Russia plug adapters, Pacsafe City bag 200, refillable toiletry bottles

I really wouldn't worry about having your toiletries in bottles marked in metric measures. I've traveled all over the world and had not trouble at all with completely unmarked bottles. As long as they look obviously within the rules, they should be fine. Screeners at any international airport have had literally tens of thousands of baggies pass their way at this point and are quite aware of the sizes that pass muster.

The only issue I ever saw was a US TSA screener, early on, who was tossing metric labeled bottles because they weren't "three ounce" bottles. But that was within a few weeks of the original rules coming into force. I haven't seen a screener even look at the contents of a baggie full of teeny bottles in recent months.

AA batteries are available, but I'd take a package of lithium AAs and only buy there in a pinch. It's hard to judge, since you don't mention the length of your trip, but a package of four lithiums have lasted me easily for a two week trip. Of course, a lot depends on how many pictures you take.

You won't have any trouble with your toiletry bottles only being marked 3 oz. I've traveled in Europe, Asia, and Central America and have never had anyone look twice at them.

Thank you very much! Nancy, my trip is for 7-10 days.

Re #3: my wife used a PacSafe City Bag 200 on two trips to Europe this year. It carried her diabetic supplies, camera, water, and other assorted goodies. Yes, the strap is long enough to put cross-body. You'll need to decide if its "really worth buying."
Happy travels.

i took the Pacsafe City Bag 200 with me to paris for a two-week visit recently. it is so roomy, it served as my second carry-on. this is what i carried in it on the plane: rick's guide to paris, my small journal, a small paperback, regular-size water bottle, sunglass case, bag of trail mix, one pudgy point-and-shoot (canon G9), one holga camera (larger than the G9), a fisheye lens, two rolls of film for the holga, a memory card case for the G9 cards, my wallet, eyeshades, blow-up neck pillow, mints, aspirin, hand lotion, chapstick, pens, tiny flashlight, and a scarf. i use this bag all the time even when i'm at home just running errands. the strap is adjustable and most definitely long enough to put cross-body, even for someone who's large. it was worth every penny!

Michele,

As the others mentioned, Russia uses the Shuko or Euro-style Plug Adapters. You should be able to obtain these locally, or you could order from www.magellans.com (their delivery times are usually excellent).

Cheers!

I have a small square battery in my Canon camera, and I've found that-ok, sounds disgusting but it works-if the battery "dies", if you take it out and lick the business end you can get several more days/weeks out of it. Yep, true. And I've never been shocked, tho some people watching me have been...

I don't know what kind of battery charger you have. I own 2, one is a Sony I bought 4 years ago, the other an Energizer I bought at Sam's Club a couple of months ago (I needed to buy new batteries and the incremental cost of the charger was less than $5). Both charge AAs and AAAs, up to 4 at a time. Each is roughly the size of a pack of cigarettes and weighs about as much, sans batteries. Why bother with buying single-use AAs, probably for premium prices (and maybe knock-offs or off brands that won't last for a full day's photos anyway - which happened to me in Holland when I forgot to charge my batteries).