The plan was to be away for a couple of years, though we weren’t sure exactly where we’d be. Obviously there’d be hot summers to survive and cold winters to endure. It would be mostly casual travelling though, hopefully, with the odd posh dinner here and there. Hiking and swimming were on the agenda, and music too, but would it be buskers or opera or both?

When it came to packing for our trip, the rule of thumb was ‘what would we need as opposed to what did we want?’ How often would I wear those fabulous, but slightly impractical, sandals? And did Greg love that stylish winter coat enough to haul around an extra few kilos for the eight months he wouldn’t wear it?

In the end we got it mostly – but not exactly – right. A couple of months after we landed in Italy, we packed up a box of clothes we realised were ‘wants’ not ‘needs’ after all. And that was before we’d even begun dragging our bags around the country. The fabulous sandals had made it into the suitcase, but had scarcely made it out again since we’d arrived. And Greg decided that though Italy was the centre of men’s fashion, he probably could manage without one of those sports coats.

We were left with a wardrobe that can best be described as ‘limited’. The basics include a couple of pairs of shorts and tops, a sundress (for me, not Greg), swimmers, small towel and squashable sunhat, a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts, a jumper, a set of thermals and a fleece, beanie, gloves, waterproof coat and a pair of trekking pants. For those occasional special events, we each also have a pair of ‘good’ pants and a dressy shirt. Throw on a scarf for me and a coat for Greg and we’re ready for anything. Footwear consists of a pair of proper walking sandals, a pair of covered shoes (which, at a pinch, double as ‘evening wear’), hiking boots and a pair of thongs for dodgy showers and rocky Italian beaches.

Of course it’s still all too much to fit into a single suitcase, so we have a backpack as well. We’ve tended to separate our clothes into summer and winter, with the off-season wardrobe being stashed into the backpack. Very fortunately our wonderful Italian friends have let us store our packs with them in Bologna, so we’ve travelled with just one bag each and returned to swap over the clothes at the change of season.

Depending on how much stuff we’ve collected along the way, our suitcases are generally around 13-15 kilograms – still a manageable weight to haul up and down railway station steps.

So how does it feel to wear the same few clothes day in and day out for weeks on end? It’s a bit boring really, but it has made us realise how little we actually need and how fortunate we are. It’s nice to have lots of clothes, but they’re an absolute luxury.

From time to time we do acquire something new, but it always means something else has to go (usually into the next homeward-bound box along with the Cinque Terre tea towel and the Rijksmuseum tote bag).

People occasionally ask how we’ll cope going home after a trip like this. It will be wonderful, of course, and difficult, too, settling back into our ‘normal’ lives. But quite possibly the hardest thing could be facing a wardrobe full of clothes. With so many choices, how will be ever decide what to wear?