Packing for this trip was a challenge that I was excited for but also dreading. At first, Caleb and I were going to try just bringing one suitcase for the both of us. After we started though, we realized what a bad idea that was going to be. We weren't going to have any room to bring goodies back home with us and were running the risk of our baggage being to heavy to even begin with. So we upgraded to two suitcases and a carry on each. We had 13 days to pack for so that's pretty good if you think about it! Here's a breakdown of all I packed for each day.
Day 1 >> Flight to Istanbul
Day 2 >> Dinner in Istanbul
Day 3 >> Flight to Rome/Dinner in Rome
Day 4 >> Vatican City Tour
Day 5 >> Exploring Rome
Day 6 >> Exploring Historic Rome
Day 7 >> Wine & Food Tasting in Tuscany
Day 8 >> Museum Hopping in Florence
Day 9 >> Day Trip to Cinque Terre
Day 10 >> Exploring Florence
Day 11 >> Exploring Pisa
Day 12 >> Travel/Dinner in Istanbul
Day 13 >> Exploring Istanbul/Traveling to Chicago
A quick note about the pashminas featured here. These selections are based off of similar finds online to what I actually have. I get all my pashminas from street vendors when I travel. I can't emphasize enough how handy they are. Whether you do order them from a place like Amazon or pick them up as you travel, always carry one with you. Anytime I was wearing something sleeveless (it was really nice in Italy...70's the whole time) and wanted to go in to a church I could use whichever one I had with me to wrap around my shoulders. Churches in Italy will not allow you to go inside with bare shoulders, so having something to wrap around them was crucial. They also came in handy for the same reason in Istanbul as I was able to wrap them around my hair. If I had to pick one thing out of everything that I packed that was the most handy, it would be a pashmina. So pack 1, 2, or all that you have...you'll need them!