Third Step: 

Packing

September in Italy can consist of warm days with warm nights, warm days with cold nights, cold days with cold nights, hot days with warm nights, or hot days with cold nights. So what to pack?

Layers. Always layers. Short sleeve tops, light sweaters, warm sweaters, and of course, rain coats for the surprise downpours that come from nowhere and pound down in intense sheets of water for a few minutes before disappearing in a burst of colorful glory. Or an umbrella, but I always lose those, so I tend to go with a raincoat. Found a great one that folds up into a tiny pouch.

A water bottle.

Fresh, cool, potable water flows from numerous sources throughout the city of Rome. Bring your own bottle and fill up as many times as needed. A welcome discovery for those of us looking for a nice cold drink to cool those overheated internal furnaces.

A fan. 

Not an electric fan, although those are great. I brought one to London last summer and fried it within the first minute of turning it on, even with a convertor. So ditch those and bring a person fan or a medieval-damsel, lady-from-the-deep-south manually operated fan. When you are trapped inside an overheated, muggy, or stuffy anything, and are desperate for a puff of air, any air, these can be a God-send.

Comfortable walking shoes.

Uneven cobblestones, extra-high curbs, and ancient Roman roads paved with irregular basalt stones can be a hazard for anyone with balance issues, ankle, knee, or hip problems. A sturdy pair of shoes with a nice shock-absorbing sole is invaluable and highly recommended.

Rick Steves Audio Europe.
Download this app on your phone, Ipod, Ipad, or whatever electronic device you can get it on. Then select the tours that you would like to listen to and download those as well. All free. And how many times to you find something for free? Well, except for all the wonderful cold drinking water in Rome, oh and all those samples from Costco.
But you get the idea.

A set of earphones.
Great for the plane ride, but also for listening to Rick Steves, or any guided tour where they give you those horrible don't-fit-into-anyone's-ears earphones. Then you can listen in the comfort of your own clean, and perfectly fitting earphones.

Maps:
You can purchase a version of Offline Maps for your electronice device and download the cities you need, (we did this) or you can stop at a gas station when you get to Italy and buy a hard copy. Invaluable for planning your day's excursions.

G.P.S.
Essential if you are driving anywhere. Not that I would recommend driving in the larger cities, especially Rome. Those drivers could give the ones in Paris a run for their money. However if you are driving in the country-side, having that annoying robotic voice tell you which way to turn will be a blessing. Bring yours from home and download the software for Italy. If you choose to get the GPS from the car rental places, it will cost a fortune.

International Driver's Licence.
According to our wonderful travel agent, Kellie Neuenfeldt, you can be fined if you don't have one with you. They are inexpensive and easy to get, so why take a chance?

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