Carry on luggage only

One other thing I need to consider is the overall weight must be no more than 7kg.

Season of the year and activities planned both have a bearing on what one takes. The most basic wardrobe would be whatever and however much you can wear onto the plane, including a coat/raincoat, and something to sleep in. Most of us would like at least one other outfit of top/bottom for comfort or variety. I usually have about 5# (about 2.2kg) of clothing in my bag. If you take a bag that is a backpack only and not a convertible (with wheels) you can save a couple of kg in weight. I take my collection of vitamins, minerals, prescription drugs at about 1 kg. The rest is personal care/cosmetics, which can usually be replaced in Europe if carrying them will make my bag overweight. And finally, I carry papers and books related to my trip. If my bag is too heavy at this point, I thin out papers as much as possible and leave one or two books at home. My bag has no wheels; I carry 17-18# (about 8 kg). Travel with a wheeled bag would require leaving non-essentials at home. Buy later

Rick Steve's book "Europe Thru the Back Door" has a section on packing light, and a separate section especially for women.

Marcia's bag weighs about 18 pounds which I think is about 8 kilos. I can send her packing list. AND the key in our opinion is to work from a packing list. As for the liquids, we take min and buy as we need them.

For summer- wear a pair of black or khaiki cotton blend slacks and a Polo-type top. Pack 2 or 3 pair of the same kind of pants and 3-4 tops- often T-shirt type and 1 "big shirt" type that can serve as a jacket for more dressy evenings. Add a lightweight, unlined, waterproof windbreaker and enough underwear and sock. I have kept a bottle that the hotel used for shampoo and just keep refilling it. I have a small deoderant stick and sample size lipstick. I don't use hairspray, etc. and dont pack any electronics. I take a tiny umbrella. Even with my art supplies and other "solid" makeup my bag (I pack in a Rick Steve's convertible) will weigh about 12 lb. My husband can pack so his back weighs less than 10 lb.

I use the Rick Steve's travel cubes to organise my self. They work great!! And for my carry on, I bought the HEYS brand hard case carry on. Its light as a feather and the hard case keeps me from over stuffing the luggage!! In addition I toss in a few 2 gallon zip lock bags to store soiled clothes, or use it to protect items I don't want to get wet.

For a week trip, I follow Rick's packing guide. I mix and match my colors and keep to a neutral color tone like black, navy, khaki. 1 shoe on the feet + 1 sandal in the pack. When packing those pack cubes work great!!

For the liquid restrictions, I have to use contact lenses solution, hairspray, toothpaste and keep the make up at home! I also find a hotel which supplies a hair dryer.

Most drug stores sell travel size and for what I need, they fit perfectly in the quart size zipper top bags.

As Rick Steves said, people who traveled to Europe, two or three trips, decide to bring less things when they go again. I used a simple nylon cloth bag, of maximum carry-on size (in airplanes of airlines) for my trip to Italy. The number of socks and undergarments that I put in the bag was more than the number that Rick Steves suggests. If you bring warm clothes for cold weather, that would not fit in the bag. I chose to not carry the bag in the airplane. But, I was very glad that my bag was that small size (carry-on size) when I was at the Malpenza airport (Milan) for my flight to the U.S.A.
When I arrived at the airport, the airline (DELTA) had stopped receiving baggage to put in the airplane's baggage compartment. Thus, I carried my bag with me in the airplane. No problem. I suggest do not put any footwear (shoes, or sandals) in the carry - on bag, if that is your only bag. In an airplane going to Europe, a passenger may have the carry-on bag and one other bag that is smaller.