1) It's ok, as long as at least one you stays sane and focused. (My husband and I take turns getting stressed out, lost, confused, tired.)

If you don't speak the language, speak in broken English. Don't throw an entire sentence at them. Instead of saying, "can you tell me where the bathroom is?" say, "toilet?"

Passport, credit cards, tickets, emergency phone numbers: as long as you have those safe and available to you, you can manage anything else. You don't really need to pack everything else you might think you need.

Apart from comfortable shoes.

Relax and be flexible. Expect the unexpected and don't stress out- often leads to great experiences - you are supposed to be having fun - have it.

If you are planning to take a train, bring a list of all available trains in case one is sold out (just happened to me last week).

To save space, pull out the pages you need from that very heavy guide book.

If you dont want to pull out a map on the metro, write down your directions on a piece of paper that you can refer to.

Use the Fodors message board experts, they havent let me down yet.

Your not lost, your on vacation.