I have been planning our 2 week vacation to Europe since February and so far have only confused myself. Then it occurred to me to enlist the help of a European Travel agent at AAA. Yeah, someone to help.
Believe it or not planning this type of time away from home is daunting, time consuming, and scary. G man makes the task more frustrating because he is so picky over the type of hotel and the cost. If he had his way he would stay at a 5 star for 2 star pricing. Wouldn't we all like that? Of course those deal do not exist, so G man is slowly accepting the idea he may have to rough it in a 3-4 Star at 3-4 star pricing. That is 3-4 star by European standards, not pampered spoiled American standards. My only request is absolutely NON-SMOKING. I am extremely allergic to tobacco smoke. If I have to breathe it for prolonged periods of time I will eventually end up with an asthma attack that could hospitalize me.
But anyway...the good news. The airline tickets are purchased so the arrival and departure place, dates and times are all set. We have settled on London, Paris and Rome as the cities we will visit. With side trips to Bath, Cotswold, Versailles, and possibly a train trip to the French Alps if we have time. Our mode of travel from city to city will be EuroStar and Eurorail. The side trips, I think, will be by semi escorted motor coach. The trips to Bath and Cotswold could be made via G man driving a rental car out of London.
The AAA travel agent has given me some websites to help with hotels and sightseeing. She will go over my list of choices and help make recommendations. I am fairly sure we do not want to be part of a flexible semi escorted tour group. They travel by bus mainly which eats up time and I think is very tiresome. If the group travel was via train I would do it. But the buses are not enticing. We definetly do not want a completely escorted trip.
Suggestions of where to stay, eat, sights to see, travel tips, and little known facts that we should know are welcome from all of you.
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4 comments:
Don't look at me. I live out of a backpack when I travel and have sat on more than one bus with an animal that ended up being that night's dinner.
I have never traveled to Europe, which is a bummer. But I have heard it is still pretty smoke heavy, so be prepared.
There is a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in the UK, so any hotel here should be smoke free. I've only ever passed through Bath, and that was over twenty years ago, so I can't offer any advice on places to stay. Useful tips: If your ATM card has the Maestro or/and Cirrus logos, it will be accepted by ATMs here giving you UK currency, usually at a better rate than travellers cheques, although your bank will still make a charge. If you are going to use ATMs here, it's best to use those provided by the big banks, as some of the private ones charge for each transaction. I'm not sure I would advise driving in London. I have never done this, so I'm not really qualified to judge, but I know the traffic can be difficult.
It might be prudent to prepare any car journey really well. Our credit cards now have a system called 'chip & pin' where they have a small embedded 'smart card' chip. Purchase is made by inserting the card into a reader. You can still use a non smart card, just tell the shop assistant you are visiting from overseas and need to sign, as per the old method. I'm sure you will have a great vacation!
I know the UK has that recent ban, but my impression of Paris and Rome is that they are at times barely visible through the haze of tobacco smoke.
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