First time travelling full-on Rick Steve's carry-on only.
We used Rick Steve’s luggage (one regular, one expandable) plus one rolling carry-on and one Hynes Eagle 38L backpack from Amazon. The Hynes was fine but smaller that Rick Steve’s. Perfectly comfortable for a 30 min walk. The rolling one was for our 12 year old. She wishes she had a backpack, but I’m not sure she could carry it. Most places were fine for rolling, except Venice bridges.
I'm very glad we did backpacks, however. I will never check luggage again! So much less complicated!
We sent our laundry out halfway through. It was hot, we were sweaty, and we couldn’t keep up with the wash-in-the-sink, even with quick dry clothes. Worth the money to send it out. About 30 Euros in Rome.
Our first time using packing cubes, and they were awesome. So easy to keep stuff organized, and to repack after a few days. Walmart has cheap ones.
For day bags, went with one Rick Steve’s cross-body bag, which worked fine but it’s weird that the flap doesn’t cover the top zipper; one Sherpani Sadie Cross Body Bag, which was – sorry to say – much more stylish (but didn’t really fit a tablet) and isn't that big. Also had a backpack for planes/train to keep snacks/water in, but used the smaller bags for touristing. Worked well.