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So I hate, H-A-T-E, hate looking like a tourist. Maybe I’m a snob, I don’t know, but when I travel oversees I like to blend in with the locals. You’ll find in European countries a lot of black is worn, a lot of boots, and a lot of scarves. Not really different from styles worn in the US, except that they dress like that all the time. I don’t think in my travels oversees that I have ever seen a local out running errands in their pajama pants and house slippers as I so often see in the States. I can’t even remember seeing track pants or sweatpants. So when I travel, I don’t even pack tennis shoes, waste of luggage space in my opinion unless you really need them for orthopedic reasons. There are plenty of very comfortable, yet fashionable, shoes out there suitable for walking around and looking at old stuff. I take my very comfortable Anne Klein “athletic” shoes, which are just a pair of wedges, but with a cushy rubber soul, and a pair of dressy heels for going out to dinner. Then I base the rest of my footwear on the season in which I’ll be travelling. Recently I took a ten day trip to England in mid-October. In addition to the two pair of footwear previously mentioned, I took 3 pair of boots. How did I manage in one suitcase to pack 2 pair of shoes, 3 pair of boots, an completely different outfit for each day of the trip, along with all my toiletries and accessories? First off, wear one pair of boots on the airplane. I know, I know…where cumbersome boots through security? It’s not a big deal. Wear a pair that zip up, unzip them while your waiting in the screening line and then slip them off when you’re ready. It’s amazing how aghast some people are that I could possibly deal with wearing boots through TSA. I just told my mother when she expressed doubt, that I was a seasoned traveler and she need not worry herself. Anyway, pack the rest of your shoes and boots neatly in the bottom (meaning when you stand it up on its wheels) of your suitcase. I plan ahead of time what I’m going to wear each day of the trip based on that day’s planned activities if there are any, and I pack them in handy dandy compression bags. You know, the giant ziplock bags you roll up to squeeze the air out of. In this way, I’m able to stack all of my clothing at one end of the suitcase (the top). They work like a charm and I was incredibly organized when it came time to get ready every morning. Some people pride themselves on packing “light”. I am not a light packer, I am a smart packer. My only goal when travelling is to keep it to one checked bag and to keep that bag under the 50 lb weight limit, and to have one carry on that fits under the seat in front of me. When we left for England, my bag weighed just over 46 lbs. Success! While in England, I bought yet another pair of boots (I’ll admit I might have a problem) as well as several souvenirs, including three bottles of booze. Fearing that the new purchases may put me over the limit, I put my Anne Klein’s in my mother’s suitcase and took a shopping bag as a second carry on with some of my souvenirs in it, breaking my general “one carry on rule”. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have needed to do any of that. I would have come in just under weight most likely. I always learn something from each bit of travel I do. This trip I learned that I should bring the luggage scale on the trip with me, duh. Then I would have known I was okay. Next time I guess. The moral of my tale I guess is that it’s not necessary to pack light, just be smart about it, and there is no reason to be unfashionable when travelling.