Wanted: Packing/Travel Tips for an American Student Going to Italy?

Question

I am a 20-year-old college student studying in Florence for almost a year (I leave really soon, too!) and I am just looking for some basic "Dos" and "Don'ts" for packing. I am limited to two checked bags for at least 10 months and I am on an extremely tight budget, so shipping stuff to myself is not an option. I am going over there to study nearly-full-time but have 3-day weekends to explore. I want to blend in as much as I can (though I doubt I fully can) and I don't mind independent travel (not with other students) so I can interact more with locals/take millions of pictures!

Some tips that have helped in the past:

Style: Italians don't wear flip flops around town. It's tacky. Plan on wearing actual shoes. Also, when in doubt, wear darker colored shoes and clothes (no multi-bright-colored outfits).

Toiletries: Most stores have a few choices when it comes to shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. It's not like America where you see 75 types of shaving cream. Razors have one blade. Deodorant doesn't have antiperspirant. Toothpaste isn't usually minty; it's herbal. Bring stuff you're particular about.

Don't Bring:

-too many dress shoes. That's the thing most people regret bringing. One pair that fits almost every dressy situation is good.

-books/novels. You will be busy traveling, so don't bother loading your suitcase with books. You're a student, so bring what's required, but you won't want to read a novel after you finished studying your textbook.

Those types of tips are very helpful. If you have any more (the more the better!) I would love to hear them. Also, if you have tips beyond packing and more into traveling (even recommendations of where to go/where not to go) I would also love those, too. Thank you so much!

Answer 1

No to the flip flops, but you know that.  

Toiletries, no you don't have as many choices as you do in America but you will have plenty of choices.  There is mint toothpaste, whitening toothpaste, anti-cavity toothpaste, herbal toothpaste, sensitive teeth toothpaste, you get the idea....  Same goes for shampoo- shampoo for dry hair, shampoo for normal hair, shampoo for blonds, shampoo for curly hair.....

Bring or buy a great pair of walking shoes that also look nice- similar to the tods driving shoe style- though Tods are pricey- but something like that.  

I've never seen anyone turned away from a restaurant for what they are wearing as someone else suggested, but people here generally wouldn't show up in ripped clothes or sneakers.  

Do not bring or attempt to wear any article of clothing that has even the smallest amount of stain or damage.  Not that I wear ruined clothing, but I must admit I have been known to put on a shirt that maybe had a tiny, dime sized discoloration from the washing machine, or wear a dry clean only winter jacket when it wasn't looking 100% fresh, maybe a loose string has been found hanging off a garmet.....  Italians will notice this and comment on it.  I ironed and put away a dress shirt for my Italian boyfriend that had a tiny stain on the lower area- I didn't even notice.  He came home from work and immediately brought it up to me said everyone in the office had teased him about it and asked him what kind of girlfriend he had that would send him out with dirty clothes!  And I'm talking TINY, barely noticeable.  NO stains, no rips, no loose buttons, no damage!

People here generally seem colder than I ever am.  In the winter everyone sees how I am dressed and always asks "but aren't you so cold?"  They really bundle up here.  Always a scarf, always a sweater with a warm jacket on top when going outside.  I fit in more when I too bundle up, but I am also so hot I can barely stand it, so I don't really go along with that.

I guess the most important thing is to think about what you are doing every day when getting dressed.  Italians are serious about looking sharp, put together and complimentary.  You see plenty of flashy and trashy, but more classy, high end Italians are modest and sharp looking.  Women often wear men's button down shirts- but that fit to perfection.  Everything always fits great, a simple, but quality belt, bag and shoes are added.  Jewelry that matches but is not cheap and plastic looking.  It's all very serious, they don't just throw stuff on to run out to the grocery store like we might throw on a track suit to run a few errands in America.

In the end though, you are American and everyone will know this.  You will not "fit in" like so many of your questions have indicated you want to do.  And that is ok.  Walking around the city people are not going to pay much attention to you.  When you meet friends or romantic interests that want to get to know you better they will immediately know that you are American.  It is just a part of you and is interesting in it's own way.  Have confidence in who you are and what you bring to your new friendships and relationships.  As long as you are not loud, drunk, rude, wearing sweatpants, t-shirts and sneakers you will be just fine.  

Answer 2

Join www.bookcrossing.com for free book exchange kind of set-up.

I'm absolutely green at the moment. A winter in Florence!!! OOOOHHHHH! You are INCREDIBLY lucky! Make sure you visit Fiesole and the ancient ruins up there.

Take the basics plus a little bit as regards clothing, you can buy clothes there if you need to, and you can always ship home the stuff you want to keep. Anything else you can either give away and give to charity shops.  

