Travel: how I pack

As you can see from the photo above  I'm a bit OCD about my packing. I come from a family of over packers and struggle not to let them influence me when I go away. One of the ways I do this is to lay everything out about a week before hand and ruthlessly edit throughout the week. By laying everything out I can see what I have, what can pair with what, if I have a colour scheme (which apparently I do! The Black, Blue, and Red theme was only noticed after I lay everything out).

If something only goes with one outfit than I tend to edit it out. I want my tops to go with more than one bottom. For this trip I'm actually working so I have a more 'professional' clothing than I normally do. Despite the fact that Japan will be super hot this time of year, I'm packing a lightweight cardigan to throw over dresses so that I'm not revealing too much.

Jersey dresses are a mainstay of my wardrobe and even more so when I travel. They pack up small, don't wrinkle, look great, and don't require washing while away. I also love belts because they don't take up much room but can change the look of an outfit with minimal effort.

I also label where everything goes so that I can see if I'm missing anything. It's always terrible to forget an essential item (I forgot my razor last summer when I went to Italy) so I find that by keeping like items together and laying it out I can spot gaps much easier.

I'll go in depth into what I pack for my makeup bag in another post. Hope this helps you get organized for future trips!

Florence 2012: Climbing to the top of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

On our second day in Florence we climbed to the top of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. Over 300 meters high with over 400 steps this was a huge trek for our jet lagged bodies. We woke up fairly early and started the climb around 9am so thankfully it wasn't crowded or too hot. If you want to do the same climb I'd highly recommend it but make sure you go early in the day, otherwise the lineups are just insane. The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore was built in the 15th century, with the dome being created by Brunelleschi who used  Roman techniques to create it.

On the way to the top you get some amazing views of the frescos at the top of church. These were created by Vasari in the 16th century and depict typical scenes found in many churches: heaven and hell. Honestly in Florence you will be INUNDATED with beautiful artwork and it all begins to blur together. It is totally ok if you don't remember all of it, try to pick out your favorite pieces and hold onto those. 

 Once you get to the top the views of the city are fantastic, this is a shot of the Santa Maria Nouvella that I took from the top. You can get a panoramic view of the city which is great early on in your trip to give you an idea of how the city is laid out.

I would not recommend this for anyone who has a fear of heights, the drop to the bottom is very far and once you start going up it is very hard to turn around. The stairs to get up are very narrow and hard to climb so make sure you're in (reasonably) good shape.

 Unfortunately at the top there is a great deal of graffiti that people have put up. Mostly banal, on occasion you do get some gems like the one above.

 There are locks at the top, so if you want to leave behind a memento I think this is a nice way to do it.

I don't look back on my time in Florence and remember all the partying we did. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun and we met some great people. Instead it's things like climbing up to the top of
the duomo that stand out in my memory.

What to wear on long haul flights

airport essentials by alysiamansfield featuring real leather handbags

Long haul flights can be a bit of a trial, so make sure you dress comfortably. I tend to start with a base of my lululemon wunderunders (you can wear any leggings though), a camisole with a built in bra (makes sleeping so much more comfortable), a cardigan or sweater (I'm fond of these TNA hoodies and these wilfred sweaters), a pair of slip on shoes (I'm loving these Toms), a bag big enough to hold my in flight essentials (Longchamp bags are great, or you can get a similar bag from ebay fro $20), and an empty water bottle is a must have so I can fill it up past security. I also make sure to pack any tech that I would be heartbroken to loose (like my cameras). 

While dressing up for a flight is great if it's under 5 hours, when you're going overnight comfort needs to be the primary concern.  

Italy

At the top of the Duomo on our second day in Florence

Here's a quick overview of my 3 week trip to Florence, Italy. I really didn't want to come home at all, I loved it so much. Studying abroad has been a dream of mine for years and I'm so happy I finally got to do it. I'm already looking into options for next summer, my wanderlust is kicking in!

View of Florence from the top of the Cathedral (463 steps!)

