Celtic Moon - I still think about your cost-of-electricity experiments (which I have not been able to duplicate) so here goes to tackle my packing errors in the hope I will get some good critique. (If I can't save $ on electricity, maybe I can on clothes.) Background: not much moving around on this trip. Laundry got done once. Two pair of shoes for foot comfort reasons, neither pair of which could be worn with skirts (hiking boots and sneakers). This old lady shoe thing compelled me to buy new clothes. Poor purchases: 1) Good quality cotton velvet black pants. Right for one city climate, but too warm for the other city. Wore twice at night. (Wore them out to dinner yesterday in cool NYC weather. Perfect.) 2) St. John knit black pants and zippered sweater-- turned out to be not dressy enough for two functions (wore them anyway) and I felt too "dressed" for day time sight seeing, also too warm in second city. Not worth taking. (I expect to wear them plenty when not travelling.) Poor choice: Pair of good quality, good condition wool khaki pants Wore once to opera on a coolish night where everyone else seemed to know that summer conditions prevailed inside despite airconditioning. Way underdressed which wouldn't have bothered me except for the sweating. So what did I wear? 1) Old Travel Smith black tropical weight pants worked for warm weather in second city and wore them a lot. (Lesson here about Travel Smith) 2) Ten year old black cotton velvet pants which I planned to wear only on airplanes. These pants that broke the bank when I bought them still don't sag but noticed this trip that the crotch is just net, which meant I could only wear them with black underwear (had to micromanage that laundry) and hope no one noticed. Tops -- took way too many -- different weights and colors with scarves (See thread: Way Too Much Stuff.) I wore: 1) New heavy Cotton crinkly/crushed fabric a super success. Right proportion on me; right fabric weight for warm city; not black. Could be squished in my purse. I will wear this jacket forever. (A bank acct. breaker.) 2) A new cheap colorful washable wool top I wore in the colder city for dinner every night for relief from my all-black day wardrobe. Right weight, but wrong proportion -- looks festive across a restaurant table. Probably will hang in my closet on a backwards hanger until I give it up. 3) Under both these new pieces I wore short sleeve black handwashable cottonknit ribbed scoop necked good quality shirts. If I had taken no other shirts I would have been fine but I took a whole slew of other unnecessary stuff. I also took my own pillow, pillow cases and a light throw, all of which I loved having. I will never be a really "lite" packer. But I need to be smarter about all-climate travel clothes and hear some pep talks about disciplined packing. I pare down and then at the last minute throw three other outfits in. Sometimes it is one of those outfits I wear 50% of the time. There must be a better way to outfit oneself for vacation travel. (I have in my head the vision of a woman --now dead -- who arrived for a weekend wedding with just a briefcase and she looked smashing at every event. I want to learn to do that.)

I very much recommend staying at a place where you can cook. Aside from the suite hotels, many time-share resorts also rent out units. When it comes to restaurants, don't expect much from chains, even the fancier ones, unless your restrictions match up to their corporate menus. But most smaller places, even the non-fancy ones, can be very cooperative. However, it's best to call ahead and discuss your needs. While chefs seem to relish the challenge of making something wonderful despite restrictions, it's good to give them a little time to plan and get ready. And go at a less-busy time. Also,it's important to bring or make enough treats to counteract the temptations of eating in restaurants and other people's homes. Knowing you can have something truly special later can do a lot to give a person the strength to pick his or her way around the menu.

Following on the credit card advice, it's nice to have a chip card for Europe. Some kiosks, like at train stations, work only with chip cards and not with the magnetic stripes. Along those lines, don't exchange money at the airport, nor at home via your bank. Some ATM cards have no-fee benefits and many credit cards don't charge foreign transaction fees. It's good to suss that out ahead of time. For public transport with luggage, I'd suggest rolling luggage with 4 wheels, so it can roll sideways down the aisle. Also, of course a non-huge suitcase will be a relief every single day. For the long flight, I've had great luck sleeping with the combination of a melatonin pill, a glass of wine, headphones with classical music, and a scarf or hood to snuggle into. Everyone's method differs, but it's worth thinking about what puts you in a cozy, sleepy mood. I also bring my favorite tea bags and an insulated water bottle that can be filled with hot or cold water rather than being dependent on the irregular passage of the flight attendants. I set my watch for the new time zone about an hour after takeoff and never look back. I avoid the mental calculation about what time it is at home, because that just underscores jet lag. The local time is the time, period. I celebrate my arrival in Europe by beelining to the first cup of delicious-looking coffee I find in the airport. For me, the awesome coffee is an important part of the European experience! I also use coffee as necessary to stay awake and energized during the day and get into the local time zone. Other random tips - I make some photocopies of my passport to stick into various bags should I lose my original. You know the phrase, "when in Rome..."? It's great advice for infrequent travelers. There is great temptation to do everything just as you normally do, but then you miss out. Do things the way the locals do and become part of the experience. Anxiety is part of the travel experience. It's OK to be nervous - that is definitely part of the equation for lots of people. In some cases, it even heightens the delight once you get over there and realize just how awesome and non-difficult it is. It's such a thrill to look out the airplane window onto an unfamiliar landscape, to take pride in successfully navigating some other city's public transit, and to set eyes on a much-anticipated landmark. Oh, I just get giddy thinking about how cool that all is. I hope she finds her stride once she gets over there. What a transformative experience this will be! OK, I'm also ready to head over to Europe now!

I love my Eagle Creek packing cubes! Especially when we we will be moving every night or two, but even staying in one place. If we ar staying for a few days I move the packing cubes to the drawer. I pack undies and maybe socks, in one, tees in another, etc. If there is an event, my outfit goes in one. I may or may not put pants in one. I like how things stay smooth, the suitcase doesn’t look chaotic, and I can see loose items easily against the white translucent material. I had a compression bag in my purse for my jacket. It meant I could carry my jacket easily just in case, but it took up so little room in my purse, which wasn’t very large either!