Besides the obvious things to take with you on a trip abroad:
1. An extra big suitcase to put all of the stuff on all of the lists in!!
2. Safety pins- to pin your pockets together to keep someone else's hand out- and to pin hotel curtains, hems, etc.
3. A pillow cover to slip over the hotel pillow- need I say more?
4. Always carry the name and phone number of the hotel where you are staying and a home contact number when you are out and about
5. I include the name and number of the first hotel in my suitcase when departing at the airport. The airport needs to know where to contact me in case of late or lost luggage.
6. When travelling with someone, carry a picture of that person as well as a copy of the first page of their passport in case anything should happen to them.
7. For people with medical problems and with allergies, type a brief history and list all of the prescriptions that you are taking. Carry in your pocket or purse.
8. Carry two extra passport pictures and a copy of the front page of your passport. In case of a loss, this really aids in getting a replacement.
9. With the above, a big smile and much, much courtesy!!

My sister, because she's willing to do all the driving!

Several feet of bubble wrap

"You should be selling these iPods."

Retail sales was never my forte. I should be getting it in a couple of days.

"But, how do you transfer 200 CDs to your iPod?"

I have already transferred the music from my personal cds into a library on my computer (which is a Mac). There is a port that will allow songs in my library to be transferred to my iPod.

And, I just read that you can also download text, so you could put in Paris restaurant reviews or any other trip info you might need. My business partner is a computer guru, so when I get it, he will show me the easiest way to do all this and I'll pass the info along.
((H))

Clarification of my "disposable' adjective re: pillowcases and face cloths - old, thin, worn ones that I can afford to lose if I forget them and/or they end up being"changed" by the hotel maids.

What a great list...i love fodors and all the great information people are willing to share to make another persons trip better.
IPODS...i love mine, though i didn't take it to europe with me. I didn't want to buy the euro adapter that would allow me to plug it into the wall for charging the battery..as i usually charge the internal battery on my computer.
Your ipod connects to your computer via firewire cord, which is included when you purchase the ipod, and then copy your music(mp3) files onto your ipod. For Mac, it's a simple drag and drop process.
I've been using my computer(s) as a jukebox of sorts for years, so it easy too copy mp3 files to my ipod when i purchased it.
The ipod is native to the Mac, but you can now purchase a PC model.
I bought my ipod at CompUSA because:
You can purchase a warantee that will fix or replace your ipod if it dies, of if you break it.
You can turn in your ipod when the new models come out, and get a newer model at the same pricepoint.
For example, i bought the 5 gig, and was unhappy with the fact that high quality songs take up so much room that i could "only" get around 500 songs instead of the 1000 advertised. I returned it after 6 months and paid the $100 difference between the 5 and 10 gig. Apple doesn't offer that service.

ttt

Absolutely NOTHING that will allow me to even think about answering e-mail while I'm on vacation (let'em contact the other folks at the office!)

Ooooh, I like your response Kismetchimera.....I am picturing Audrey Hepburn. I bet you always look very classy and put together without any effort.

Faina, need to see photo in order to consider offer.

Most important is anything prescription (glasses and medications). Pretty much everything else you can buy if needed.

If you put all these suggestions together into my suitcase, there would NOT be room for clothes (as one poster inquired!).

The best plans for traveling light can be easily laid to ruin, if you start throwing in everything you MIGHT conceivably use on a trip!

OK I admit, I do take a corkscrew and a tiny flashlight.

Must buy iPod. NOW.

Great lists!
Call me crazy, but in my experience, after 4 trips to Europe in the last couple of years- each trip, I find myself leaving more and more "indispensible" items behind, first at hotels as I was leaving, then giving away roadmaps to other travelers at car rental places, I tear the relevant pages out of my guidebooks before leaving,whatever can lighten the load! I leave email addresses behind, except the ones for people I am trying to meet in Europe, and rent a cell phone there for the duration. Traveling light is the best way to enjoy your surroundings! But that ipod does sound tempting........! No, wait, if I had been wearing headphones, I would have missed out on being serenaded with Neopolitan folk songs by friends on the Amalfi Coast!!

so all you need is the firewire cord to load your CDs onto your PC?

