navigate pretty well with all of that crap, but people, when you pack, less is more. Take things you can handwash and mix and match like crazy.

For my next foray to Europe, I plan on taking a 22 inch roller and a cosmetic bag that fits over the handle (I had it at the time of my trip, but bought a bigger one). I'm already mentally preparing my list of stuff to bring and then I'm going to cut it in half!

sgbargyle

I definitely found the four-wheel 22 inch carry-on an asset because it allowed me to wheel it right at my side as I ran or walked through airports and train stations. Plus making the stairs between platforms was hard with my (22) as it was. It took far less energy and I highly recommend an investment in a four-wheeler.

suze

Thanks for taking the time to post for us. Great information and sounds like you were nicely organized. I also am a fan of traveling light and love to hear other people's tips and pack lists.

I agree and only travel with sturdy shoes, usually one walking shoe, one sturdy sandal, and my best running sneakers. I stopped taking long pants in hot weather, as I thought I'd need them but never got around to wearing them.

Marsh

I would really like to do carryon only, but my husband wants to check his carryon sized bag, so I have been doing that also. This means that I take another small rolling bag on the plane with me. Then, when we travel by train, I have two rolling bags to deal with up & down those stairs! It is hard at times.

suze

march~ Could you use a non-rolling bag for your carry-on? Two suitcases both with wheels doesn't work very well (as you have found). But it's easy to put a small tote of duffle bag on top of the larger wheeled bag and move them along together.

Pendarb

Here's what I took for my recent two week trip to Italy and France:
a rolling 19" suitcase with a foldable tote bag inside and a small, over the shoulder black mylon purse, which I wore on the front of my body for safety. I had 2 pairs capris, 1 jersey (black) skirt, 1 crushable sundress, 7 lightweight tops, bathing suit, socks, undies and p.j.s. I rinsed out things at our B&B's when needed, but it was a perfect amount of stuff to bring. I wore lightweight, jersey pants on the plane, with a light jacket. I wore running shoes and took black sandals, a fairly sturdy pair. The most important things that I took were my crushable sun hat ( my friends could always spot me in a crowd when I wore it), a small package of moleskin, which I had precut into various sizes. Even if your shoes are ultra comfortable at home, they may feel quite different after days of walking on cobblestone, and I definitely made use of the moleskin!
And I always take a 1 and 1/2 yard length of flannel fabric (hem the ends) on the plane with me. I use it for an impromptu pillow, blanket, beach towel, shawl, picnic blanket, curtain, whatever!
Along with a bag of toiletries and a book (which I never read!) it was easy to manage. On the way home I put my laundry in the tote bag and stuffed my few purchases in the suitcase. The tote bag was also invaluable at the markets, since they don't automatically give you bags for your purchases.