The things I forgot to bring...
 

Hi, <BR> <BR>Leaving with my family for Italy (Rome, Florence, Orvieto) in 1 week. I am starting to plan what we should pack to bring with us. What are some of the things you forgot to bring, and what are some of the things you could have lived without? <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Denise

these are the things I DO bring, other than the obvious and usual <BR>Bandaids (for blisters), carried daily in my tote bag <BR>Large bottle of water for the plane. While I'm there I buy small ones to tote around every day. Most European cities don't have as many water fountains in public places as we do in the U.S. <BR>Corkscrew <BR>Ziplock bags in several sizes for potentially leaky bottles, snacks, shoes, wet soap or washcloths, water bottles that form condensation on the outside, dirty underwear, etc <BR>paperplates, plastic utensils (for picnics, even picnics in the hotel room) <BR>very small notebook/pad and a pen carried daily <BR>complete copy of my itinerary, including advance plane, train, hotel, museum, and restaurant <BR>reservations by day, with respective phone numbers. Also put on it an emergency contact person at home. Carry this with you. Leave a copy of this with at least one reliable person at home. <BR>list of names and addresses for postcards to mail home (pre-written labels are wonderful) <BR>wash n dries (for cleaning of hands, or whatever) carried daily <BR>tissues (budget hotels often don't offer them, and they can double as toilet paper should the need arise) carried daily <BR>my own washcloth (many British and European budget hotels don't offer them) <BR>travel wallet, larger than my everyday wallet at home, it has lots of compartments and will hold: more than one kind of currency (bills and coins, so you need a coin compartment), credit card, atm card, calling card, passport, airline, train, and museum tickets, passes. Carried daily. <BR> <BR>Also, before I go I change batteries in watches, camera, travel alarm and anything else that could "die" mid-trip <BR>

A very, very small Maglite flashlight. Put it under your pillow. Nothing like waking in a strange bedroom in pitch dark and not knowing how to navigate around. You can break a toe real easy...or worse...getting to the john.

I had to laugh at Elaine's very good advice in changing the batteries in camera. On our honeymoon in Australia a few years ago, we took a safari deep into the Daintree Rainforest of Queensland-we saw thousands of these huge "vampire" fruit bats hanging from trees-low and behold the camera batteries died-of course miles from civilization! No pictures the entire day! So let me be a lesson to you all. <BR> <BR>Anyway, agree with everything Elaine says. The only thing I bring too much of is clothes-take about half of whatever your thinking of taking-you'll probably never wear them. I also bring my wine journal with me and sunscreen lotion. And don't forget a good book.

everyone seems so organized, but once, on a cruise, I forgot to bring my shoes! That's right, I left them in a bag on my bed. I had to do with the sneakers on my feet and some flip-flops I bought on board for the rest of the cruise. Not a pretty sight at dinner.

If you get a purse size maglite flashlight, it is also excellent to carry in your purse to supplement the minimal light on the magnificent frescoes in the churches. I also find a small pair of binoculars handy for viewing the frescoes on church walls and ceilings. I also bring a bath-size bar of soap (another thing you won't find in European hotels).

My suggestion is a packing list that way you are less likely to forget anything. On our first trip to Europe (2 adults and 2 kids) I made a packing list for each person and one for the medicine/toiletries/odds and ends bag. It helps me organize and not worry about forgetting something. As I pack an item I check it off the list. At the end of each trip I add to this list anything I wish I had taken with us. Some of my favorite odds and ends that I learned about on this forum have been a rubber sink stopper for doing hand laundry,a bungie cord type laundry line, Purell hand sanitizer (after feeding the pigeons you definately want to clean your hands and a sink may not be available!), a Swiss Army knife with scissors and cork screw, a variety of sizes of zip lock bags,plenty of film and extra batteries for each camara. Enjoy your trip!

Everybody has his/her own list. <BR>I like to have a couple of clothes pins or clamps of some type and a couple of sealable plastic baggies. <BR>And my little knife with gadgets on it. <BR>The flashlight is a good idea. I actually carry a larger one because of where we go. <BR>My electrical conversion kit is vital also. <BR> <BR>One thing, plan on how you will manage your suitcases. Then see if you can really do it around the block. People may stare, but to heck with them. <BR>You may find that going 300 yards or more down a city street with all you have is quite a chore. So lighten up!! <BR>(And take a little wash soap or detergent along.) <BR>And don't forget the prescription medicines.