Are most of these items listed really must-haves? Or more nice-to-haves in case something might happen no matter how unlikely?

cell phone scrambling devise
whining tourist mussle
address book with wrong addresses
dirty hands
underwear with skid marks
ten year old sun screen
white shorts
Alarm clock set on wrong time
dead batteries
Swiss army knife which will be taken away
Maple leaf

jor, are you Canadian? Hence, the maple leaf...?

I was just curious, because seriously, nearly every Canadian that I meet during my travels either has a maple leaf emblem on their suitcase/backpack or clothes...

why is this...? Are people being really patriotic or they just don't want to be seen as Americans or what?

Sorry if I'm asking the wrong question (perhaps you aren't Canadian)...I've just always wanted to hear an explanation.

Thanks!

Oh yes, and I am definitely going to ask for an IPOD for Christmas now...beats carrying around all those CD's.

Cate22: I don't know about Jor but I met a Canadian in Provence that procurred a maple leaf lapel pin for just that reason -- didn't want to be mistaken for an American. Sad ...

Handiwipes: Instead of a washcloth I bring handiwipes cut in half to use for face clothes. They are disposable and thus don't have to carry around a wet musty washcloth in a plastic bag.

Ozium: I also like to bring a small Ozium orange air sanitizer which I purchase at an auto store. Great for musty rooms and as a bathroom spray.

Gel Bandaids for feet: Never fails, even with broken in shoes, I'll get a blister and these save me. Put them on and can continue to walk without pain. Made in small size for toes and heel size.

Cate22,
No, I am not Canadian! I am a none Canadian who is so sick of seeing Canadians running around with the Maple leaf plastered on everything. I think they look stupid. LOL

jor, LOL, I agree completely...might as well tatoo a maple leaf to their forehead...just so everyone will know without a doubt that they are NOT American...

babette, yes, it is sad...I was afraid that this was the reason.

Maple Leaf? Yes I think insecure Candians overdo it. And what is with that Canadian habit of quizing Americans about Canadian history and trivia? We all know that Peter Jennings is Canadian. We know all aboot it.

My list of extra MUST HAVES matches many of yours of course:
Small flashlight
Compass
Mole Skin (since I never seem to wear comfy shoes)
Ear Planes (to maintain pressure for flights but work as ear plugs too).

BUT, my new must have is my PDA (Palm Pilot). I've taken it on the last three trips overseas (and will again in September) and I can't believe how much I rely on it.

As I'm researching, I copy information (on museums, houses, attractions and restaurants ,etc. ) onto my computer PDA program, in Memo form. I then compile a list of each day or day of the week and sort and copy/paste what's open when-how to get there etc. - I copy it to the datebook and then hot sync the info into my PDA.

For example, on my last trip to London in June, I would wake up and over breakfast look up 'Monday' and see a list of all the place I might like to see that are open on Monday- followed by the detailed info on how to get there etc.
When it was Wednesday at 2pm and we'd just left Regent's Park, I could turn on the PDA and see that I had exactly one hour to get to the Museum of London to see the Samuel Pepys exhibit tour lead by the curate. And I could tell it was free, and that I had to take this tube line to get there etc.' It got to the point where we would say ' oh Palm pilot, what should we do next?' And I didn't have to sort through tons of pieces of paper guide books or maps so I felt a little less conspicuous-despite the fact that no one in London seemed to be using them.
It's great for making your own quick notes on restaurants/pubs etc. and for copying information for future trips or getting addresses of people you meet along the way.

My packets of cigarettes!!! LOL.
They don't sell my brand in other countries.

emjoy, I've been looking for an excuse to get a PDA and now you've given me one. That sounds like a great way to organize trip info -- sometimes I get really tired of thumbing through the guidebooks and my computer print-outs. (And your tip on the Baggalinis was great -- we used one on our recent trip.)

