7 Items Laura Is So Glad She Packed for Italy

These are the things (glamorous or not!)she reached for every.single.day on her 10 day Europe trip...

Packing for an international trip is no small task, especially when you have to pack your kids for two weeks of Summer Camp at the same time! The plan was for my husband I and to fly the kiddos out and drop them off at camp, and then, that same night, fly to Rome. It was quite the logistical feat to pull it all off, but pull it off we did! Needless to say, given that we all shared the same departure date, our house was pure chaos in the days leading up to this trip. Our living room transformed into packing ground zero, and was an organized mess of suitcases, kids’ duffle bags, camp packing lists, chargers, sleeping bags and other items in gathered piles. Somewhere in the malay of it all the camp prep, I had to pull my own situation together for 10 days in Europe. I texted friends that had just gone, trying to get a feel for exactly what I needed to be comfortable but not look like an obvious tourist on our trip.

I think the best piece of advice I heard was to “not bring a heel.” I took a pair of block heels out of my suitcase and I am SO glad I did this! I wore flat sandals (which I’ll outline below) or sneakers the entire trip and I was comfortable, could keep up with my husband walking, and never had an ounce of pain in my feet. Full disclosure, I saw almost zero heels while we were there - maybe a few tourists (never a local). They looked ridiculous, attempting to navigate the uneven cobblestone on their shaky heels, clutching to the arms of their significant others, struggling to keep up. Be smart and pack elevated sandals that can go from day to night! Moving on to the other essential items I am so glad I brought. If they didn’t go everywhere with me, we used them each day in the hotel room!