What would you pack?

Some great advice given on this thread.
Gabriella, you must be unique indeed if you never need advice on anything ?

I hope you get better soon and make it to Italy!
Let us know all about it!

Thanks situp
I’m paranoid about keeping valuables safe, and always wear a crossbody bag or a backpack worn on my front.

We will use the app too. My Italian work colleague has given me a couple of lessons to include the basics which is helpful.

The wedding planner lives half the year in Italy so has given us lots of advice and a couple of the other places we are staying have English speaking hosts too which will be handy.

I’ll report back after the trip !

Do please try to get a cross body bag, we are off to Italy this week ( if I can get this damned Asthma under control) and have just seen a CCTV video of a friend on a last night out at her resort, 2 guys whizzed past her on a motorbike and just lifted her bag off of her shoulder and were gone.
Fortunately no passports in her bag, just 1 credit card and some cash, but a cross body bag probably would have made them look elsewhere for an easier target.
I have a flowery Kath Kidston one, it’s a bit large, but we are sightseeing in a town so I think I’ll dust it off and use it this time, I should be able to get the camera in it as well. Have a great time and let us know how it went.
In Italy
If you buy a drink you will be charged different rates according to where you sit, ie. inside standing up, sitting down or outside. You will probably be charged different rates according to the day or the weather. Don’t put money in your pockets.carry water with you, it does get very hot. Apart from the beach resorts, shops still close in the afternoons but stay open until late. Take a phrase book by all means , but don’t expect to understand what they say to you, they speak sooooo fast. We have an app that translates as we go on our iPhone. They are usually very friendly but Rome was sometimes a bit unsettling if you strayed away from the tourist bits, much like any other City I guess.

If I ever had to fly to my holiday destination I would find the advice on here very useful, Gabriella. We have visited many European countries but always travelled by car or campervan, so I just fill bags/cupboards with all the summer stuff I possess! I would find it very hard to choose what to leave behind.

Wow - thanks everyone!

Barmyoldbat - we are going to Italy.

Mawbroon, situpstraight and annodomini, Thank you. Unlike GabrielleG, I have never had the opportunity/funds to travel much
Also, I am feeling a little overwhelmed and just needed a little help to get started. Thinking about my Mof T bride outfit has scrambled my brain completely!

I had a successful shopping trip yesterday after reading your ideas.
I’m also creating a ‘capsule holiday wardrobe’ on Pinterest to keep me focused.

I will check out YouTube too.

DP will sort currency so that’s one less worry

My daughter gave me a pad of Packing List forms, similar to the one here, (only mine are prettier). I like the line along the bottom of the form- take half the clothes you think you will need and twice the amount of money

AnitamplI do hope you have a small bum AND HAVE CHECKED WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE FROM THE BACK WQERING ALL THOSE LEGGINS!!!!

Perhaps, Gabriella, if I had asked - and taken - advice, I wouldn't have turned up for a week in Majorca with eleven tee shirts and tops. . As it is, next week I'm off for a weekend in Scotland and in a quandary about what to pack (cabin baggage only) for this changeable weather!

GabriellaG it might be an idea if you share your wisdom with us then, rather than boasting that you don’t need advice on ‘anything’. I’m sure the OP would welcome it.

Margrete
David Neiper are lovely clothes but the prices.......!

MawBroon

Point taken We're not all alike.

To be fair GabriellaG not many people are likely to regularly combine a holiday with their daughter’s wedding abroad. So I would not be too dismissive.

Holidays? ✔️
Daughter’s wedding ✔️
But both, with a luggage allowance and the necessity to look one’s best? Maybe a little tolerance?

I find it surprising that people get to 50+ and still require help in deciding what to take on holiday.
I must be unique in never asking other people to make my decisions or give their opinions on what I should do or wear...or anything.

another afterthought - keep your clothing colour schemes simple with some neutrals so that almost everything can be mixed and matched. And dont forget some socks if wearing shoes or trainers. If you choose easy wash stuff that dries without creasing then you can wash stuff in the evening and it will be dry by morning in most hot countries unless they are very humid countries.

forgot to add to my post that you should use a lightweight trolley suitcase and not one of the ones that weigh 5 kilo when empty.

grandmaKT list is good. After lots of practice and experience my suitcase on my last 10 day holiday weighed only 13 kilo. My tips are to weigh your trainers or shoes and only take lightweight ones eg running trainers or Clarks Trigenic range (v comfy for walking).Do not take heavy handbags - take a lightweight cross body fabric one with lots of pockets ,and big enough for camera, water bottle, suncream, passport etc. Take v small plastic bottles containing just sufficient of your fave toiletries if you dont want to use those provided at hotels. Most holiday hotels are quite casual in the evenings so you could dress up a day outfit with pretty earrings or scarf. I never take towels but if you feel a need, then some outdoor shops like Milletts sell micro fibre (very lightweight) towels For casual warmth try a lightweight thermal zip up from a shop like Milletts or Blacks. Take a few medicines like Ibuprofin, Diarrhoea relief, insect repellent wipes (Boots )if in mozzie area, and anti histamine tablets if you react to mozzie bites. Hand wipes like Wet Ones are handy to protect you from self inflicted tummy upsets. Dont forget phone and charger. It would be useful to know where you are going in case I can offer some local knowledge of what you might need (in your rural area maybe). Best wishes for a lovely trip

Sorry, forgot to say congratulations, have a really wonderful time!

Three or four sets of underwear that can be washed by hand. Comfy walking shoes or sandals. Two t-shirts, or three if you want to use one as a nightie, cardigan or light-weight jacket. Disposable rain-poncho. Wedding outfit, camera, phone and charger, if really necessary. Makeup, toothbrush and toothpaste hair-brush and comb.

I would only take two skirts, one I travel in and one to change with, or slacks if you prefer them. Light-weight shawl or large scarf, if you will be visiting churches where bare shoulders are frowned on. Swimsuit and beach towel. Plasters for blisters! Sun glasses, reading glasses if applicable. Perhaps a dress? One or two blouses.

Remember not to pack anything metal or fluids in hand-baggage if you are going by plane.

I cheat because dh always lets me put all my shoes, sandals, wash bag, a cotton nightdress and a few other bits into his case as he tends to travel light. Don't forget a sun hat, sunglasses and make up bag. I always pack Compeed blister plasters and a new pair of gel insoles too, in case my feet ache and I just move them from show to shoe as needed.

Where are you going?

Have a look at David Nieper's website. Enough ideas for any occasion. www.davidnieper.co.uk

All his clothes are very packable and non-creasable. And suitable for older ladies.

Make 2 lists on your phone/ipad/laptop - one for hot holidays, one for city breaks. Just add things as you think of them and print off and tick off when you’re ready to pack. Mine have been going for years with regular updates, no last minute panics for me now ?

Roll between layers of tissue paper. Never use thin plastic which I did once. Our luggage had been left overnight in tropical 80degree temps before loading into a long haul hold.Arriving home and on unpacking found my clothes were 'drenched.'

Don't do what I did last holiday and forget favourite hair products rather expensive abroad and sometimes not available.