Luggage

Call us crazy, but we will not be checking any luggage on our 11 night stay. With airlines charging $15 to $25 per checked bag, we can cut back on our travel expenses just by carrying on. I know it seems difficult, but I've read several travel websites and forums and have even talked to some people who have successfully completed the carry-on feat. Of course, the trouble is getting 11 nights worth of luggage into one carry-on and one back pack.

The key for us is doing laundry half way through the trip. This way, we only have to pack 1/2 the stuff we would normally have to pack. Several websites sell travel-sized laundry soap and clotheslines. However, we are lucky enough to have an apartment in Rome with a washer AND dryer.  And, believe me, dryers are hard to come by in Europe...electricity is very expensive!

Well, there is a lot of strategy that goes into this packing technique. Our first step was to purchase good luggage within carry-on requirements. We know we'll be flying on American Airlines for the flights to and from the U.S.A., so all we had to do was search their website for carry-on limitations. Here's the link for the AA carry-on allowance:

http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/travelInformation/baggage/carryOnAllowance.jsp&anchorEvent=false

Our only other flight is from London to Rome - which we booked just today!  We will be flying British Airways.  This is supposedly one of the best airlines around, so we're pretty excited.  They have very similar carry-on allowances which are easily accessible through their website as well:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagcabin/public/en_us  (note: they call it "hand baggage"...I think I'm going to love the UK!)

Here are the bags we picked:

Mine is the green one and Brett's is the man-ish looking black one the transforms into a duffle bag and a backpack...pretty cool!  We have already used them once during our trip to Las Vegas with Brett's mom and stepdad in August. We used carry-ons only on this 5 night trip and it was surprisingly easy. The most difficult part is deciding what things are necessary and what items are not needed. 

And, of course, the liquids issue. But, I've found that condensing liquids is not difficult either. I was shocked when I figured out that I could wash my hair about 7 times with 2 oz. of shampoo! If you're not familiar with the TSA liquids carry-on guidelines, you can read more here at http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm

I know Brett will have no problem with the carry-ons only plan, but it might be a bigger struggle for me. However, with proper preparation, I think it's possible. At this point, I've got 62 days to figure it out...thank goodness!