It has been one week since I have been back from my 3 weeks in Europe. I flew into Germany, went to Italy, flew back to Germany, then flew back to Italy for the rest of my stay until coming back to Los Angeles.

With all that flying back-and-forth, packing correctly was a big deal. Not only did I need my camera, but I needed to fit all my clothes and personal items into one international carryon and backpack. (Because #iamcheap and refuse to pay to check a bag.)

I did pretty well, but I did have regrets:

1. Jean Jacket.: I didn’t look at the weather before I went. I am so used to LA’s weather, cold, that I figured it would be cool near water. It wasn’t. It was HOT! Any jacket was not necessary, let alone a jean jacket. They are bulky and heavy. I wore it to Germany because it didn’t fit in my bags…meaning, anytime I flew anywhere, I had to wear it.
2. Tennis Shoes: I didn’t need them. It was hot, and I took AMAZING flip-flops that didn’t hurt my feet walking 5-7 miles daily.
3. Laptop: I did do some portrait work while in Germany, but the client could have waited for me to get back to LA. It was a pain to get out for security at the airports, and it was something else for me to worry about getting damaged, stolen, or forgotten. This was a personal trip. If it had only been only for the portrait work, I wouldn’t have been so annoyed.
4. Hair Dryer: I took my favorite hair dryer with me…I didn’t look up if it would be okay with European outlets…it wasn’t. It blew up the second day I was there.