word about our travel style. We are somewhere between Rick Steves and Rudy Maxa. No hostels and no five star hotels for this group. We have learned a number of important lessons while exploring distant lands. They work for us so we will share them.

A business or first class ticket to Europe costs about $5,000. I'd rather go more often and sit in the cattle car section for $500. I can always complain about the poor food, seating, etc., but it is still a better deal.

Travel light. Visit the Rick Steves web site for tips on packing. You will regret taking too much stuff. Besides you are a stranger in a strange land. The folks there will never see you again so they won't notice you are wearing the same dress you wore yesterday. Wheels or not, each bag has to be placed on the train or dragged across a cobblestone street. Oh, you have a car. Well, Europe has some of the best thieves in the world. You can't leave luggage in a car. That means you move it every time you move.

Europe has laundromats all over. It is easy to do up a batch of clothes and start fresh. In a pinch, you will discover that Europe also has fine clothing stores. You can always buy a new shirt or pair of shorts when needed.

Small hotels. We like the smaller hotels. There is a good selection of reasonably priced hotels with very good rooms and all the necessary accommodations. As you look through the pages for the cites where we stayed you will notice that we did not always pick the cheapest, nor did we choose the five star hotels. Why go to Europe if you are going to stay in a Sheraton? They are no different from the ones at home. Look around when hotel shopping. We got stuck in Amsterdam because of the flower show. In Paris we learned a lesson about getting a hotel name correct. In St. Remy we struck gold with an outstanding hotel for $45 a night.

There are tradeoffs in the smaller hotels. Sometimes the beds are not quite as comfortable and there is no room service or twenty-four hour coffee shops. But, all of the hotels we choose had in suite baths and none had bad beds.

Location. We used to take off on a trip and try to see everything. At the end of each day we were exhausted. Generally it meant moving each day as well. All of our time was spent traveling and very little enjoying the sites. We lost the opportunity to experience the ambience of the area we were visiting. Now we find a central location in an area we want to explore and settle in. That way we can explore each day and come home to the same room, rest up a bit and have a relaxed dinner. Try it. There is just too much to see to squeeze in everything. Plan on returning. Memories honed by close examination are more vivid than those generated by a quick glance. Even if you never get back you will hold those better memories.

House Rental. For our Tuscany trip and our France trip we rented houses. We have found that there are several advantages. There is not much, if any, cost advantage but you get a much better feel for the area you are visiting. If you ever walk through a French market you will want to buy some of the food items and prepare them yourself. You can't do that in a hotel.

Other advantages are the ability to go "home" at the end of a day. Having your own laundry facility. The ability to fix a cup of coffee at you own schedule or just settle in and read a good book. As you read the Cesseras page you will get a better grasp of what we mean. Most important is that it gives you the opportunity to interact with the locals. You will learn more about a country and its people this way than you will ever learn from a hotel clerk or waiter. Doris and Jerry were so enamored with the idea we rented an apartment in Paris. Unfortunately we lost that in the post 9-11 schedule adjustment, but we may try again.

So, our style is sort of middle ground. We travel light and stay and eat in moderate facilities. We are not on a tight budget but neither are we extravagant. As you read the travel pages you will note how that style applies to our activities and choices. It works for us.

After all this planning and research we were really up for our trip. As a last planning session we had the whole group together for a great celebration dinner. Click here.

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