What unusual / eccentric item to you take on holiday with you?

[chachalaca]

I love Pauline's idea of keeping a packing cube ready to go.

I didn't mention it before but we always try to remember a champagne stopper.

 

[aap519]

Not sure how unusual, but we always bring the single load Tide laundry detergent packages. I bought a power strip in France that I always bring along since we have a couple of phones and a couple of tablets to plug in overnight. An HDMI cable for connecting my laptop to a TV for a DVD player.

My wife always brings her electric curling iron that she bought in France, since she blew up her 1st curling iron in France since it wasn't dual voltage.

Coming home I always have my luggage backed with Nespresso capsules since they are so much cheaper in France.

 

[Joana]

Pokey/Mindy,
I remember you had posted about this on ST before our 2005 trip to Italy! I really liked your idea, so I brought along some Sacajawea dollar coins. We had a fun conversation with our guide/driver at Mt. Etna, who gave me a poster of Mt. Etna when I explained I was a teacher doing research for my second grade class. At that point I gave him a Sacajawea coin and tried to explain that she was a guide for Lewis and Clark. Hopefully he understood what I was trying to communicate. So thanks again for this idea!

 

[Linda Ross]

I always bring along a wireless speaker so we can listen to Adriano Celentano and other Italian favorites in the apartment. I've learned the hard way to pack light after hopping on and off trains. Since we end up in Venice in November 9 times out of 10 I have swapped my high heeled boots for my acqua alta ones. A little clumsy looking but it's function before fashion these days and I get to jump in puddles!

 

[Sharon J]

I always take a small flashlight, and keep by my bedside. Also, little Chicobags for grocery shopping. They fold inside themselves, and small enough to carry in a small purse. Depending on what time of year, I take those little fan like things, with bug repellent to keep mosquitoes away. I buy them in the grocery store.

 

[Ian Sutton]

I always take a small flashlight, and keep by my bedside. Also, little Chicobags for grocery shopping. They fold inside themselves, and small enough to carry in a small purse.

We take flashlights when out in the rural areas, though ours are ones that are mounted on an elasticated headband, so you can walk 'hands-free', though to be honest what I find better is that there is less movement in where the light is pointing and it's naturally easier to point it to where you are looking! We got ours from Decathlon, a French sports megastore chain, but quite well represented in Italy, especially Piemonte, and other European countries.

Those bags sound very similar to 'Onya' bags from Australia and indeed these are a really flexible option. I also recall many years ago needing a bag to take back on the plane and picked up a very cheap foldup canvas bag in 'holdall' style whilst in Italy. It was amazingly resilient, being my regular cabin bag for years afterwards, eventually disintegrating after perhaps a decade. Not bad for something that must have cost €5-€10.

 

[Pauline]

We take flashlights when out in the rural areas, though ours are ones that are mounted on an elasticated headband, so you can walk 'hands-free', ...

That's very Anoraky, isn't it? Says the person who wears a Tilley hat.

 

[Ian Sutton]

That's very Anoraky, isn't it? Says the person who wears a Tilley hat.

They're very good. I love the story of the one eaten by an elephant, that was still wearable on recovery (after a good wash I presume!)

 

[joe]

That's very Anoraky, isn't it? Says the person who wears a Tilley hat.

Did you say Tilley hats? I just have to add my two cents on this - even if this is straying a bit from the thread - as I have two Tilleys (one of them half-decayed, actually), and they are some of the best bits of equipment I have ever owned.
Both were brought to me as a present from a Canadian friend, from the store in Toronto. They're a model not made anymore, but they were perfect for my work here in the desert.

The one on the left was the first one (bought in 2005), and the second one is the one I have today (my apologies to any of you who don't get dirt on their Tilley...).

The rather long and wide brim has protected my face excellently, and the material is simply fantastic - notice that the plastic inner layer of the brim wore out before the fabric on the top of the hat did. Really tough stuff. I think it could not only go through an elephant's intestines, but through a whole herd of them.