The person who answered that with each trip to Europe she takes less, sounds like me. I love travel gedgets, but when I think about it, I'm tearing the relevant pages out of the guide books and making myself dictionarys of phrases I need to know on a sheet of notebook paper. I always take a book, my european plug immersion heater with coffee filter bags, a towel that I use as a neck pillow and sometimes an extra blanket in cold hotel rooms. A travel alarm clock and a small flashlight. I also take a cheap extra duffel for overflow (gifts) and everything else is either mandatory, tickets, ID, credit cards, clothes etc. I'm now trying to edit myself on clothing, but I'm not all there yet.

Marilyn-
I can't believe I forgot to mention my Baggalini's! I do swear by them, I was just in such a hurry to tell everyone about my dependence on the PDA.

What in the world are Baggalinis?

emjoy, shall I?

babette, Baggalinis are fold-up bags of various sizes that are easy to tuck into your luggage and very handy for carrying home more than you started with. (I also used mine as a weekend bag on a recent trip.) They fold into their own pocket, and expand into tote-size or larger. Well-made, sturdy, hold an astonishing amount of stuff, GREAT colors!! They have a website at http://www.baggallini.com/
and you can find a local retailer.

I also think they will make great gifts for the travelers on my list this winter.

rubbers.

On one trip I needed to travel light and my guide book was MUCH too bulky. So I bought a notebook that had cardboard divider-pockets in about 5 places. I photocopied some bits, wrote other bit out, put all my plane/train/hotel details, maps, addresses, places I wanted to see - into the notebook.

I wouldn't do it any other way now: I have a compact "guide book" that fits in my bag. I have all the things I need together, I don't stand out half as much because I'm not waving maps and guidebooks around - and I've got space to write things down if I change plans, think of something else I want to do etc.

It's a MUST have. The other stuff I mentioned before - well, they are "kinda like to haves"

"rubbers."

lumberjack, why do you travel during the rainy season?
((H))

Zwho - where did you find the European plug immersion heater!! I've been looking everywhere for one.

uh oh... it's getting hot in here... ;)

My Grundig travel radio/alarm
Toilet paper (Eastern Europe uses sandpaper)
preprinted labels of addresses for the ones who get postcards from me.
small bottle of aspiran and vitamins.
washcloth and soap.

violagirl-it sounds like you're ready to be converted to PDA (see my post above). I did exactly what you did, but I entered the info digitally as I looked things up, and then transfered it to the PDA so I had a 6oz never ending guide that fit in my pocket. And you can update or alter info at will and look things up without looking like a tourist. You can even download maps from mapquest although I haven't done it on my newest PDA yet.

Babette, Marilyn explained a Baggalini very well. I do swear by them. I managed to break the handle off my suitcase and the strap off my carry on on my trip to London in June and the Baggalini's I carried saved me. My local travel shop carries them. They're water resistant and rip resisitant and they've survived two transatlantic flights home in cargo (baggage allowance is two for cargo so I go over with one, come back with two).

For lumberjack, You can purchase condoms at any drug store in Europe.

Well....., where are all the Canadians at this site?
I enjoyed the ideas of what to bring, and I would add my sleeping pills for the long transatlantic night flights and the first night of jet lag.

But what is all this intensity about an old maple leaf pin. And,... the mystery deepens,.. if Jor isnt Canadian why is he taking a Maple Leaf on his list of things not to leave behind?
I am Canadian (my name is Joe) (that's an in joke for Canadians, Americans wouldnt know); and I have a pin in my luggage, because I want to be known as Canadian, and not Aussie, and not Brit or Yank or any other english speaking national. But frankly I was shocked and appalled (but not surprised) at the smug and condescending tone of some of the comments about Canada. It wouldnt hurt the nameless correspondent to know something about Canada more than Peter Jenning's resume. If you approach the locals in Europe with the same disinterest, then all the more reason for us to be sporting the maple leaf - I've never seen it tatood, but who knows,eh?

Besides all the other stuff mentioned:

Salt/Pepper some dishes need some help

Small Magnifying Glass even with glasses the print on road maps gets smaller every year.

Pillows
Ice pick
Lysol spray
scrub bucket and mop
hip boots
ice cube trays
small refrigerator
window air conditioner
case of tortilla chips
fly swatter
Encyclopedia Britannica