Mail boxes etc in Florence

What did you end up doing this past April?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/shipping-from-florence

Last time I didn’t have a weight restriction and the dimensions of my luggage were somewhat more generous (United vs TAP), so I got a wheeled suitcase outside the mercato centrale and just used it as my carry on flying home. It was bigger than the backpack I used on the way over, so I just packed the backpack inside the suitcase. That won’t be possible this time though since I was already pushing the weight limit (although they didn’t question anyone as far as I saw).

The cost of shipping a suitcase-size object home via Mailboxes Etc. or the like is going to be substantial. I'd check online to get an idea. I know I'd take advantage of the free checked bag as long as I could buy a cheap suitcase somewhere--or even something like a gym bag if it was going to house only unbreakable items like clothes. Although you could use a cardboard box as your checked bag, managing something without a handle into and out of the airports might be awkward.

Oh gosh, I’m not being clear again, sorry. I do not have a suit case amount of stuff to ship home, but I have too much to try to squeeze it into my carry on. Anyway, I’ll figure it out. Thank you for your responses.

I just thought I'd give an update now that I'm home and have had a chance to catch my breath. When I was in Italy in the spring, I ended up getting a suitcase from one of the street vendors in front of the mercato centrale to fit my extra things into. I was able to put my backpack along with my souvenirs into the suitcase. I flew United that time and since they are more generous with their luggage sizes, that worked quite well for me. I was still able to do carry on only.

This time, since I flew TAP, I was already pushing the limits on my flight over, so I did end up paying to have some of my dirty clothes and a pair of boots sent home in a box via Mailboxes etc.. It cost 62.50 euro, so was more expensive than buying a suitcase, but I didn't have to check anything. When I took my things in on Thursday, they told me there would be a strike, so they wouldn't be able to send my things out until the following week. They said to be sure I didn't need anything in the box for Christmas because it wouldn't make it home on time. That wasn't a problem for me, so now I just have to wait for my package to arrive. She said I should expect it between Christmas and NYE and once they were able to send it off, I'd get tracking information. Assuming it doesn't get lost, I'd recommend the shop near the train station. The ladies working there were both friendly and cheerful. They gave me a student discount because they said they could tell I was a student of life.

While most of us don't enjoy flying, the logistics of getting through security and customs and just finding my way around the airports while hefting luggage is by far the most stressful part of travel (even more than getting lost at night in an empty village!), so it was money well spent for me. Also, TAP seemed fine. The food was pretty awful, but that's to be expected. The staff was polite and seemed efficient. They did stop several people and make them weigh their luggage and put it in the measuring boxes. I heard multiple people fussing about it, but they specifically waved me on by. On the way back from Lisbon to Dulles, there was an empty row of seats behind me so I snatched it up quickly (several people had their eyes on it) and sat in the center seat to discourage anyone else from wanting to share the row with me, so I was able to stretch out and breathe easier on the long flight. It felt a bit selfish, but the man next to me had an ugly cough and I didn't want to catch whatever he had. Most rows only had two people in them and several only had one person. They were offering discounted upgrades as well. Also, just an FYI, there were no lines longer than 5 people at security or customs at any of the airports. None. It was surreal. Since I didn't have checked luggage, I can't say how easy it was to pick up luggage, but based on what I did experience, I'd strongly recommend traveling in December. It was cool and it rained lightly on and off the whole time I was in Italy, but since I tend to walk quite a bit, that just made it more pleasant. I never got hot and sweaty. The weekends were more crowded, but during the week I kept thinking about how blessed I was to be able to experience Florence and surrounding towns like a native.

Thank you all for your kindness and patience with me as I continue to learn to travel alone. It's silly I suppose, I mean you're all just strangers on the internet, but knowing I can ask questions here really does give me some confidence to go ahead and take chances and do things I wasn't sure I could do on my own. Now to start planning my next trip....