Douglas and Ombretta have four key things they consider before taking an extended journey.

1. Keep in Contact With Home: It helps to have somebody back in the States take care of your interests while you're gone (the less you have to obsess about the life you just left, the better). Make sure they have all your contact information and are kept abreast of whatever travel itineraries you've planned. Also arrange for them to forward whatever important mail and faxes you get on a regular basis.
2. Choose the Right Place to Go: Some cultures tend to be closed to foreigners, so wherever you're going it certainly helps to know people. They'll show you how to navigate through your first days by introducing you to people (the town butcher, the woman in the vegetable market, etc.) and may serve as a valuable resource in explaining the finer points of how things work in your new surroundings.
3. Try to Make Your Trip Long Enough: Time is a luxury, but even going away for six months might not give you enough time to fit into a new social scene. To make the most of your trip, stay long enough to fully embrace the daily rituals wherever you're staying. Go local! Whenever possible, sever all ties with your previous life.
4. Set a Goal for Yourself: It may be as simple as resolving to master a new language or to delve deeply into the history of the place where you're going. It could even be learning to cook. Setting goals provides a focus for your trip.

Things Ombretta Does Before Leaving

Ombretta has a checklist of things to take care of before embarking on a long journey. Here are some of the things she deals with prior to the trip.

• Paying Bills: Arrange to pay your bills and bank statements online so you can take care of them no matter where you travel. Make sure to set this up a month before you leave so you can be sure it works properly.

• Valuables: Put your valuables in a safe deposit box. Take precious items from your house like rugs, paintings and special photographs, and store them in a closet or a storage facility. Your house-sitter may not be as careful as you are.

• Hard to Find Things: Nowadays you can find pretty much anything wherever you go in the world, but just to be sure, you might want to bring along some prescription medicines and beauty supplies from home.

• On Hold: Before you leave, put as many monthly bills as you can (cable TV, cell phone, car insurance and DMV registration) on hold. If you have somebody staying in your place while you're gone, you may want to change the settings on some bills according to your guest's needs (maybe they don't need that fast Internet connection, or perhaps a simpler plan from the phone company would suit them).

• Clothes: Don't bring too many clothes and shoes — you'll end up buying a lot of beautiful and unique things wherever you end up going. For example, if you come to Europe in January or August you'll find the best sales. Pack an empty duffel bag in your luggage because you'll end up filling it with lots of goodies!

Things Douglas Does Before Leaving

Similarly, Douglas has his own checklist of essential pre-trip responsibilities.

• Keep in Touch by E-mail: The simplest way to keep in touch with people from any computer is to set up a web-based e-mail account (Yahoo and Hotmail are two examples of web-based e-mail providers). In many cases your existing e-mail can even be forwarded to this new email account (check with your ISP for details). Just remember to advise all friends and business associates of the e-mail address you plan to use prior to your departure.

• Cell Phone: Many US cell phones now work in Italy, but the expense won't make sense if you're planning to be abroad for an extended period. A simpler alternative is to buy an economical cell phone once you arrive (many are available for less than a hundred dollars) and use pre-paid phone cards that you can buy in virtually any bar or newsstand.

• Computers and Electronics: If you're planning to travel with a laptop, it's a good idea to back up your most important info from your home computer's hard drive onto CDs. You might even leave a CD back in the States with somebody you know for safekeeping. You should also consider bringing all installation software (and their product keys) in case your computer has problems and some software needs to be reloaded. For items still under warranty, travel with a copy of your registration and sales receipt in case you need to make repairs while you're abroad.

• Power Adapters: Almost all PC laptops work with 110- or 220-volt current and only require a plug adapter (check the fine print on your power supply to be sure). If you plan to bring a power adapter that converts 220-volt current to the 110-volt current used by your hair dryer or shaver, make sure the amperage or wattage setting for each adapter exceeds that of the device you're planning to use.

• Clothing: One of the fastest ways to announce that you're a foreigner is to wear the wrong clothes. It's probably a good idea to leave the t-shirts and tennis shoes back in America. The first thing I do whenever I arrive in Italy is polish my shoes. Keep in mind that most Italian men are more concerned about how they look than women are.

• Mail: Leave a stack of pre-paid Fed Ex envelopes with your address printed on them so you can have someone send mail to you whenever necessary.

• Books: Don't bother bringing a lot of books to read. They take up valuable luggage space, and you can probably buy whatever you need from www.amazon.co.uk for roughly the same price that you paid in the U.S.