I took a small filodex card with phone numbers: where to report lost credit cards, where to phone if I needed health insurance to kick in, and the one I actually ended up using: the phone number of my local bank (had to get them to transfer money from one account to another as my husbands ATM card didn't work (4 digits and all) and mine did). Large and small ziplock baggies were really helpful. The swiss army knife was very handy. I still took too many clothes!I took a pack of cards for my two children (9 and 10) and they used it on the train trips between Rome and Florence. Didn't need the language book, but as it was Rick Steves it was funny...Anything forgotten that you really need you can probably buy there <BR>Best Wishes! <BR>Jane

Take a yellow highliter and do not take the travel books you have planned from. Xerox copies of the pages you are interested in and toss as you go.

If you use washcloths, take a few handi-wipes & cut them in half. Each will last a few days; they take up virtually no space, & they dry in 20 minutes.

In the US I always travel with a cheap little nightlight that I can leave plugged into a bath outlet. Hate to turn on lights at night, and have actually broken toes twice in the dark while traveling. This year in Europe I vow to buy a little nightlight that will work on 220 in Europe, of course by plugging into the appropriate adaptor from my kit.

On my first flight to Europe, I brought some foam earplugs to use on the plane to block out the noise. I was hoping to catch a few winks during the flight.. They weren't so helpful on the plane, but I was sure happy to have them during our stay in Italy. A few rooms that we had, Florence in particular, were very noisy. It was a **** star hotel, over looking a piazza, beautiful place, but between people chatting outside, cars and vespas...I could have become rich selling those ear plugs. I think that there were 10 in a pack,,what a sleep saver!! I passed out a few pairs to other travelers I met and made friends for life. Not to mention, sure did muffle the sound of my husband snoring..don't leave home with out them..!!!

I have never forgotten anything. That's because I am a paranoid obsessive-compulsive control freak who makes lists, and then lists of her lists. I have a standard list (in hard copy and on the computer) for winter travel and another for late summer/early fall travel with addenda for beach, mountain, city. And you thought I was exaggerating about being compulsive. <BR> <BR>I gave up taking a journal; I don't keep one at home, and it is a pain in the neck to do on a trip. <BR> <BR>I gave up doing postcards; I wasted more time hunting through racks, then trying to find someplace to buy stamps, then writing them... <BR> <BR>I take maximum two paperbacks; traveling with a group of girls who all read, we just share the books (fortunately, we're all into murder and mayhem, so sharing is easy). <BR> <BR>And my final suggestions: <BR> <BR>Leave at home your desire to compare us with them. <BR> <BR>Remember to take your sense of humor.

Plane tickets. There's nothing quite like that feeling of standing at the ticket counter rifling through your pockets and bags trying to find the ticket you know is sitting on the kitchen counter. Glue it to your forehead, or buy an e-ticket. <BR>

Look at www.ricksteves.com at the Graffiti Wall forum and the guidebook part: endless advice from travelers to answer your query.

Some things I always take when I travel: sunscreen (twice as much as I think I'll need), pepto-bismol, immodium, Tylenol, a regular hanger and a skirt hanger (The hangers at the hotel may not be the kind you can hang in the bathroom to "shower-steam" out travel wrinkles), a travel alarm, my sense of adventure.

Believe it or not, those spring-action butterfly-type hair clips -- you know, the ones that look like two meshing sets of fingers or claws? In various sizes -- good for my long hair on windy or hot days but also terrific for hanging up wet things, pulling together hotel curtains that don't meet, leaving a note for my husband, etc. etc. You never know what they will turn out to be useful for.

Take 2 or 3 nearly empty rolls of TP with you--carry in your purse while you're out during the day. While you can find free toilets in bars, they don't (in my experience) usually come w/ TP...or a seat.... <BR>I got a chess set (about 5"x2"x1.5") at Toys R Us last year--good for resting at sidewalk cafes and for the odd times you might not feel like reading. It's very lightweight and cost $2 I think. <BR>Denise, I'm about as compulsive as Elvira--the thought of YOU leaving in a week and starting to plan today is making ME panic!! <BR>

As soon as I knew about my trip, I started collecting those free samples of soap that you get in the store or attached to your doorknob. You know those little, very flat, packages of liquid shower soap? They were perfect for my trip to Prague and Italy, which offered tiny hard bars of soap if any. <BR>Oh, don't forget TUMS and allergy medicine.

