Packing List: Andria Mitsakos
Andria on a conference call on Île Saint-Honorat, France. Photo by Peter Wesley Brown.
When we heard Wanderlista's Andria Mitsakos was headed for a two-month European sojourn armed with nothing but her Tumi carry-on, our first reaction was to high five her, then to beg for her packing guidance. These are the secrets and the must-haves that make her wanderings possible.
Carry-on: I live for my tiny Tumi rolly. For an overnight, I just flew to San Juan for dinner and tossed a Missoni bikini, a La Perla lighter-than-air caftan, Dolce & Gabbana's off-the-runway fruit-emblazoned bustier, and a lace Miguelina skirt into my Dea Rosa Carpiano. I still had room for a pair of Louboutin mules, my fave Indian beach sandals bought in Ibiza, and my skincare essentials.
Snack: Raw almonds, goji berries, and coconut. I'm just getting into mulberries after finding them at Norma Kamali's Wellness Cafe. I also buy fresh raspberries whenever I see them in the airport (SFO has them) and I love to slip them into random other America Airlines' business class passengers' champagne when they are sleeping.
All packed and ready to go. For two months.
Talisman: My Wanderlista necklace has charms from places I've been: a Thai Buddha bought in northern Thailand after I did elephant training, a charm of Santa Rosa I picked up on a ceviche tour of Lima, an evil eye from Greece, and many others. My wrist is also representative of places I've traveled to, and it's currently bedecked with a Tahitian pearl bracelet from St. Barths, a rose gold bracelet designed by my friend Valerie McCarthy, a rose gold evil eye/cross bracelet bought last summer in Mykonos, another St. Barths map bracelet, a Dea Rosa python bracelet from Milan, and my current obsession, the Brave Collection bracelet from Jessica Hendricks, who donates a portion of proceeds to fight human trafficking in Cambodia.
Instant Upgrade: Dea Rosa python sleep mask. I can't tell you how many flight attendants want to buy it off my head.
Souvenir: Mail a postcard to yourself, and your Mom.
Memento from home: A picture of my grandmother, Rose.
Memento from the hotel: A photo of my view. And I always take the body lotion. It doubles as a great smoothing balm for airplane hair.