Pre-Trip Shopping List

1. Shoes
We wanted to find comfortable shoes because we planned to do quite a bit of walking, but we still wanted to look nice for dinner--and not take a suitcase full of shoes!

I bought a pair of Ecco sandals. They were amazing! I also brought my gym shoes for more intense walking days and a pair of flipflops for the beaches.
Bill chose a pair of Nikes free runs. And he loved them. So lightweight and breathable. He also found a pair of Rockport leather sandals to wear around town for dinner or whatever. And flipflops for the beach.


2. Cross-body Bags
We wanted to have bags for everyday that we could feel secure with in high-density tourist areas. Like the Rome metro.

I found a cute cross-body bag at DSW Shoes that was big enough for my notebook, travel guide, some change, first aid kit, granola bars and a small water bottle.
We also ordered a little bag from PacSafe.com that Bill ended up carrying most of the time that held our IDs, wallet, and cameras. We were so excited when it came in the mail. It was great!

3. Clothes
Since spring, I told myself that I could ONLY buy clothing items that would work for Italy. And I was on the lookout for a light cardigan and some linen pants.

Found a great cardigan at Target. Easy.

Found the most amazing linen pants in the Victorias Secret online catalogue. And I was sooo excited that I found a pair for Bill, too, at Old Navy. He was skeptical at first, but soon wore them just about every day.

Seriously, linen is where it's at for summer in Italy. Sure they wrinkle a bit, but they're so comfy! Plus they're thin and light so they don't take up nearly as much suitcase space as another pair of jeans. And they were way more comfortable than our jeans.

4. Launrdy kit
We knew that in order to make it to Italy with only carry-on luggage, we would need to do some laundry while we were there. I found a few kits to buy online, but Bill was determined that we could do it ourselves.

So we found some nylon rope, suction cups, a sink stopper and filled a 3 oz bottle with liquid laundry detergent. Most everything came from Lowes and Wal-Mart. Worked out pretty well--even after I forgot to pack the clothespins!