As of July 1, 2025, I am officially a “pensionata” as the Italians say. I am a retiree.
Starting in early September, I am taking advantage of not having to go to work and will go to Italy – of course.

I hope to improve my Italian by taking a 7-week language immersion course in Florence. To help adjust my time clock, I’m arriving a few weeks before the course starts during which period I want to make some day trips (Assisi, possibly, Prato and Pisa) and take art classes. When the language course wraps up, Scott will join me and we will head to Milan and then to France, specifically, Marseille and Paris. Both cities will be good bases for day trips. Arles and Avignon are near Marseille; Rouen and Chartres are near Paris. And we will meet up with our son and daughter-in-law.

I will be in Florence for 66 days, mostly solo. I hope to listen, speak, read and write in Italian as much as possible. I may have to start writing more Italian in this blog! I’m looking forward to buying a pass to the Uffizi Gallery so I can observe at leisure and to visiting churches and museums I have not yet seen. But I also want to get a feel for living in Florence more like a local than a tourist. I will have to figure out how to use a “lavandaria” (laundromat) and do daily “fare la spesa” (grocery shopping).

Meanwhile, I’m deciding what to pack for carry-on only. I don’t want to check a bag and risk it getting lost but more importantly, I have to be able to handle all my luggage on my own. For safety reasons, as well as avoiding muscle and joint strain, I am aiming to be a minimalist, at least, in terms of packing.

Current plan: 14 items of clothing, two pairs of shoes and one raincoat (and underwear, socks, nightgown and some scarves).

Toiletries, glasses (reading, sunglasses and prescription) and a first aid kit must be added. Then there’s my iPad, AirPods, battery pack and the necessary charging equipment. A small purse, umbrella and collapsible shopping bags as well as a pencil case with sketching materials and a sketchbook need to go into the hard case or small backpack. It seems these things take as much space and weigh more than clothing.

One of the airlines I’m going on (Helvetic Airways) has an 8 kilogram limit for carry-on. I tested a packed case and it was well over 8 kg. I’ve been musing how I can lighten the load. One suggestion I read said if it costs less than $10 and takes less than 10 minutes to buy, don’t pack it. I’m not sure that helps. Electronics and most of the sketching materials are definitely more than $10.

If I cannot reduce the weight, I will just have to hope no one weighs my luggage. 😬