Why Italy.
The summer in Denmark has basically been non existing this past 1,5 month so a dear friend of mine and I agreed that we needed to feel the sun for a week and unwind a bit underneath a palm tree or two. After a bit of research we chose Italy and the Amalfi coast as the destination.
Italy has been a very dear country to me ever since my first visit back in 2000 when I was just 9 or 10 years old. It was the first country I experienced besides Scandinavia. I went with my parents and my little brother, Lukas, and I remember we explored the museums, the streets, the FOOD and the people of Venice, Florence and Tuscany. The experience is dominated by memories of a very special kind of heat and smell. Smell of very ripe tomatoes and pizzes from stone-ovens. After we returned back home to Denmark, my parents cooked italian food non-stop for like half a year or something. It was kind of magical.
Back to year 2016.
What I usually do when packing is mainly thinking of the kind of activities the trip will consist of. This travel had three key activities: unwinding in the sun, eating loads of tasty gluten dishes and taking some summer-ish pictures. So roughly put all I needed was bikinis, stretchy clothes leaving space for the growing belly bella and my photo gear. In all seriousness when it comes to packing, my needs are pretty simple and as often as possible I travel with cabin luggage. I like to have all things close to me and the best bonus is that it saves me from waiting for checked in luggage at the arrival time.
The things.
When traveling with a cabin suitcase I always bring a smaller bag for instance a tote or a fanny pack carrying the things I need close at hand while flying. I don't remember if I ever travelled without my laptop since I got my first white MacBook back in 2006? It has become a true essential for me in order to empty my SD cards as they get loaded along the way. No need to explain why passport and wallet is always with me, but hand-cream, lip balm and gum are small life-savers for me. My skin literally cracks open immediately in the airplane if it doesn't get enough moisturizer. To make it even worse 'm secured a solid nosebleed on trips lasting more than 3 hours if I'm not making sure to put some oil up there in the drills . The air-con is a bit of a bitch to me. The gum I always carry to equalise the pressure in the ears but also to offer my side-passenger a piece if we have a tight bad breath situation. The four-leaved clover is a gift and has been with me ever since I got it.. I'm not very superstitious normally, but I ain't happy travelling around without this one.
Shoes.
I never ever travel without comfortable shoes. Sneakers over heels always and I pick out my foot-wear before anything else. On this trip I went a bit overboard with three pairs of Adidas. The Ultra Boost white and clear grey, as well as the newly released Ultra Boost Uncaged (Gift: Thanks for providing me Adidas Denmark!) and the Adilette W sandal.
The suitcase.
I had a minor problem just before I had to leave, that left me with no cabin suitcase at hand. So what happend was that along came the lovely women at the danish PR agency Geelmuyden-Kiese and saved me by lending me the new Cosmopolite 3.0 2016 from Samsonite. These words aren't sponsored and even if they were, you guys must know by now that I'm pretty frank about my words and reviews of products. My opinion can't be bought, such a cliché thing to say, but it's super important for me to emphasize on in these SoMe marketing days. Anyway the suitcase is not just pretty, but also super light weighted, combined with a strong case leaving my things secure. One of my favorite features of it is how the wheels offer 360° flexibility when moving. You can both drag it on two wheels and push it on all four. It allowed me to carry it in different and comfortable ways, which is something I and my weak arms valued a lot through out the whole trip. My only concern I had about it was that the case ended up having a pair of scratches, even though I did my best to take good care of it. So if that is something that bugs you I would probably go for a soft-cased suitcase.