pack like a pro

Our Rome-to-Venice train tickets arrived via UPS the other day. RailEurope includes all sorts of good information with the tickets, like buying a phone card, using your cell phone overseas, and a TravelSmith catalog in case you need to buy some no-wrinkle clothes for the trip.

In flipping through the catalog, I came across one of their many travel tips entitled "Pack Like a Pro."

I am not a pro packer. I always start out with good intentions but it quickly gets messy. I remind myself constantly of that travel wisdom: pack what you think you need, then take out half; but invariably I go with my own travel wisdom: pack what you think you need, then add half more again, just in case.

There is never an emergency and the "just in case" clothes remain unused.

TravelSmith gives the following list if your trip is less than 1 week:
- 1 shirt per day
- 1 lightweight jacket and/or layering sweater
- 1 skirt or pants for every 2 days
- no more than 2 pairs of shoes
- 1 pair of underwear for every day
- 1 raincoat

Never mind that I rented apartments in Rome and Venice with washing machines, specifically so that we could do laundry along the way. Never mind that the cruise ship has laundry facilities.

My packing list for a trip of less than 1 week would look sort of like this:
- 1 daytime shirt per day
- At least 2 layering sweaters that will color-coordinate with any outfit
- 1 skirt or pants per day
- 1 nighttime outfit for every 2 days (or maybe every 3 days if I push it and the outfit doesn't smell like the restaurant in which it was worn, smoke, etc)
- at least 2 pairs of shoes, maybe 3
- 2 pairs of underwear per day
- umbrella

Now that doesn't even include pajamas, socks in case my feet get cold at night, swimsuits (for ship purposes), etc. And that doesn't take into account the fact that we're traveling for two weeks. (Note to self: you will have laundry facilities along the way.)

This packing would be much easier if I wore black all the time. I could rule out at least one color-coordinating layering sweater at a minimum. And black shows less dirt so maybe I could go for one skirt or pants per every 2 days.

But who wants to wear black every day, all day, especially in the summer?

The other issue is that dressing in Europe, and Italia in particular, is far more imposing than my normal get-up. I mean, I know Isabeli Fontana and I both were Gap, but she could pull Gap clothes off in Rome, whereas I will look like a frumpy, dumpy American that fell off the turnip truck on the streets of Rome.

I am making a concerted effort to look polished on this trip. And that means I'm wasting a lot of brain cells on my packing. But I think - besides overpacking which will surely happen - I'm getting there. I'm only taking one pair of shorts (to be worn only on the ship and not on the streets of any European city) and a lot of cute linen dresses (that have loose waists for maximum comfort during our stuff-your-face marathons). I might even be able to get it down to one layering sweater.

On second thought, maybe I should underpack. I always tell myself I can just buy whatever I need when I get there if I forget something (but of course, with my overpacking, I never have the need to buy anything). If I "forget" a few essentials, think of the possibilities!! I could make new friends who go by such names as Fendi and Gucci, Armani and Prada. Throw in some Versace and my wardrobe could be complete. After all, "when in Rome"...