I Traveled For 20+ Hours Last Week—30 In-Flight Essentials I Relied Heavily On

Last week, I left the office on a Monday morning and took a cab to Newark International Airport to board a flight to Milan, Italy for a press trip centered around the Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, a small city near Bologna and Florence. From EWR to MXP, the flight is about 8 hours. From there, we were to take a 2- to 3-hour car ride from Milan to our hotel, Borgo Condé, about an hour from the track. In total, that would’ve made my travel day somewhere around 10 hours, with the expectation of the same on the way back. Little did I know, though, that due to unprecedented flooding in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, I’d be traveling a whole lot more than just to and from the airport. 

Due to the weather, we ended up moving to multiple hotels and houses, all of which were located in different parts of Northern Italy, making my time spent traveling reach well over the 20-hour time frame that I’d initially prepared for when I was packing my carry-on and personal item for the trip. But honestly, it didn’t matter. After years of planing, training, and automobiling for both work and pleasure, I’ve learned a thing or two about packing for any and all circumstances. From portable chargers—which seriously came in handy after my laptop and phone died without power to charge them—and expandable bags—a must if you plan to shop at all—to very necessary SPF and comfortable travel attire, scroll down to dig through my carry-on from my long and exhausting 20+ hour travel journey to and from Italy last week.