If I Ziploc my panties can I take another pair of jeans?
OR The effective use of a crowbar for international packing...

"Is there anything as horrible as starting on a trip? Once you're off, that's all right, but the last moments are earthquake and convulsion, and the feeling that you a snail being pulled off your rock."
Anne Morrow Lindberg


Italy is just around the corner and the biggest challenge of the whole pre-trip was surmounted today... the packing.

We've all been on big trips and this is a bridge we all have to cross in our own way. Some people who I know take everything and vacuum suck it down to fit it in the bag... what you do on the other side when you open the bag and are without a vacuum on the other end with a room full of clothes, I never quite knew... so not an option for me. Others are those mysterious people who can pack for 3 months in a backpack and have extra room for granola bars and a copy of On the Road by Kerouac. These are also the people who didn't fill up a 26' truck plus 1/2 when she moved... obviously not me again. There are people who go overseas and actually do laundry... uh, barely do it at home, not gonna do it on the road... next. Then there's the "grip it and rip it" crew. Those master packers who can fit 75 + items in one checked bag.... stretching the limits of physics and the scales of the Lufthansa counter. This is where I securely belong.

Yes, 12 days in Italy that includes not only sightseeing but formal affairs will not make for economical packing. Latest count had 3 formal dresses, 6 tank tops, 2 long sleeve shirts, 17 shirts, 3 pr jeans, 2 skirts, 2 dresses (casual), 3 sweaters, 2 bathing suits w/cover, 18 pr underwear, 6 bras, 1 pr long pjs, 1 pr short pjs, 4 pr socks, hairdryer, makeup (tbadded) - rotten terrorists!, toiletry bag, 5 pair of shoes. As you can see from the first picture quite a bunch of stacks... this looks like a case for...

Super Packing Woman (aka the Master Packer)

This is the only time when being petite has its benefits. If I was a normal-sized person there is no way this would work. Between folding shirts into tiny bundles, ziplocking underwear and the latest in compression technology, I got all of it into 1 Samsonite bag. Don't believe me, look...












Of course I may not be able to get anything out, or lift it up the many steps I've heard about in Italy but one challenge at a time please. Next up...

It's Finally Here - last blog before getting on the plane. Stay tuned!