luggage/what to wear/laundry

Keep a couple of rules in mind: Take no more luggage than you can lift above your head. Take no more luggage than you can carry up a flight of stairs. No one in Europe cares what you wear, so limit the clothing you pack. Plan a part of one afternoon to do laundry and get your postcards done.

Sue: For three weeks last October. I managed on three pants (2 were trouser jeans), 5 tops, a light jacket, a vest, a hat, and a rainjacket. The light jacket was a waste, FWIW. I could have done with 4 tops. Two pair shoes maximum. See also this recent post http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/63320/leaving-318--q-on-trenitalis-aisles--luggage-space.html. Laundry easy but $$. In Rome, 20 euros at LavaSecco in Campo dei Fiori for a BIG load, same day service, they do it all so you can tour. In other places we paid 18-20 euros to do it ourselves and it took 90 minutes or so. I'd guess you'll only need to do laundry once in 11 days. Do sink loads in between.

Sue,
I would take clothes that you can layer. I take a 21 inch carry on Rick Steve's bag with rollars but I check it. I bring clothes that can be washed in my hotel room and hung to dry. I bought the Rick Steve's travel laundry line and it works well for me. I also carry a back pack on the plane with me with a change of clothes and my make-up, toothbrush. I take a pair of black slacks just in case I need to dress up for dinner. Most places we eat at are on the casual side so no need to get dressed up. Buy a pretty scarf in Italy and it will spice up an outfit. I only travel with one bag and a back pack so I can go on the trains easily. Too much luggage will slow you down. Good luck.

Sue, if you can take chinos or some pair of pants that don't stretch like jeans, you can probably get away with wearing 2-3 pairs for the trip, especially in October, when it hopefully won't be as hot. I agree with 4 tops, just wash those, socks/undies out and if you do a load of laundry just throw them in. Some hotels will do it cheaper than the previous prices quoted. I would do one carry-on or just check it if you want, and then a backpack. Most people are casual at night, black jeans with a nicer top or scarf will be fine. Bring some bigger (fake)jewelry to help dress up a little too. Don't bring the big long duffel! However, remember you'll be buying things along the way....

I don't necessarily agree with the only bring what you can lift over your head (but I was also on a five week trip) but definitely what you can lift up MULTIPLE flights of stairs. Keep in mind the first floor is really the second, so you may be walking up two, three or more flights carrying your luggage. As far as trainsyou can bring however much you can carry, but you really don't want to bring more than one suitcase and a backpack or such. Bring what you can carry in one trip from the platform. For trains and the streets I preferred rolling suitcases, but consider whether you really need a big long duffel for 11 days. You can probably do with a smaller suitcase which ill be really helpful. You also want a smaller one in order to fit it on the trainon trains that have seats that face each other, there's a nice gap in between them where you can slide larger bags, but I'm not sure if a long duffel will fit. Try to do a medium size suitcase, or however small you can manage! I don't know your age or style, so it's hard to say how casual you want to be at night, but I often wore jeans and a nice top and a leather jacket and I fit in well.

Also please remember that you can wash your clothing in the sink, especially when you are only there for 11 nights. Italians don't use dryers, they let their clothing hang dry. Either in the room at your hotels or out the window you will probably be able to hang your clothes after washing them with liquid detergent (or even shampoo or soap if you need to).

I have traveled up to a month with only a carry on and large lightweight purse that doubled as a daybag. I also took a small purse (took up next to no space in my bag empty). My last trip (Italy & Germany last September/October) I took 2 pairs of jeans (blue/black), a pair of capris, skirt, sundress, 5 tops, light jacket, sweater, vest, 2 pairs of shoes, a nightgown and underclothes. I could left either the skirt or sundress at home and gone with 4 tops. As you have been told, you don't want something that you can't lift and carry. It depends on how you travel, but you don't need to dress up at night unless you plan to go to fancy restaurants. During our 4 week trip we used a laundry one time. We did stay in two places with a washer and we hand washed everything but jeans along the way. Inflatable hangers are great when you hand wash, and I also take hangers like they use in department stores to hang pants. I leave those hangers behind when I come home. For any goodies I buy I take a packable tote bag (Rick sells them).

It's still really nice in October; I only had one day that I needed a warmer jacket (so I wore the zip-up sweat jacket I bought for my son and I was fine). I took a duffel bag on wheels for souvenirs and was glad I took it. Casual dress is fine. There are plenty of laundromats in most towns; I highly recommend doing laundry once or twice versus overpacking. Trust me, you will kick yourself the entire trip if you pack too much--save room for souvenirs!! I took the sheets with detergent and fabric softener in them and they worked well.

Absolutely if you can limit yourself to one carry-on each, that's the way to go. Here's a great resource, although the webpage has something funny happening right now: http://www.onebag.com/ You could try viewing it in another browser.

If you are only going for 11 nights, no need to pack much. For illustration, four 12 day trip in early October last year, I packed: 1 stretchy dress 2 skirts 1 pair of leggings (to wear under the dress or skirt if chilly) 1 pair of pants (in addition to what I wore on the plane) 4 long-sleeved t-shirts (in addition to the one I wore on the plane) 1 sweater (in addition to the one I wore on the plane), socks, undies, nightgown, and
2 pair of shoes (in addition to what I wore on plane). I also packed a couple of the Purell 3-in-1 sheets that I had cut into strips and then used those to wash whatever I needed to every couple of days (or each night as necessary). If your room has a bidet, it is GREAT for washing! Then I just hung everything to dry on hangers in the shower or draped on the towel racks.

"( our air carrier allows one free checked bag)" And will those luggage handlers be coming along with you to continue to handle your luggage?!? Hmmmm...;-) "What do you think of the big long duffels on wheels?" One of the most vivid imprints from our very first trip to Europe was watching people trying to manage duffles. It usually involved two people carrying each end, if they were lucky enough to have two people. They looked absolutely miserable! Awful! And when they're large enough for wheels, NOOOOOOOO!!! Can you say 'struggle'? Yuck. (cont.)

(cont.) "Should we limit ourselves to one carry on a piece?" YES!!! In addition to the other posters' helpful ideas, I'll give you the link to a couple of pages on the website: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/packlist.htm http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/womenpacking.htm And for sink laundry, DO bring inflatable hangers; just 'Google' "Voltage Valet inflatable hangers" to see a photo of my favorite kind. (I don't like the plastic hook style for several reasons). AND a video for you: http://www.youtube.com/user/RickSteves#p/c/DA1849C66C2A6D62/1/ird4DF5fgHE Yes, it's pretty casual - unless you'll be spending your time at very nice restaurants or the opera...Just simplify your outfits - just a pair of two of earrings, one watch, one or two bracelets, perhaps no necklaces - instead bring nice headbands (if you wear them at home), a scarf or two, maybe a very light and small dressier clutch and just go for a look of simple elegance if you're wanting to dress up a bit. Black pants and a black top, plus a scarf or simple earrings. Don't worry about anyone really noticing the fabrics your black ensemble is made of...you might wear crepe at home and more jewelry, but cotton and/or polyester is much more practical for packing lightly. Unless those baggage handlers are indeed coming with you...;-)