What to bring
Lisa: Read the Rick Steves packing list and stick to it. You really can “live” nicely with this list and look good for your pictures. I have been known on other trips to pack my whole closet, but I stuck to his list on this trip and it worked fine.

Travel knits
Lisa: Definitely consider taking travel knit tops and skirts. They look really good coming right out of the suitcase and are good looking enough that I regularly wear them to work.

Packing
Lisa: The Eagle Creek Pack-It® Folder really keeps your clothes from looking like you are living out of a suitcase. They are great, especially if you are using a backpack rather than a suitcase. Get a size that is a couple inches smaller than your suitcase so that it leaves room to pack other things because the Folder doesn't "give". The Folder makes a solid rectangular package that won't crumple or deform in your suitcase, so it keeps your clothes relatively wrinkle free (assuming you avoided wrinkling them as you packed the Folder). Normally, when you put your suitcase on it’s side, the clothes all pack down due to gravity and the pair of shoes or whatever you tucked in the side that is now crunching down on top of the clothes. So, you usually end up with a pile of wrinkled clothes. With the Folder, you fold your clothes around a hard plastic sheet so they are as wrinkle free as possible, and then you tighten your clothes between two hard plastic sheets and they don’t move or wrinkle.

Test your suitcase
Lisa: You need to be able to carry your suitcase (and a wheeled carry-on bag really can hold everything!). Try packing your suitcase a week before your trip and take it for a walk around the block and carry it up two or three flights of stairs. You will get the idea.

Rain Protection
Take a good folding umbrella that will actually keep you dry. Do know that when it rains, cheap five-euro umbrellas "come out of the wood work" for sale. However, they don't cover much and, if the wind blows, they turn inside out. Also, get a waterproof day bag, or at least treat it with a waterproofing spray. And bring a plastic bag to cover your day bag because otherwise everything in your bag will probably get soaked if you get caught out in the rain. Soggy guidebooks, journals, and sweaters aren't so good...

Shoes
Glen: We have all heard the rule about bringing well broken in shoes. Obey it. Bring at least two pairs of very comfortable walking shoes. If one pair of shoes gets wet, you really don’t want your feet marinating while you walk around for a day. If your shoes do get wet, use the hair dryer in your room to dry them that night. Make sure your shoes don't have leather insoles because force-drying the leather will harden it and make it very slick when you use the shoes again. (Don't ask me how I know...)

Socks
And bring socks that you have worn also. How do those seams on new socks get in all the wrong places to make blisters?

Shape up now
If you are not already a walker, start now. Walk stairs and hills. On a Rick Steves tour, you almost always have a choice about how far you want to walk. But, you really want to be able to keep going because, around the next curve and at the top of those stairs, there is a breath-taking experience and you don’t want to miss it.

Jet Lag and Sleep
Jet lag can really dampen your trip. We tend to get pretty worked up right before a trip, making it difficult to sleep well on the plane, especially when "bedtime" needs to come around 7pm. If you can, start adjusting your sleep/eating schedule several days before the trip; every little bit helps. Also, consider an over-the-counter sleep aid (our doctor suggested Benadryl®  or Tylenol PM®) or talk to your doctor about a prescription aid like Ambien®. It can also really help to use something the first night or two when crossing several time zones. After that, the exercise helps you sleep really well, but it’s still good to have something on hand, just in case.

MP3 Player
It's a good idea to have several audio relaxation and sleep programs on an mp3 player. Use the player's sleep timer to help you sleep. No grumps.

Cameras
We really like the Olympus Stylus 770SW camera because it is shirt-pocket small, waterproof to 30 feet, shockproof enough to withstand drops onto concrete, and the zoom lens never pokes out of the front so it can't jam. Great for beaches, pools, on-the-go, and general usage. A 2GB memory card, no bigger than a postage stamp, can hold over 1000 high resolution photos. On the down side, it has no viewfinder, so you have to rely on the LCD on the back for framing your shots. Glen hates that, much preferring a through-the-lens view finder. Also, a view finder won't wash out in bright sunlight the way LCDs on the back of cameras do. So you may also want to consider taking a small digital SLR, which also typically gives you a wider zoom range that can be quite handy.

Batteries
Glen: Cameras. Mp3 players. Lights. Maybe a GPS? All that means batteries, and that means dead batteries. Nothing worse than wanting to use a portable device and have it be drained. For years, I insisted on everything working with AA cells. That way, I only had to carry one kind of battery and replacements were available virtually anywhere in the world that there was a store. Worse comes to worse, you could swap out working batteries from a gadget you weren't using to power one you wanted when its batteries died. And rather than disposables, NiMH rechargeables are the way to go with AAs because they are fairly high capacity and one recharger can work for all your devices. Unfortunately, it's much harder to stick with AAs these days, given that more portable electronics use proprietary rechargeable batteries. Their higher capacity generally is advantageous, even though you usually wind up needing different spare batteries and a separate recharger for each item.

Chargers, other electrical devices, and adapters
Glen: Speaking of chargers and other electrical devices, look for the type that automatically works on 110V and 220V without requiring a switch change. Then you only need a small, light-weight plug adapter rather than a bulky, heavy power converter to operate off either voltage. The adapters are small, so have one adapter for every charger or other electrical device. Be aware that you often only have one or maybe two sockets available in many hotels so, if you have two or more chargers, consider bringing along a palm-sized traveler's surge arrester that converts one socket into two or three. As a bonus, you only need one adapter for the surge arrester rather than one for each device plugged into it.

Emergency duct tape
Things happen when you travel. Journal covers get torn, bags rip, umbrellas tear, electrical plugs won't stay put. Wrap about 10 feet of good duct tape on a short length of plastic drinking straw and stow it in your kit for emergency repairs.

PMA-Positive Mental Attitude
Above all, realize that sometimes things happen that you won't like. Luggage may get lost, your favorite shirt may get torn, you might lose a camera or other possession, whatever. Do your best to keep a positive mental attitude. It may seem like a huge tragedy at the moment, but it won't seem nearly so bad in just a short while, so breathe and give it some time. Whatever else is going on, you are creating memories for the future, so you might as well make the best of them.