The suitcase syndrome

Like most artists, I live out of a suitcase.

Cee Lo Green.

I know… it has been a while but sometimes a project and intensive travelling unexpectedly take over which makes writing, with a jungle head like that of mine, contrary to reason.

But hey nothing is impossible right? So in between my organised chaos I decided to enlighten you & take you on a whirlwind “week in the life of” in photos.

Schools closed in June so I flew my kids to Holland a few days later for the 1^st leg of their summer holiday.

A tradition ever since they were born. 6 weeks of Dutch culture and trust me they could both fool you into being Dutch.

So after a hectic week of meeting up with my family & friends, travel lunacy broke loose the minute I set foot on Italian soil, as it does every summer in “Casa Colucci”.

With the kids away I get to travel alongside my hairdresser husband just like we used to in the old days, however Fabio’s travelling agenda’s have drastically changed for the worst which makes keeping up, even for a pro like me, a tough act to follow.

With Colucci you fly from one reality into another within very short periods of time, different cities, different people, different clients & different occasions day & night, which gets me to my main dilemma when I travel; PACKING!

You’d think that after all these years I’d know how to pack accordingly but trust me when I crown myself the “worst packer” ever.

I must tell you though that none of our travels are of normal standard. Most trips are last minute, or organised by others via conference calls.

We have a designated “case” room in our house in Florence that has labeled suitcases, labeled! Not kidding. So imagine this: a room full of trolleys & suitcases in all sorts and sizes & a variety of weekend & “one-day only” bags, easily totalling that of a Beyonce entourage for the 4 of us.

Next to the cases is a box with labels that have all destinations & the length of our stay written on it. Most of Europe is in that box, as well as Asia & the US. Let me remind you that most cases already have the necessary clothing in it as most of the time we know whom we meet in which city & on what occasion. (I do like to stress that we are dealing with the fashion industry here! )

So pretty straightforward right?

However, I still manage to mismatch labels… meaning we might end up with Milano packed bags in Rome or an Asia packed suitcase destined for New York City. Besides that there is the female side to my being that makes me overthink how to dress for each traveling occasion.

My mum always told me to be prepared for all weather types & unexpected situations, which is what I try to focus on when I get ready for a next trip.

But I am seriously still the odd one out most of the time, ending up with the wrong gear in many occasions. I’m truly hoping that my fellow women can relate to the packing syndrome or am I seriously on my own here?

Fabio gave up on my skills a long time ago maybe it is time I do too…

The photo gallery I’m including is a combination of a few trips within a 2-week timeframe, business & pleasure new people & old, excluding the in between meetings & the numerous dinners that followed.

Hopefully after seeing the pictures you get an idea where the packing stress derives from… 😉

Have a wonderful summer everyone!

I’ll be back in September.

Ps… I am writing to you live from my hotel room on the Amalfi Coast, that’s exactly 518km from Florence & a 5 hour drive peeps! Who said traveling was a peach?!