Italy Summer 2014 - Travelling Light - The towel of choice - Vatican Dress Code and doing laundry

This is a Peshtemal - A turkish towel.  It absorbs at least as well as your bath towel or beach towel.  It's very soft (100% cotton) dries quickly, it's large (68" x 38") and takes up very little room. Unless something better comes along, this is what we are taking to Italy.

1.  Towel of course

2.  coverlet/throw for sleeping

3.  Beach cover up - fold length wise in fourths and pin the corners togther

Open it up and see 2 arm holes 

put it on with the opening in the front

belt is optional

4.  Shawl to cover my arms, or sarong to cover my knees in cathedrals, especially the vatican.  They take the dress code seriously. 

5.  Always handy when dining Al Fresco

I think if Douglas Adams were around today to write us another book, he would switch from towel to Peshtemal.

Further to no. 4 -  If you don't want to go on the tour wearing tyvek - plan ahead. Besides requiring arms to be covered, the vatican does not allow shorts.  The same could be true at other  churches.  Worse, you have to pay for the tyvek pants. The day we were there, they had run out and we had to wait for someone to come out who was wanting to sell theirs.  Yikes on many levels.

I usually tour in a crinkle gypsy type skirt. It rolls up into a nice small ball and is meant to be wrinkled - great traveller - Very cool, very comfortable and passes dress codes.    Last time I was in Italy, cargo pants that convert to shorts were very popular, too.  Just zip the legs back on and pass right through.  They do require an extra pat down at the airport, if you wear them on the plane.

Here's the advice I will be following for washing.  The powder is really highly concentrated and rinses out very easily.  AND it's available at McCaffreys in Newtown right down the road from YOBC rehearsals.

PLEASE share with extra tips and tricks that you have for travelling light in summer weather in the comments below!  Every idea, no matter how small is a big help!.  Bon Voyage!