When is your vacation?
I am editing to say that the link is showing the shadow where is the tote bag much darker than when it left my computer. So, I have altered the photo to reduce contrast. Click through and you will see the soft-sided tote bag I used.
I’m posting this not to acquaint you with what I used to look like, because those days are gone and they could make me weep. The reason I am posting this is because this is the day before I flew back to the United States after a three-week trip through Italy and a Greek island.
What you see at my feet is everything I took with me and everything I bought to take home. I swear it. Lest you think it was only possible because I was small and wore only shorts and bathing suits I will list what’s in there insofar as I remember. I remember pretty well, because I have lots of photos of that trip. The friend who went with me is 5’-10” tall and she carried the same small tote that I did—I bought two and gave one to her.
I took with me a hot pink button front gauze skirt and a matching T shirt. I also packed an elasticized strapless flounced sundress printed with small posies in white, khaki, pink and green. I wish I still had it. There was an unconstructed purple linen jacket with 24 buttons down the front. I do still have that. I carried a pair of wide-legged khaki linen pants with self-embroidered hems and a couple of tank tops. I threw in 2 pairs of men’s white cotton boxer shorts and a couple of men’s small white cotton T shirts, one of them a tank. You can see the cross-check voile shirt in hot pink and the hot pink linen short shorts that I wore on Mykonos. I had a purple one-piece bathing suit, too, and a tiny, lace, short nightgown. Four bras and four panties ends the list. I brought and wore strappy Bernardo sandals with beads across the toes and I bought the ones in this picture from the famous Greek poet/sandalmaker in Athens. I also bought a long, white gauze dress in Mykonos.
Everything was folded into thirds and then rolled up. The rolls were packed so that I knew where to reach in and find everything. I had a full complement of grooming aids—shampoo, conditioner, sunblock, moisturizer, but no makeup in those days but mascara. I carried one guide book and my friend carried another. We each took a paperback and swapped. We borrowed clothes, too, which may sound unlikely, but my shin-length dress made a skirt for her and her white big shirt made a jacket for me.
The shopping bag is filled with what I bought: jewelry, gifts, whatever. I chose on the basis of being to carry it.
We toured churches and historical sites in Italy and we always dressed for dinner. We never wore shorts in cities, but we certainly did at the beach resort. Our hotel at Mykonos later became famously the hotel in “Shirley Valentine” and the manager was a lot like the Tom Conte character. I, however, was not the chosen woman of the week.
It was one of the most fun trips I ever made. The freedom was remarkable. I knew I’d never pull that off in winter, but hey! It was summer, 1984.
13 comments August 14th, 2007