Answer 3

Hi there -- if you want to fit in, I suggest that you buy your clothes there.  Americans clothes tend to stick out.  I would bring just enough clothes for a week or two and then buy more stuff if you can afford to.  If you can't afford to, then seems to me that two weeks should be enough clothes, maybe three weeks if you can take the clothes with you.

As for the brightly colored outfits...I don't think that's accurate.  Italian designers tend to be all over the map.  I mean, as long as you're not wearing hot pink or neon, you should be fine.  But there's no taboo against certain colors -- although, Italians do not tend to wear red underwear except on New Years Eve. :)

Razors in Italy are also the same as in America.  That one blade thing is not accurate as I have purchased the same blades that I buy in America in Rome and elsewhere in Italy. You'll find many of the same brands of toiletries in Italy as you would in America, some with the same name.

As for shoes, I had trouble finding affordable dress shoes that fit me when I was in Italy.  I suggest that you bring a pair or two.  You probably won't get into any nice restaurant, bar or pub wearing sneakers.  Dress shoes are a must, and ones that are comfortable help too.  I agree with the flip flops - they are only worn to the beach or around the house in Italy.

Good luck on your trip!

Answer 4

I spent a semester in Florence in college also. You are going to have an AMAZING time!

Here are my tips, do not take very much and plan to buy more over there. American clothes and shoes are not in fashion there and you will feel out of place! If you are going to take things, take dark blue denim, a nice black jacket, dark things that are simple and look well put together.

Hmm, honestly, the more I think about it, the better off you are buying stuff there! I know that is not helpful but it is what I would have done if someone would have given me the same advice!

Answer 5

I live on a farm in the Abruzzo region of Italy (basically, on the eastern side of the Apennines opposite Roma). I was born in the USA, moved to Scotland when I was 21, lived there for 30 years and moved to Italy a couple of years ago.

I think the responder above (cvillecmd) is right to say that you shouldn't try to become an Italian during your time here. You aren't Italian and there's nothing wrong with that. As a guest in the country, you should be respectful, but trying to become more Italian than the Italians will not win you many points.

Cvillecmd is also right about how Italians tend to start putting on coats at the first hint that the heat of summer has passed. My observation is that the time of year is much more important in deciding when to put on a quilted coat than the actual temperature outside. The winter of 2006/07 was unusually warm with temperatures in November in the mid twenties (Centigrade - mid seventies Fahrenheit), but still all the locals were bundled up like a Siberian blizzard was on the way. Expect comments and looks if you go outside wearing what feels comfortable to you and that's less than what everyone else is wearing. Whether or not that matters to you is something you have to decide.

Much has been said about Italian style and I'm willing to believe that there are plenty of Italians who care so desperately about their appearance that they go in a complete tizzy if they find a tiny stain on their clothes. But there are also an awful lot of scruffs wandering around this country, and they definitely are not all American tourists! Maybe that's the difference between the down-to-earth people in rural Italy where I live and the hoity-toity folk in Firenze. Or maybe it's a case of outsiders focusing mainly on the people who fit their stereotype of what Italians are like and simply not seeing the teenagers who could be plonked down in an American mall and be indistinguishable from the natives, the working-class types who clearly don't give a d**n about how they look and the young men who wear clothes that may be fashionable but just look ridiculous.

We all have different approaches to things like fashion; what I'm comfortable wearing, you might believe to be painfully conspicuous because of its cut, colour or context. So my advice would be for you to bring clothes that you truly feel comfortable living in.

One other thing I would pick up on concerns toiletries. While smaller shops and the sort of mini-supermarkets you see in town centres have a very limited range of toiletries, the large supermarkets (found mainly in shopping centres) have a bewildering selection of things like toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel and deodorants. The toothpaste on offer does includes the weird herbal concoctions you mention, but also minty, fluoride stuff from brands like Colgate.

There is, however, a problem with antiperspirants and deodorants. I have yet to find an antiperspirant here that actually works. I suspect that may be due to some peculiar Italian ideas about how sweat should be allowed to flow or something. In any case, I get friends to bring large quantities of an antiperspirant I like from Britain when they visit. If that sort of thing is important to you - and, from my olfactory observations it is much more important to Americans and Brits than it is to Italians - then I suggest you try to bring a good supply of your preferred brand. On the other hand, it's possible you might find one here that works for you. There is generally a fair selection of the stuff in larger supermarkets and farmacie.

Oh, and multi-blade razors are very common these days.

I hope your studies are productive and your stay is enjoyable and memorable.