Hi, <BR>I will be travelling to Europe for the first time in April, I will be in England, france, Switzerland in the middle of April and then in Italy and Greece at the end of April. I'm looking for advice on clothing? Thanks for your help. <BR>Cindy

Don't know about the top 10. As a general rule for most of Europe you'd dress about as you would if you were visiting the Ottawa area. Greece and southern Italy will be a bit warmer. <BR> <BR>April is a rainy month most everywhere in the nortern hemisphere so some raingear is essential. If you'll be in the mountains remember temps drop 5 degrees (F) for every 1000 feet of altitude (1 degree C for every 100 m) so layers and wind protection are useful. They'll be of use in the evenings which are likely to be cool. <BR> <BR>Rome.Switzerland.Bavaria <BR>www.twenj.com

Cindy, <BR> <BR>That's definitely a loaded question, depending greatly on how you travel and what you plan to do while in Europe. <BR> <BR>For me, the top three are: durable shoes, comfortable socks, and a good jacket. If you don't have a comfortable pair of walking shoes you should buy some immediately and start breaking them in. Keep in mind that you might be in mud or on cobblestones. <BR> <BR>I personally love Thorlo socks. You can find them in most well-stocked sporting goods stores. They were originally for heavy-duty hiking, but there are a wide range nowadays. (Not the thing to wear with high heels, but there are a variety of padding options for tennis shoes to hiking boots.) <BR> <BR>If you're travelling solo, I would also suggest buying a small, pin-on compass at a department store (I've seen them at both K-Mart and Wal-Mart in the camping section.) Pinning it to the inside of your jacket can be a big help, while remaining somewhat unobtrusive.

It all depends upon your activities. If you'll be going mostly casual: 1) black slacks; 2) a really nice, high quality black belt; 3) a beautiful white or ivory blouse; 4) white and/or ivory tees (nice ones such as beautifully tailored pima cotton - recommend long sleeved in April); 5) black skirt; 6) a beautiful cardigan sweater in your favorite, most flattering, color; 7) a tee in the same color as the sweater (preferably dyed to match - as in TWIN set); 8) a wool blazer in another gorgeous, flattering, color; 9) THE most comfortable black walking shoes you can find; 10) a raincoat or 3/4 length rain jacket (precludes the need to haul an umbrella around).

Cindy, <BR>I can't answer about Italy or Greece but we've been in England and France many times in mid-April (and will be there again next month) and I always take a black raincoat (just below knee length), a couple of blazers (wear under raincoat if cold, as a jacket if warmer), several pair of black pants, a pair of gray pants, and jeans (despite what people on this forum may say they are popular in Europe and my husband's Paris relatives wear them all the time) no one has ever looked at me strangely for wearing them either - in fact they can look smart with a nice sweater and blazer which is how I wear them. I might also take a black or gray skirt as well. Take several solid colored t-tops, sort or long sleeve works fine, the kind that you can wash, hang on a hanger over the tub and dry quickly (you can liven up that black/gray with colors, I like red, yellow, blue, white tops) and they don't take much packing room and give variety to the black look, a long sleeve sweater (keep that handy on the plane), a white dressy long sleeve blouse and maybe a long sleeve turtleneck top of some sort. Also take a colorful scarf or two to break up the black. I take two pair of black walking shoes - and as someone said, break them in before going & black socks. If you are going out in the evening and won't be doing much walking a pair of dressy low heeled shoes might be worth taking, it depends on your plans, of course then you need panty hose! I carry a black smallish shoulder purse - looks good with all clothes. We (travel with husband) also have a black bag we carry the camera, umbrellas, maps, etc. in. It looks like the kind many people carry in London and does not "yell" tourist out to the world. We must blend in OK with the locals because I've had people walk up to me in Paris and talk to me in French. For the actual plane trip (and ours is 10 hours) I like black crinkly looking pants and a white crinkly blouse - they look good after sitting/sleeping in a cramped seat even when you get off the plane. You can't go wrong if you stick to black or gray, and accessorize with colors.

Cindy - <BR> <BR>I'd recommend taking a pair of microfiber tights. I did this last spring in Paris and they worked great. Very cheap at Wal-Mart (about $5) when compared to silk thermals. And, they are very thin and pack to almost nothing. <BR> <BR>We had great weather for most of our time there but a couple of days I really got my $5 use out of them. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip! <BR> <BR