They are guaranteed for life and insured against loss. I'm keeping the one on the left in the hopes that one day my travels will take me to an enlightened country where they sell Tilleys - the kind of country that uses words like "Anoraky" (which I had to look up ) - and that they might give me a discount on a new hat....

 

[Pauline]

That is a nice model! My husband Steve has a wide brimmed one that looks like the same material as yours. I have the standard cotton one. On the olds forums, in the old days, I was known for my love of Tilley hats! That smilie is supposed to be a person in a Tilly hat.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Another one I forgot about - Tupperware! That very 70s thing is very handy for bringing back food that would otherwise get crushed in bags slung onto a plane. It also helps keep it cool on that journey.

 

[DDTraveler]

Although not very exciting, I always bring ear plugs, zip lock bags in various sizes, a small bag of first aid stuff (band aids, moleskin, antibiotic cream, pepto and immodium), and sometimes a night light. Plus tons of books on my Kindle. I also "save up" the crosswords from our local Sunday paper to do on the plane. When our kids were small, I brought along a jar of peanut butter, figuring I could always find a loaf of bread or a piece of fruit in a pinch!

DD Traveler

 

[Sharon J]

I forgot to mention two things I also always take....Bubble Wrap and those flat Plastic Wine Skins, which I order from Amazon. They are wonderful for packing bottles of wine in a suitcase. The Bubble Wrap comes in handy for small things I purchase.

 

[Chris]

I just opened the hall closet the other day and noticed Frank's three Tilley hats: a billed cap just like the one in the photo above and navy and olive green ones like the smiley. I don't remember why he had two. Frank wasn't the type to color-coordinate his outfits.

 

[Jan55612]

I bring wine skins and bubble wrap, also. Plus, I throw in large and small ziplocks for use in kitchens and then to enclose any purchased items I have wrapped in bubble wrap (or to help prevent spills if the items are liquid.)

 

[Valerie]

Padre Pio. I'm not superstitious, but after some near-death experiences where my atheist cousin insisted it was Padre Pio who saved us, I keep a padre key chain in my carry-on bag. Because it can't hurt and weighs nothin', right?

We used to take kitchen things, but usually buy a decent knife at a mercato and leave it in the house (bad knives are my pet peeve in rentals). It's like an offering for the next person who stays there. We keep a corkscrew in the car for improntu picnics, so if there isn't a decent one in the rental, we have the back-up. If we travel to the bad bread regions, we take a kilo loaf from our bakery.

In summer I take two swimsuits, so one is always dry. I hate putting on wet swimsuits!

 

[Tim W]

A cotton duvet cover - Emergency bedding if the apartment proves not up to standard, or as a "spare" if there is a large enough sofa/spare bed without bedclothes (and one of us snores!)

My beloved always takes a small tupperware container of instant coffee - it drives me mad, but I get "What if we're delayed, get to the apartment late, and there is nowhere open - how am I going to cope in the morning?"

 

[CharityB]

That's very Anoraky, isn't it? Says the person who wears a Tilley hat.

Do you still wear your Tilley hats??? I remember you mentioning Tilley hats on Slowtalk, and someone replied, "Oh, are Tilley hats another Slowtrav requirement?"

 

[CharityB]

We don't carry anything that we can do without. We traveled with a small knapsack on the back and a small duffel bag on the shoulder for many years. Never checked a bag. Those days are gone now that physical problems keep us from carrying bags. Now that I have my iPod, I don't even carry the 3 books I used to drag around the world!

 

[Pauline]

Do you still wear your Tilley hats??? I remember you mentioning Tilley hats on Slowtalk, and someone replied, "Oh, are Tilley hats another Slowtrav requirement?"

Currently I wear a cotton hat I got last year in Positano - and the brand is Stetson! Steve wears a Tilley hat. I did wear one for years and still have two of the original style.