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<\/a><\/p>\nI gained a little room because my\u00a0iPhone doubles as\u00a0my map, camera, alarm, translator, guides, and flashlight. My iPad is my library, thanks to my Kindle and Nook apps, as well as in-depth museum guide apps. It can do most of the same tricks my iPhone can do. There are no Apple stores, but there are Apple products for sale,\u00a0so if bad fortune befalls me (like\u00a0push comes to shove on the metro\u00a0and thieves make off with my auxiliary brains) I can\u00a0hope to replace them.<\/p>\n
I’ve been setting clothes and shoes aside, ready to pack when the day came. I choose dark \u00a0colors to get the maximum wear out of least number of items.\u00a0Bonus: it\u00a0all but eliminates time spent dithering over what to wear, because it doesn’t matter. The answer is always what’s clean (or clean enough). Last year\u00a0raspberry was my accent\u00a0color. \u00a0This trip I’m adding\u00a0a\u00a0couple of blue shirts and socks to my\u00a0perennial black and gray.\u00a0The new coat is a soft gray-blue, and my very nice\u00a0umbrella is sky blue with puffy white clouds.<\/p>\n
Packing is pretty Zen. Everything I think might\u00a0work is heaped on chairs and dresser tops in the guest room, then it’s\u00a0process by\u00a0elimination.\u00a0 If I need four long-sleeved shirts and have\u00a0ten that might work, I pick the four that compliment each other \u00a0best. I\u00a0set each item\u00a0on the guest room bed, marking it off the list as I go. I try on things that look fine,\u00a0but might not fit or feel right, to be sure. When I’d gone through it all, I \u00a0launder\u00a0everything, with a second rinse cycle. I’ve discovered the hard way that walking eight hours a day chafes my tender\u00a0skin if there’s any trace of laundry detergent left in the denim. And yes, my pants – all three of them – are black or dark gray denim. \u00a0I am visiting\u00a0cultural capitals, not the country side, not the coast, not resorts.\u00a0Blue jeans feel too casual, black jeans seem just that bit\u00a0more formal and appropriate.<\/p>\n