I love the tips that say pack light. How do I convince my wife who likes to take the kitchen sink, just in case?

Mike, lots of people will give you this advice, and for good reason, too:<BR>Pack your suitcase(s) - or in this case, get your wife to pack her suitcase(s), purse, backpack, etc.. Get on your coat and take your luggage for a walk. Walk about 500 yards, then walk back. Then imagine walking that distance with one more bag per person - food, gifts, souvenirs, guidebooks, etc. Think cobblestones &amp; stairs. If you still have lots of energy, no back pain, no neck ache, no inkling of where you might get a blister, you're OK.

More.

Don,t carry more than you can lift overhead and that you can carry for a few blocks.

A couple of hard-boiled eggs stuffed in my purse, along with salt &amp; pepper packets from a fast-food joint, saved my life on a transaltantic trip when everything went wrong and we landed hours and hours late, with no breakfast served on the plane. Solid food like this to start out, helps that first day seem a lot less woozy (but keep very low expectations for arrival day anyway!).

For Mike with the &quot;bagged-down wife&quot;: And I bet you keep feeling compelled to help carry those bags she insists on bringing. If each of you carry your own luggage AND you quit bailing her out, she may lighten the load. Either way you and your back will be happier.

Clip your toe nails really close before you go!

Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread but it's great.

Posted by Eric:
&quot;Make copies of your drivers license and passport to your email address.&quot;

This one is awesome! I'd never have thought about this but am going to scan my passport, birth certificate and confirmations, then send them to my own Internet mail account. This is a great one Eric.