What is the one thing you forgot to take to Europe with you?
 

What is the one item or items that you forgot to take to Europe with you and then kicked yourself for not having it on the entire trip?

A washcloth. European hotels do not supply washcloths. I only use for my face, and I founf that Handi-wipes do a great job. And they dry overnight, so you don't have to cart a wet washcloth (in a ziploc bag) around in your luggage. Did I mention ziploc bags?

My driver's license! I got hung up on not needing it for ID, and then was unable to rent a car spontaneously because I didn't have it. I'll never leave it out again.

Ice blocks that you freeze to keep a cooler bag cold. We have a soft sided cooler bag that we fill with picnic food and keep in the car. At night, we have our hotel put the blocks in the freezer. During the day, we can always have an impromptu picnic -- and that's quite handy when we're tired of restaurants or if we're driving in tiny towns and everything's closed. We forgot them last month when we went to France and had to buy new ones.

My husbands jacket to wear out to a very nice dinner in London...and when we came home from the trip-there it was hanging on the closet door, waiting~ <BR>He forgave me:)

When my tooth started hurting I realized neither of us had brought our health insurance cards! Watched much more carefully for busses from that point on. Oh Yeah, forgot to sign the passport too :) <BR>

In April to my deep chagrin since I was doing all the arranging for our family of 7, I left the train tickets at home. don't ask where or why. Made me not trust myself anymore. And yes we rebooked at a less expensive class of tickets. Oh well! It's not one of my favorite stories. Moral: make lists and unlike me, check them off.

A small umbrella!! It rained so in Munich early last September that I bought one. <BR>The department store where I got one was very adept at marketing. It was pouring outside and someone moved all of the umbrellas an area that was visible from the front door. People, like me, were buying them quickly. Perhaps I did not forget to take an umbrella as much as I figured I did not need one. It is also something easily acquired. <BR>

Washcloth and a little TP (thank goodness for the kleenex in my purse - right ladies?). <BR> <BR>Mia - now maybe hubby will pack his own suitcase (if I understood your post correctly. Apology if I misunderstood).

Cufflinks--try finding a pair at 4 PM on a Saturday afternoon in Budapest when you have an opera in an hour and all your dress shirts have French cuffs.

Marc: you might try doing what I did when faced with the same problem. Use paper clips!

My douchebag

Hi Elsa~actually, I told him to put everything out and I would pack while he was at work, that way HE wouldnt forget something :) and there it was when we got home-hanging on the door...by the way-the restaurant was Hillaire in London,So Kensington, and he got by with a black turtleneck and his coat, so either they were very forgiving of a tourist or the rules are relaxed re: jackets and ties.M

Thanks to this site and websits suggested by the folks here, I brought all of the odd things one usually doesn't think of (being our first trip out of the country with the kids, I was consumed by the "what-ifs"). BUT, I was unprepared for the unseasonable weather! It was gorgeous in early October - in the upper 70's and low 80's. We had brought mostly Autumn - type clothing. I think the moral is: it'll always be SOMETHING!!!!! Oh yes, my fourteen year old daughter forgot her belt- AAAAAAAAARGH! It was a devastating blow to her fashion sense until we could buy another - well, leather is one of the "things to buy" in Italy - si? <BR> <BR>We never needed my tp roll, but I've heard that others have. We bought short-term overseas medical coverage (didn't need it -thank goodness), we brought a rented overseas phone (it didn't work). Once we were there, I realized that as long as we were in a good hotel, with good service (concierge), we could manage to deal with just about any crisis or need. <BR> <BR>OH yes, we TOOK something that we shouldn't have. In my daughter's carryon was a metal cased pen which none of us remembered was there. Twice, the search teams saw it on x-ray and couldn't find it (we, of course could not explain the "letter-opener style" impliment they were asking about). Fortunately, we were allowed to proceed without being able to produce the item (it had wiggled into a seam). I cannot explain why they allowed us to move on without tearing the bag apart (perhaps it really did look like a pen anyway?). <BR> <BR>Have fun! If you do foget something, perhaps it can be the basis of one of those great adventure-type "travel stories"!

I am reminded of the time we were in London in November and the temps were in the 70's!...I really did have nothing to wear! So, although I really didnt want to go shopping :) I ran through Harrods and picked up a "few" things to wear until the temps returned to normal~so even if you forget something-it can turn out to be a bonus:) C

I second the washcloth response. I now make it a point to buy 5 or 6 of those really cheap, flimsy ones they sell at K-Mart places to keep in my suitcase at all times so I don't forget them. Being flimsy they dry quickly so I can take them to my next hotel without having them be wet all the time. The first time I was in Europe I wound up buying a terry cloth baby bib to use as a washcloth. I couldn't even find one to buy in the stores.

My passport and plane tickets. Left sitting on a kitchen counter after double and triple checking that I had everything I needed. After a couple of tense hours retracing my steps at the airport I returned home to find them. A big thanks to British Air for getting me on a flight the next night after such a bonehead move.

This was on a trip to Belize, not Europe, but it can apply to any trip where you might go to a beach. I rarely wear contacts. I prefer my glasses (bifocal), but I like to wear contacts at the beach, especially if I'm planning to snorkel. I had my contact case packed, but realized when I opened it, that it was empty! (The contacts were actually in another case at home.) Luckily my husband had a dozen pairs of disposible lenses, so I ended up wearing a pair of his. Fortunately our eyes were not that different. (I put the right in the left and vice versa.) We had visited Belize specifically with the idea of great snorkeling - the trip just wouldn't have been the same if I couldn't have seen the fish and coral!

Not forgotten but appreciated: small binoculars for getting good looks at those duomo ceilings in Milan, Venice, Florence, Siena.

An adaptor... thus I couldn't use the hairdryer and mini iron I lugged.