Picture of some rings I was eyeing on the Ponte Vechio, I ended up getting one on the last full day there.

Florence from the town of Fiesole

The Pantheon, one of my favorite buildings in Rome

After a super eventful first day in Rome we ended the night on a good note by hanging around the Colosseum at night

Obligatory cheesy Pisa picture. I wish we hadn't been so rushed and could have relaxed on the field of miracles.

The main Piazza in Sienna, so pretty.

Venice!

a church in Venice, I can't remember which one.

I love this shot of the Ponte Vechio. We had super sunny days until the end and finally I was rewarded with a great shooting day, the sky had tons of drama.

We climbed the Bell Tower in our last week and were rewarded with this amazing view of Brunelleschi's Dome

Italy Haul: Kiko Cosmetics!

All my Kiko purchases!

When I was in Italy for 3 weeks I really wanted to find makeup that I couldn't get back home. Visits into Sephora didn't turn up much, it was mostly the same product. On my daily walk to school I saw Kiko Makeup Milano Cosmetics. Kiko was a great place to pick up everything from mascara (I bought a purple one for less than 6 euros), Nail polish (they were having a sale, 2.50 euro each!), lipstick (2.50 euro) and eyeshadow (4.90 euro). At such great prices I slowly built up a collection. I didn't go too crazy (my roommate bought 6 nail polishes by the end!) but I did pick up enough to get a feel for the brand. Kiko is available in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal and the UK. The quality was great for such cheap products, the nail polishes went on smoothly and dried super quickly, great pigmentation in the eyeshadows and lipsticks as well.

A closer view of the eyeshadows and lipsticks I got

I got a lovely grey-taupe colour that is a great all over shadow, as well as their blackest black which I`m currently using as a liner. I was boring with my lipsticks and stuck to coral-pink tones. They had a BB cream out, but by the time I went to go purchase it they were sold out.

Lipsticks and Eyeshadows swatched

If you are ever in Europe looking for cheap but good cosmetics I HIGHLY recommend this line.

Italy Packing: Nail Polish

I took a small selection of nail polish to Florence. I ended up leaving the glitter top coat at home as it's a pain to remove. I brought my sally hansen top coat, OPI's Strawberry Margaretta (the perfect Barbie pink), Essie's California Coral and their Sugar Daddy (my go to pale pink colour). I kept the colour selection simple to make it easy to match to my outfits while away. I ended up buy a really pretty purple and teal colour from an Italian cosmetics line called Kiko, which I'll be posting a haul of what I got soon!

Review: Simpatico no 8, Solid Perfume

Smooth, creamy and sweet, this delectable blend of sugar and cream is nested in a bed of freshly shaved coconut made to comfort and envelope you in layers of bliss.

I tend to not wear a ton of fragrance, mostly because I forget to apply it after getting ready! This solid perfume from Simpatico travels easily so I like to put it in my purse so when I do finally remember that I meant to put perfume on, I have one that's easily accessible!

The scent of this perfume is very sweet coconut, perfect for summer. I don't find it too cloying which is nice because it could very easily fall into the too sweet category. The scent lasts for about 2-3 hours on me before fading completely and stays very close to the body the whole time. This is a super reasonably priced product, just $12 at Chapters/Indigo book stores which is where I picked up mine on a whim.

I'm for sure packing this little guy in my carry on for when I travel, as it won't make a mess (like liquids that leak sometimes do) and its super portable.

Going to Italy!!

Picture of the Trevi Fountain taken by me in 2009

Ciao a Tutti!

I'm going on this amazing adventure to study in Florence for 3 weeks (I'm leaving on Saturday). I'm taking a course on Medieval and Renaissance Italian Civilization through my university. Expect lots of packing posts, food posts, a big haul post when I get back and lots more! I'll have my computer with me while I'm gone so posting will continue fairly regularly. Can't wait to share my pictures and stories with you in the coming weeks!

A Presto! 
Alysia