Film. Bring a lot more than you think you might need; it's twice as expensive in Europe, and also can be difficult to find higher than 200 ASA.

I'm here to tell you that you can live without much! My suitcase was lost on the way to Rome last year, so I was without it for six days of a 10-day trip. I was lucky to be travelling with two friends more or less my size, but I wore the same clothes over and over, refusing to let this ruin my visit, and had a great time anyway! The only things I'd really worry about forgetting are tickets, passport, and money (or credit card).

This is probably going to sound obvious, but if you wear contact lenses, make sure you have them with you! I rarely wear my contacts - I usually wear bifocal glasses, but when I go on vacation, particularly to an area where I know I'm going to be snorkeling or swimming, I want to wear my lenses. On a trip to Belize (destination chosen because of the snorkeling), I discovered that I had brought the wrong case - the empty case. Luckily my husband had a dozen pairs of the disposible type of lenses with him - I took a look at his prescription and decided I could make do. And there was a bonus - if I wear only 1 lens, I can see distance, but I can also read!

ditto Susan. I bring TWO sets hard contact lenses, one in my eyes, one spare set. I also carry a couple of soft disposable lenses, as a backup to the backup. <BR> <BR>When vision is as bad as mine (20-200), a lost lens (or two) ruins everything.

DEODERANT SOAP! They don't have it & it is evident they don't use it!

Kleenex in a ziplock bag. It definitely comes in handy. Gum for the plane, don't forget your brush. I bought a small travel brush, but was wishing for my regular size round brush once I got to Paris. Don't forget the electricity adaptors. My friend was in charge of buying one for us for our Paris trip (for a hairdryer), but she accidentally bought one that was only for use on smaller appliances like an electric razor. We went for a week without a hair dryer, which was really an inconvenience.

Bubble wrap for those delicate purchases you're bound to buy.

My wife starts keeping my underwear that is ready to be thrown out and I take that to Europe with me. Wear a pair one last time and leave it behind in the trash. Beats lugging the dirty stuff around. <BR> <BR>Travel shops now sell small zipper bags in different sizes. You can put all your socks in one, shirts in another, etc. That way your bag never gets too messed up if you are packing and unpacking. The small zipper bags keep it all organized. Zip-locks can do the same thing, but the tear. <BR> <BR>Spare camera battery for sure. <BR> <BR>If you have a Palm Pilot or similar PDA device put all your reservation info and confirm numbers on this. Save carrying around all the paper. You can also put reminders of specific things not to miss in different cities. <BR> <BR>If you buy posters, etc. take a cardboard tube with you to roll them into for trip home.

A small, solar-powered calculator to convert prices. It's nice to know what you are paying for stuff especially when you're on a budget.

The first post that mentioned blisters reminded me of what I discovered years ago as a beginner jogger. Adhesive tape (not bandaids) taped directly on the blister-prone part of the foot is much better at preventing them. Blisters are caused by friction; adhesvie tape stuck to your skin means no rubbing (friction) on the skin itself.

Denise, <BR>There was a posting here about two years ago similar to yours that prompted a tremendous number of responses and suggestions of "what to bring". While I didn't respond to the posting on Fodor's, I did correspond directly to the writer suggesting that if he really intended to pack all those suggested items, he should think in terms of a U-Haul truck (large, not economy size). <BR> <BR>Of all the items listed above, three make sense to me; film, batteries and old throwaway clothing. Nothing else I saw listed can't be purchased in Europe. (Europe has come a long way in the last few years; most of the streets are paved; there's electricity available in most places; flush toilets in a lot of places too - eccentric flushing, but flushing nevertheless; Woolworth's is a German company; I tell ya it's amazing how American Europe has become - you'll even find shopping malls - in Brussels, Milan and Paris, for example.) <BR> <BR>Buy your stuff in Europe. Buying everything from headache remedies to toilet tissues to clotheslines to plastic bags and all else you might need will expose you to a Europe most tourists are afraid to explore. You'll gain tremendous insights into the way Europeans live, their fads and perceived necessities, their costs of living and their daily rituals.