hi Erin!
i wish i hadnt packed dressy clothes or the pair of heels..didnt use them ..hardly changed during the day ..just ended up wherever in whatever i was wearing and it was fine to be in jeans and running shoes
i took lots of washing detergent sachets…never used them..just used the laundromat,,,glad i bought a bar of ordinary soap so i could wash little things by hand

my mate took a book "guns germs and steel" great book but too heavy to carry …so he says he shouldnt have… never read a page

glad i took a warm scarf to england in june and my felt warm hat and my warm padded denim jacket
glad i took a rain coat and hood..didnt use my umbrella at all
glad i bought lots of film in australia cos i couldnt find cheap film over there and didnt want to waste time looking for it

brought over too many snacks… i got sick of the stuff i brought with me.. a few will suffice this time

i wish i had taken two watches…one for my aussie time and one for local time so i couldve glanced at it and known when to ring my kids…
i was laughed at…but over in europe i saw a couple of ladies doing just that..and just for that reason .,.SO THERE!!! im taking two this time!
glad i brought along a diary and was a disciplined note taker

happy travelling !

Also, this may be obvious (although it wasn’t to me, until I was over there) but don’t bring white clothes (like t-shirts, or pants), because they are going to get dirty and nasty looking really quickly.

Furthermore in my oppinion, you shouldn’t bring clothes that you wouldn’t be comfortable wearing back at home. For example: I followed the suggestions on here and brought those cargo pant/short things (something that I would never wear in America) thinking that they’d save me room/ whatever, but they lived in the bottom of my bag for my whole trip (huge waste of space). Similarly, the suggestion to bring a pair of cross-trainers, didn’t really work for me (Besides working out, I would generally never wear a pair of cross-trainers). Instead I brought a pair of Pumas. They were really comfy and at the time (2004)pretty popular amongst the locals. Basically my point is: you can look good and still be comfortable(not saying there’s anything wrong with cross-trainers, or Cargo/converter pants… If you wear them at home, then by all means wear them there. They are just not for me, and I wont be packing them this year).

Also, I would suggest not packing anything too revealing; I brought a halter top to Italy (something I WOULD wear at home) but I felt so uncomfortable (being gawked at/ whatever) that I only wore it one time, and the rest of the time it just took up space.

With that you may also not want to wear anything too flashy. Personally I made this mistake by bringing a pair of pink capri pants (at the time I thought they were quite stylish) but I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the very trendy Italian women. So they also ended up living in bag for my whole trip.

I also have to agree with Sparks on the dressy clothes and heels. When I went out to the bars/clubs/restaurants, I generally just wore jeans, a tank top/t-shirt, flip-flops, and "dressed it up" with accessories (earings. necklace. bracelet. etc). I had no need for my dressy items, and in fact never wore them (yet another waste of space).

hey veggie girl
isnt that funny cos i just bought another pair of cargo pants ..not shorts but the full length hipster ones
i have never worn them …used to hate all the flaps and zips but now i feel like that terminator lady linda la plante??/…i love em!

someone did warn me not to put valuable stuff into the pockets cos they are easy to pick but if i were wearing them on a walk round cliffside for instance itd be handy just to pop a key and a small tube of sunscreen in and have ur hands free
dont know..will see how they travel and make my assessment later..they are a trouble to iron so i dont know if i can put up with them looking wrinkled straight outta the wash ..

I bought a fleece sleeping bag. I didn’t wanna carry a heavy one, but I had no idea what the weather was gonna be like in certain parts of Europe, and no idea if something might come up where I would need something to cover myself with. And although I did go to some cooler parts like Denmark or England, I ended up ditching the thing in Rome after carrying it for a month, never used it.

I also brought a blue poncho for the rain. The only time I used it, it was so windy it was a nuisance to the face and arms, and I got wet anyways. I ditched it.

BTW, cargo pants… can’t live without them.

Raincoat. I’m not going to melt. However, I do recommend a waterproof pack cover.

A ticket home.

I’ve not done this (really ) but have had guests who …

- packed a US/North America hair dryer without any thought to different plug shapes and voltage in Europe

- brought US postage stamps to mail postcards back home (no, I’m not kidding!)

Don, you have to be, please!!!