Hi,

This 'What To Pack' list is a guideline only, but it is a list that has been methodically thought out after all my years of traveling. But you will have to personalize it. It also may include articles for hotter climates like Greece. So with that in mind, here we go!

WHAT TO PACK

RULE 1: TRAVEL LIGHT!
If you cannot carry your suitcase one city block, you are in trouble! Try it before you go.
- Basically, it's one small pull-along suitcase and one/day bag (or briefcase).
- Try to pack not more than 20-25 pounds in a 9"-by-22"-by-14" bag on wheels or packsack
- Then accessorize, accessorize, accessorize with a few bobbles, scarves or ties. [For business trips, take one all-weather day suit, one dress-up evening suit or dress, and one casual outfit, with two pairs of shoes (a casual pair, and a business pair).

RULE 2: EXPECT EVERYTHING TO GO WRONG, AND LET GO! ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

RULE 3: WEAR & USE A MONEY BELT OR POUCH!

TRAVEL TIPS:
Travel Tip #1: If you know all your arrival dates, a tip for you would be to schedule all your shuttle pickups from the airports to your hotel rooms. It makes it so much easier and smoother. You don't have to worry about how to get to your hotel because you haven't a clue where it is. Unless you have a large expense account and can travel by taxi. But personally, I hate taxi cab drivers in every large city throughout the world (other than London's legalized cabbies who have to pass a two-year test in order to get their license and it includes a customer service test). Taxi cab drivers will rip you off sooner than look at you.

Travel Tip #2: Pack light & wear a money belt underneath your clothes!!! Finito.

Travel Tip #3: Do not take anything you will miss if it's stolen. That includes jewelry. Leave the $500 watch at home and get a fake one that looks like it cost you $500. If you have an expensive camera, get it insured.

Travel Tip #4: When you take less stuff, it means you have to wash your undies more, etc. So bring a round flat Sink Stopper, suds for washing clothes, and a large Ziploc bag. The large Ziploc bag acts as a washing machine: dump in clothes, pour in water & liquid laundry detergent and shake-shake-shake! Take an extra Ziploc. Or use the sink in your room and the rubber sink stopper and soak clothes.

Travel Tip #5: My Favorite Travel Things I always take with me (optional):
- Adaptor plugs for all the countries I'm traveling to.
- Postcards from my hometown to give or show to people; or a Small Talking Book of photos of my home, family, friends, of my art, or activities, etc. Locals in faraway lands love looking at it.
- Pocketknife (in checked baggage only!) e.g. Swiss Knife, great for picnics & eating in your room. Check with your airline first.
- A little water heater prong (220volt), with a metal camp cup, and my favorite tea bags. I always travel with it & make tea in my hotel room. (From your local travel shop; get the correct voltage and follow the directions; in other words, unplug it before you pull it out of the water)
- A small Maglight flashlight & batteries.
- A sarong (basically a large piece of rayon or cotton cloth that the Hawaiians use) which acts as a bathing suit cover-up, dressing gown, shawl, skirt, beach blanket, a curtain, an emergency towel, a sheet on top of the over-bleached and starched bed linen (that I'm allergic to).

Travel Tip #6: Anti-Jetlag Tips:
- Drink lots of bottled/purified water on the flight (bring it with you).
- Consider drinking carrot juice before the flight: carrots offer the best resistance to the oxygen deficiency which can occur at 10,000 feet and above.
- Avoid carbonated drinks, cabbage, beans and cauliflower: these cause gas, which expands with altitude.
- Drink lots of uncarbonated liquids, eat lightly, don't drink coffee or alcohol, eat little or no sugar, and try to cop a two-or three-hour in-flight nap.
- Sounds like a recipe for right living, eh? But maybe that blows your idea of fun.
- There is also an Anti-Jetlag Homeopathic, and Melatonin.

Travel Tip #7: Have fun at a Cybercafe!
- In other words, it's fun to go into an Internet café and receive or send mail home to friends and family while you travel. For those of you with iPod Phones, download the Skype App and use it. However, leave your phone's SIM Card at home and buy one in the country you're visiting at a telephone kiosk. It's cheaper.
- If you don't have an Internet address you can access while traveling, log on to Hotmail.com, Gmail.com, or Yahoo.com and sign-up for a FREE e-mail account. And remember your email address and its password.

SHORT PACKING LIST:
- 9 x 22 x 14" wheelie suitcase
- A small daypack
- Pack no more than 20 or 25 pounds! That's a hard one. Try it!
- Look forward to running out of Toiletries
- Nylon bags for toiletries (in small bottles), shoes, medical & miscellaneous, underwear, camera/film & an extra camera battery
- Color co-ordinate most clothes
- Take clothes that dry quickly
- Take clothes that don't wrinkle or that look good wrinkled
- Wash as you go
- Summer is casual in Europe but do not look like a slob! If you wear blue jeans, look like a student, not a slob.
- Winter is dress up time in Europe but dress warm. Take only one jacket! Layer for warmth.
- Wear a Money Belt!