I'm in Latin 1 at my hight school, and in Latin Club so I'm eligible to go to Rome with my teacher and other students for spring break.  My parents siad the 17 hundred dollars are no problem and my grades are 97 and better so YAY!  What should I wear? Like Cairn in England, I don't want to look to touresty.  By the way, my 14th b-day is sept. 19, so doubley yay!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!  O.O

Rome is the most AWESOME PLACE on the planet!!!

I went there this summer! You will ADORE it!  **bounces excitedly**

I'm so excited for you! Have fun!

PS: Happy (early) birthday!

Ella

Congratulations!  This could be a trip of a lifetime for you!

You're probably always going to be with a group of kids, so it's going to be hard to pass as anything but a tourist. But one thing Americans should keep in mind when they travel abroad is the style of their clothes. Baggy or comfort-fit is out, tailored is in. So the clothes you buy for your trip should be fashionable in a way American kids aren't usually into.

If you're going out to a real restaurant, you should pack a nice outfit. Also, if you're going to see cathedrals (you probably are) make sure you have clothes that are modest. Tank tops, bare midriffs and other suggestive styles are inappropriate in a religious setting.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, though.

Oooh, how exciting for you! I'd love to go to Rome...

Well, you have at least one advantage that I didn't have in England - you'll be with other young people and not your geeky American family. ;) As far as what to wear, my stepsister visited Italy, Spain & the French Riviera on a school trip over the summer & came home with lots of good descriptions about fashion and such. Let's see what I can remember...

Apparently most women in Italy wear really spikey heels, but for the sake of comfort (and not twisting an ankle on those cobblestone streets) your best bet would probably be a pair of trendy yet comfortable sandals.

Jeans are pretty common in England, but I don't know about the rest of Europe; I'd probably go with a nice pair of pants (not khaki!) or capris, and some plain tank tops or short-sleeve shirts with a sweater or something if needed. And definitely a skirt or two, or a sundress!

Another thing that's really popular in Europe now are pashminas, really long scarves that are usually made of cashmere, but you can get them for pretty cheap from outdoor vendors or tourist shops in most cities, I think (I've also seen them at a couple shops in the states; they'll probably be all over the place by spring if you wanna get one before you go). They can be used as a scarf, shawl, wrap-around skirt, head cover, etc. Tons of women in London had them, and my stepsister said nearly all the girls in her travel group came home with at least one or two.

Also, don't bring a honkin' old 34 mm Minolta camera like I did.  ::) A disposable camera that you can fit in your purse is just as good and easier to replace. Just make sure you buy all you think you'll need in the states, since they're expensive overseas.

That's about all I've got...I also have no idea what the weather is like in Italy in the spring - make sure you check that out! Oh, and don't forget a cute handbag and funky pair of sunglasses.  8)

Ahhh, Roma. You lucky girl!

As eKatherine pointed out, make sure you bring clothes which are appropriate for cathedrals. You are not allowed to wear shorts, skirts above the knee, or tank tops (your shoulders must be covered, a shawl is acceptable). Believe me, it's incredibly frustrating to trudge all the way to the Vatican (or any other cathedral), only to be denied entry (as I experienced a few years ago).

Bring loose, linen skirts and simple tops, and be sure to do some clothes shopping while you're there. I'm drooling! :-) Oh, and bring extraordinarily comfortable shoes, those hard pavements wreak havoc on your feet!

I'm sure you'll have a great time, drummergirl. What fun that you're studying Latin! I've always wanted to.

Happy birthday in advance!

/Kate

Great to hear you're going to Rome, Drummergirl! Happy Early Birthday as well  8)

If I were to go, I'd probably pack the same way I would for a casual business trip: a white chemise (goes with anything), a nice pair of dark blue pants (the "casual-OR-formal" type, like editors a long ankle-length skirt (something exotic perhaps? I wear Indian skirts), a corduroy suit-like jacket-coat (what do you call those?), and a longsleeve cotton shirt in a dark color... among other things. I try to make my outfits "mix and match" so I don't have to worry about what going with what. This setup has worked for every one of my professional trips. It's always better to look too nice than too casual.

Continental Europe has had a slight if not moderate distaste for American jeans. I am not too sure about Italy, but France never liked it much. They find it too informal and too... low class, I think. I don't know if things have changed lately (perhaps they have; some European and/or Japanese designers have come out with expensive high priced jeans... which is baffling.)

And YES! Buy everything you need before going, since the prices there are awful.

Oh, If you are planning to bring camera battery chargers or anything plug-in, make sure you have a wall plug adaptor!!

Anais

wrote on Sep 6^th, 2004 at 4:22pm:

Oh, If you are planning to bring camera battery chargers or anything plug-in, make sure you have a wall plug adaptor!!

Oh goodness, YES! We brought one along to England, but it ended up not fitting the plugs in our hotel anyway, and my sisters couldn't use the curling iron or blow-dry their hair (haha ;))