Please critique my itinerary

Thanks for the information so far. A couple things about me and this trip:

1) This is my first trip to Europe
2) I fly out on the 10th.. my trip begins in Amsterdam on the 11th at noon
3) We plan to take an evening train on the 13th from Amsterdam to Brussells (maybe Brugges now)
4) I will be leaving the states the 10th and I need to be home on the 22nd. This gives me 10 full days, give or take
5) I am interested in art museums, food, beer, and people watching. I planned to do Liverpool for the Beatle's scene.

Some concerns:
1) Flying open jaw is costing me over $200.00 more than flying in and out of London. I want to know if it would be worth flying into London if I plan to leave right away to Amsterdam
2) I am considering renting a car for the drive from Belgium to France... will it really save $ over a train?
3) Whats the best way to get from Paris to London?
4) I heard Belgium was great for the beer and scenery. Will I get the same or more fore Brugges?

Michael,
You can do Brussels in one day, no need for 2.We walked around and went shopping in one day.
You need more than 2 days for Paris and London.
What is going to happen on may 11-13?
I would cut Liverpool from the lis and spend more time in London. You are going to "lose" time flying or training and resting.So adding another cities on you route it will make some places harder to reach.
You can take the speedy train from Paris to London.
Eating in restaurants in Europe can be costly. You can buy food from supermarkets at good prices.

If this is your first trip to Europe, I'd say cut out Brussels and use the extra nights in one of the larger cities. If you really want to go to Belgium, I think Brugges is much nicer than Brussels for a short stay (and it's only an extra hour by train from Brussels). Are you staying 2 nights in London or 1 in London and 1 in Liverpool? Liverpool isn't exactly right next door to London.

Definitely fly open jaw. There is no point in backtracking and wasting time and money taking another train to get back to your original point of entry.

In addition to looking at the Rick Steves books, get copies of the Rough Guide books for any of the cities you want to visit and check the accommodation listings. They have listings in all budget categories from hostels to B&Bs and hotels.

Even though you don't eat ramen noodles anymore, don't discount staying at a hostel - with two other friends, you can try to book a private room.

A-dam, Brugges/Brussels and Liverpool might be good to do in a day to get more time in London and Paris.

Two days in one place isn't a bad idea. It gives you a chance to see the area and settle in rather than changing lodging every day. London and Paris have so much to see, however, you will barely scratch the surface in two days.

Brugges is much nicer than Brussels with more interesting things to see. I was there last fall and stayed in Brussels the day and night I arrived. If I had it to do again, I'd grab a train straight to Brugges. (I usually take late afternoon/early evening trains to maximize my time in any given place,)I think I'd do this:
Fly into Amsterdam
Amsterdam 11,12, 13. Take late train to Brugges on 13.
Brugges-14, 15. Late train to Paris on 15.
Paris-16, 17, 18. Take Eurostar to London late on the 18.
London-19, 20, 21, 22.
You can take a day for liverpool but personally I wouldn't waste a day there on my first trip. I've been to London twice and there's so much to see that 4 days won't cover it. By going to Liverpool, you're going to use up quite a bit of time traveling- 3.25 to 3.5 hours each way for about $120. My suggestion would be to save Liverpool for another trip.Weigh your options, go and have a great time!

Regarding flying into and out of London. If you take Eurostar to and from London, you'll pay as much or more as the open jaw (not counting the extra time on train - and even more to fly). Also, the cheap Europe flights have strict baggage rules and costs, so watch that).
Regarding the train vs. car. There is a pretty steep drop-off fee if you leave it in another country - (France to Holland was 155 Euro extra just to drop off). Also, short term rentals are pretty pricey. Thalys ticket(Brussels - Paris) isn't too bad if you can get it booked ahead (there are some specials now). Both Belgium and France are pretty easy to get around by train and short trips don't cost all that much. Bruges seems to have a bit of nightlife - it has several hostels and they seemed to be pretty "hopping" when we walked by (we're in our 50s so they don't appeal to us quite the same).

I guess I really don't understand why people are telling me that Bruge is a better place to travel than Brussells. As of now, I think we will only do one night and 2 days in Belgium. With that said, I am really just looking for some shopping, eating, and relaxing. We will probably add the extra day to Paris.

I plan to read up on Belgium in general, and see if this is time that can be better spent at one of our other destinations.

Michael,
I'm in pretty much the same position as you, planning a trip with two friends to Amsterdam, Bruge, and Paris before heading down to the south of France and Italy. We were planning on Brussels, but one of the girls going had been to Bruge and said that it's a much more interesting stop, worth the train ride over, and less touristy than Brussels. Anyways, I don't know if it helps or not, but figured I would pass that along.

Also, clarkhoward.com and consolidator web-fares really helped us find our flights, so that it was as cheap to fly open jaw as otherwise (we're also going in May), and saving us a really long trip back to our starting point!

Hope you have a great vacation, it sounds like a lot of fun!

Belgium has almost become my second home. For a first-time visitor, here is my advice. Catch an early train from Amsterdam to Brussels. Put your luggage in a locker in Brussels Centraal. Take an hour or two to explore the Grote Platz area (its about a 5 minute walk from the station), and perhaps grab a beer if you have time. But get back on a train and spend most of your time in Brugge. Brussels is an enjoyable large city if you need to spend a lot of time there, but it does not compare favorably with London or Paris. Brugge, on the other hand, is a medieval wonder! You'll find all the beer, chocolate and fritjes that you could want.

Oh, and on a tight trip, I wouldn't lose a second in London to Liverpool. I found Liverpool pleasent enough, but I didn't think it was worth a train ride of several hours. Most of the "Beatles" sites are perfectly ordinary English buildings, no different from their surroundings. London itself has far more places connected to the Beatles, but Liverpool promotes its Fab Four attachments much more ruthlessly.