Thanks ira ;-)

I mean it, feel free to berate me if I do not have a Germany trip up by the end of February! I no longer have any excuse for not preparing a good one with all the advice posted on this thread.
I like the zipper bag idea for receipts and entrance tickets, etc. Thanks for sharing!

It's not original, but thanks. The zippered pencil holder idea was one I learned years ago from a travel BB (lonely planet or rick steves). The backs have different colors and the fronts are clear, so it is easy to keep the cities organized. By the time I get home I have a neat little packet from each place. (Ziplocks work OK too, but not quite as perfect for the function.)

Prior to a trip to Paris a couple months ago, I had never journaled. But my sweet 12-year-old daughter bought me a small travel journal with the Eiffel Tower on the cover, so I had no choice.

I agree with Jocelyn; the trip reports I most enjoy are those that describe the author's emotions and thoughts about what s/he is seeing, hearing, or smelling. Details have their places, but only as they help set the scene and recall the experience.

I wrote when I found the time, which was usually in the morning while my wife was still in bed. Sometimes it was difficult to remember the events of the past day or two. Then I decided that if the events had already escaped memory, they wouldn't mean anything years later.

My journal is my traveling companion. I take it with me everywhere. It's nothing fancy, just a little spiral notebook that I bought at Target for $1.25. I love it because it's small enough to fit into my purse and on the front inside cover there is a little pocket where I stash receipts, bus tickets, etc. I also carry a little glue stick and I glue in restaurant cards, or whatever strikes my fancy. It takes up hardly any room and it's great to pull out when I'm bored waiting for a train, or my dinner. The best part is reading it years later and reliving all the wonderful experiences I had. I've looked at tons of journals large and small and this is the best - in fact, every time I'm in Target I buy a few more just so I never run out and I'm always ready for my next adventure.

I take a tiny cassete recorder. If I don't feel like writing I can just record my impressions and write it when I get home. I can also record sounds wherever I am traveling like the ocean or birds singing or a market or music. My better half tends to interview local people which can be hillarious later. Also great for recording driving directions.

IrishEyes,

If you ever figure out how to record the aroma of a fromagerie, please let me know.

Barb, your Target journal sounds perfect. Anything small and lightweight sure interest me. My last one was to big and cumbersome and so did not really carry it with me and so consequently came home with a blank journal. Never have been good writing in a journal anyone, but sure wish I had over the years. Maybe the Target journal will be just the thing.

IrishEyes, I can understand how a small recorded could be perfect also. One could even record the church bells (which I personally miss). Another good idea.

If you foresee yourself in the rain while traveling, you might consider bringing along a pressurized pen which writes at all angles (Seinfeld - <i>The Pen</i> episode) as well as waterproof paper (I used Rite-in-the-Rain purchased from Campmor.com) so that you can take notes anywhere. I also like an electronic dictation machine. Later, the notes are transferred into a journal. Often, reviewing digital photos helps re-create the events of the day.