If you have a smartphone you can create and store your documents as a back up to paper ones.
Take a photo of your passport. Make sure you take a clear photo…one that could be used to apply for yours in case you lost it.
Make notes or take photos of your hotel reservation, rental car info, hotel address, etc. You could create a file for each trip so you’ll know right where all your information is stored.
Paper maps come in handy in most destinations. I can’t imagine trying to read a map on my smartphone for the streets and alleys in Venice. Paper maps are also a handy place to mark sites, points of interest, and destinations you want to visit.
If you have a rental car, take a photo of the type of car and its license plate with your smartphone. If you are checking into a hotel, you’re going to need this info.
When checking into your hotel, get a business card of the hotel. It will have their address and phone number. Carry this with you. If you’re tired or can’t quite remember the street address in Paris…show the cab driver the hotel’s card.
Have you thought about looking into a convent or monastery in Rome or Venice? Many are located in the old parts of town and are a great spot to stay.
Do you journal about the places you visited? Try buying postcards from someplace you visited each day. At the end of the day, on the back of that day’s postcard jot down a few things you did or saw. List a favorite restaurant or special site. When your trip is finished, you have your journal complete with photos to remind you where you were or what you did. You can then sort your photographs to match the postcards.