| Family Travels Europe |
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| We love travelling in Europe. It has so much to offer. We have taken our children to Europe six times. We simply plan a rough itinerary and book some plane flights. Once we get there...we like to say that "we drive around and get lost." First Europe Vacation 2001 On our first trip in 2001, we went with few plans and almost no reservations. It was a little too free-spirited and as a result, a little stressful to be finding hotels and visiting tourist info centers (TI's) late in the afternoon for bookings. We quickly learned that we packed too much....we could leave dressier clothing at home and go more relaxed. We learned to pace ourselves and eat at cheaper restaurants when we could. |
By our third trip to Europe, we felt like pros... We have the Home-basing down to a science...with a 22 day trip planned...we spent 4 nights in Sarlat(Dordogne), 2 in Carcassonne, 4 nights in Arles(Provence) 7 nights free in Nice using Marriott rewards and three nights in Venice. We learned to relax. We actually spend a wonderful day canoing down the Dordogne River and relaxed and spent a day at the beach in Nice.We researched the driving times and decided to take a train from Nice to Venice instead of driving. |
| So on our second trip to Europe in 2002, we went a little more structured. We spent more time researching travel books for sights to see and places to stay. Most importantly, we learned how to "home base" That means to choose an area to stay and day-trip out...sometimes even driving one or two hours away. For example, we stayed in Lindau on the Germany Austrian border on Lake Constance...from here we day tripped to see the casteles of Barvaria, Germany, we spend a day in the beautiful countryside of Appenzell, Switzerfland, and a quick trip to Lichenstein. We actually save time this way by not unloading, unpacking and repacking suitcases and cars. We learned to pack light. We brought a collapsible cooler and visited grocery stores and markets to buy supplies for picnics. In Paris, we learned the value of museum passes and public transportation. We learned our lesson not to rent cars in a big city...get out into the countryside somehow and some way before renting a car. |
By our fourth trip to Europe, which we classified as United Kingdom on this website...we learned to pack even lighter....and bring carry-on size luggage. Our plans to picnic did not work as the weather did not cooperate....so we ate alot of fish and chips. Not only did we rely on Rick Steves' travel books, we did a lot of internet research and found some great B&B's. We learned to ask our hosts about festivals, packing lunches, doing laundry etc... We also discovered that several low cost European airline companies offer great deals..in some cases cheaper that driving. We also learned that we could take some bus trips one way and abandon the tour half way...asking to bring our luggage along. This avoided renting a car in London and got us into the countryside before facing the daunting task on driving on the other side of the road |
| Morale of the Story.... There are always lessons to be learned...and the fun is in the learning |
| On our fifth trip to Europe in 2007, we primarily focused on Italy. We decided to be brave and travel by train. We told the kids to pack only a carry-on size carrying and lifting on and off trains Train travel is easy; however, train schedules in Italy are harder to deal with than in Switzerland or Germandy. Immediately upon arrival into a new town, we would stop at the customer service desk and take the time to research dates, times and track location for our departure. We also discovered the value of time and money savings by taking cheap local plane flights from location to location. We found cheap flights from Naples to Venice...hard to believe even cheaper that car rental or train travel...and considerable time savings as well. |
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| On our sixth trip to Europe in 2008, we combined a 10 night Mediterranean Cruise with an additional eight nights in the Czech Republic and Austria. Our only issue was the weight of the suitcases. Normally, we travel very light, but when packing for a cruise it made is difficult to include 10 days of dressier clothes, dresses, formals (and jewelry, hand bags and shoes) for the ladies and coats, ties, dress pants and those size 14 dress shoes. No only was suitcase weight an issue at the airport (but we made the limit)...it was more difficult to handle at the end of the trip while taking trains and buses and metros. This was our first trip with NO rental car. Most of the port of calls we "did on our own" and did not book shore excursions...so save money...but more importantly time. We wanted to get the most out of our day in port and not be stuck waiting for a group. We learned to study the local alphabet and language a little more as fewer instructions/info was in English Make your cheat sheets (Before You Go) and be prepared. |
