carry on AND a big purse??

It all depends which airlines and airports you are flying. Check those limits and you should be good to go.

I always like to have enough empty space in my large bag in case I need to limit myself to one... well, and of course a few goodies along the way. ;-)

Most of the time, you can bring a carry on sized suit case and also a personal item, such as a small backpack, brief case, diaper bag, lap top, etc.
I don't know if this is still the case, but if you're flying to London, you can only take one carry on, and not even a purse. Please correct me someone, if I am wrong about London. I've never flown into London, but flying to other countries in Europe, I never had a problem bringing that extra smaller bag. I use Rick's day bag as my extra carry on.
I imagine, a big purse is not any bigger than my RS day bag.
Have a great trip!!

The one bag restriction in London Heathrow has now been withdrawn, and two carry on bags are allowed. The purse shouldn't be an issue. Watch the weight on the RS carry on, and also be aware that allowed sizes vary by airline and are often checked in Europe, even in transit when making connections. As an example, the RS wheeled carry on (non convertable) is well beyond the allowed baggage size for British Airways, Air Canada, Air France, Air Italia etc. The wheels and handle are the problem and they count in the measurement.

bummer....because we do plan on flying into London. I'll have to double check on that, because I was really banking on having that extra bag.

check with the carrier you will be on. They should lsit the carry on requirements on their website. If you are flying within Europe, make sure you check those too. the cheap Euro carriers are very strict on size as well as weight.

We flew Continental into, but not out of Heathrow; one carryon and one personal was allowed, and my personal was the RS civita day bag...it's ok flying into London, but becomes a problem flying OUT of London, I believe. Depends on the airline now, I think.

In November, I flew Air France to Italy with the convertible carry-on along with a day backpack. The day pack only had stuff I would want available on the plane. Everything else was in my carry-on. When boarding, I wore the convertible on my back and hand-carried the (somewhat limp) backpack. No problems in SEA, CDG, Verona, or CDG (return). It was nice to to have to check bags!

In reply to Lisa re flying to/via London. The one carry on rule that used to be in effect at Heathrow changed in I belive April of 08. At any rate when I flew out of London in May I was allowed one carry on and my purse. I Eurostar over from London so I can't say what the internal flight rules are in Europe proper. Probably depends on the airline. Anyone with updated info on that please post. Thanks in advance.

Every airline is different. You need to check your airlines web-site. Air Canada refused to let us carry on both a RS bag and a day bag. American Airlines allowed us to take a RS bag and a personal item (I carried a large toiletries bag that had chargers, glasses, etc as well as medicines, shampoos) Air lingus allows a rs bag and a small personal item. (web site says purse, camera bag-they may have a problem with a backpack) Generally, American based airlines are a little less stringent than European airlines in what they allow- both in weight and amount. However, there is no one answer to this question as each airline is allowed to set their own rules. (note: the more you can make your bag "look" like a purse, the better the chance you have. Most airlines do not like to separate a women from her purse. I call my toiletries bag a purse when I travel.)

Jodi, adding to what others said... definitely check with the airline. If they say one only... they mean one. I had to shove my little backpack into the suitcase, or check in one of the items.

Some of the UK airports have lifted the one carry on restriction. The last I heard was that a second personal item was allowed out of Heathrow and Gatwick but not the other airports. The London airports have good websites and will have the the latest policy information.

The airport might have different carry on policies than the airline. If that's the case, then follow the more restrictive of the two.

Yes, check with airlines and airports.

I have a nylon shoulder bag that that flattens quite nicely, and have the things that you would carry in a purse in smaller zipper bags. For the flights I disperse the contents in my convertible carryon, making sure that what I want on the flight will be easy to get to or in the outside pockets. Then once in Europe, out comes the bag and the contents.

We just arrived back from a trip to Germany yesterday - flew through Heathrow both ways (Virgin Atlantic and British Air). On the way there my sister had both a large backpack and a large purse - no problems; on the way back, we had even more :) I, for example, had a large purse, a large video camera bag, and a paper shopping bag full of misc things - no problems again. I would double check your airlines guidelines but Heathrow itself shouldn't have a problem with those things. The one bag restriction is no longer in effect. (also: we flew VA which has a 13 lb carryon weight limit - our bags were most definitely WAY over that limit on the way back and we had no problems but probably you will want to have a back up plan just in case)