Decisions To Be Made

Photo courtesy of samirabid.com

I have been spending a lot of time in the past few days thinking about what I am going to pack for my upcoming trip to Italy.  As well as the flight over, I'll be taking the train a few times while I'm there and as a result, I'm realizing I need to pack lighter than I normally do.  I'm feeling the urge to smallerize everything. 

For example, taking only one suitcase instead of two.  I usually take the small, carryon size as well as the medium case.  This time, I'm thinking that since it's summer, I should be able to get away with just the medium case.  No bulky sweaters, no heavy jackets to worry about (thank goodness!).  If I plan to do laundry at least once while I'm there, it should be no problem.

I'm also debating about my camera. I love my DSLR but it is bulky and heavy to carry around.  The stories about pickpockets in Italy are legendary.  Maybe a smaller, easier to hide point and shoot camera is the way to go.  Only mine broke on my last trip (to Florida) so I'd need to get a new one.  The jury is still out on that decision although my trip the camera store the other day was informative and tempting. It has only been 4 years since I bought my last P&S, but the choices today are smaller, lighter and much more technologically advanced than they were back then.  If I were to get a new P&S, it would certainly have a much better zoom lens than my DSLR has at the moment and that alone might be worth going ahead with that purchase.

And maybe I don't need to take the larger size journal that I was considering - at 7 x 10 inches, it's not overly large but the 5.25 x 8.25 size I picked up a few weeks ago seems to be calling out to me, "take me, take me!".  I actually have two blank journals in the smaller size on hand, one with a leather cover and regular paper, and a lighter one with a soft cover and mixed media paper.  Now that's an easy choice.

Another decision I have to make is whether or not to take my laptop.  Originally when I bought it, I wanted it to travel with.  And so I have.  My trip to France in August/September 2010 and last November's trip to Florida were the perfect examples - I blogged every day and downloaded my photos every night.  But it took up a lot of time doing that, usually later in the evening after a long and exciting day when all I wanted to do was sleep or at the very least, turn my brain off and relax. 

If I had a tablet, it would be an easier choice - they are smaller and more portable but (as far as I know) just as powerful as a laptop. But since I don't own one (yet), I have to consider what it would take to carry my laptop around for 2 weeks and whether or not I want to be encumbered in that way, both physically and mentally.  I'm thinking maybe I will leave it at home.  Given that I spend all day every day on the computer as it is, it would be nice to spend a little time "off the grid" for two weeks.  On the other hand, it would be handy to have a laptop available to check out websites of local attractions, book train tickets and communicate with various parties as needed. 

For now, that decision is not ready to be made.  I'm going to have to think on that a little bit more, see what feels right.