extended stay ideas

Got to give us some more clues. Europe is a big place. Anyone have a basic understanding of any language? You might pick on a small town near a major city. Personally I would do it somewhere around Rome. A little less culture shock would be England and you kind of speak the language.

Cynthia, There are a LOT of good possibilities, so that could be a difficult choice. In the same situation, I'd consider somewhere in northern Italy, perhaps in Florence, the Veneto or that area. From there it would be fairly convenient to visit either points south (Rome, Orvieto), nearby towns (Bologna, Modena, Verona, Stresa, Lucca) and well as several neighboring countries (Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany and Austria). I don't think there would be any shortage of things to do or places to see in that area for a month or six weeks! Good luck with your decision!

Thanks, Once we tooks the kids and spent a similar time in Ireland with a week in London and Wales. So we enjoyed that... I am just looking for some ideas for another experience. No, we don't really have any language experience. One of my kids spent a summer taking classes in Vienna and thoroughly enjoyed living there. We have traveled stateside extensively, but limitedly in Europe. Occasionally my husband works there on short trips. I would really like to go to Italy sometime.

Stuttgart Germany is the most centrally located in Europe and a fabulous town. In six hours you're in Paris, Amsterdam, Chamonix, or Prague, 2 hrs to Zurich or Munich. Because of the many businesses located here, Daimler, military, etc. there's loads of short term furnished rentals.

My wife and I once rented a gîte in Provence for a couple of weeks. (gîtes are fully furnished holiday homes available for rent. They are often quite cheap.) We fell in love with the village we were in (Cotignac) and became regulars at the bakery at dawn, as well as at the market days. Although the local restaurant and café got to know us quite well, most nights we stayed in with the fresh produce we had bought and an old copy of a French Classic Recipes cookbook that we brought with us. And I'm embarrassed by the number of bottles of local wine that we bought from the village wine co-op. We played Boules with a group of old men and went on long hikes in the surrounding woods. There were plenty of nearby villages to explore and the coast was only a half hour away. I recommend it!

Slow Travel is a website devoted to the type stay you are considering; see www.slowtrav.com/ . Italy is like Florida: There is a lot to do there, but, unless you are in the extreme north, you have to fly out or travel a long way to even start a journey to other countries. Since one of your kids spent a summer in Vienna, the family might enjoy setting up a home base in Austria or Bavaria. Personally, instead of around Vienna, I would look for a place relatiively close to Munich to take advantage of its rail and air connections to the rest of the Western Europe.

These are great suggestions!... right on target and exactly the kind of ideas I am looking for. Keep them coming. I will look into all your information. Thank you for considering not only environment, but also logistics such as transportaion, etc. Your help is very much appreciated.

Me? I would look for some town in The Netherlands - maybe Leiden. Trains in the Netherlands were very good.

Salzburg! Lovely area, close enough to Munich if you want major rail to visit other places some. Nice mix of rural and somewhat urban. Lots of recreational things (lots of lakes with boats, swimming, hiking, etc). Next choice would be Inverness Scotland. Again- good basic rail connections, lots of great history, and the plus of no language problems. Lots to see and do, good food!!! Great people. Could stay in Inverness itself or a small village nearby, like Drumnadrochit. Even has a small airport with some international flights.

Hi Cynthia, We also loved the idea of spending longer in Europe and as we were coming from New Zealand, we had to make the trip worthwhile. In 2007 we spent a month in Venice and then proceeded to Florence where we spent another month. Loved Venice and all the surrounds and easy train access to other towns. Could never get tired of living there. In 2009 we decided France was the next destination and spent 6 weeks in Paris (didnt want to leave) and 3 weeks in Avignon. Avignon was a good base for all the other villages which we accessed by local bus or train. For 2012 I am planning a 6 week stay in Rome, 1 week in Orvieto and another 2 weeks in Paris, plus another couple of weeks somewhere yet to be decided. By staying put we were able to feel like locals and that was exactly what we wanted. Every trip we rented an apartment and apart from the odd dining out we cooked our own meals from local market produce. We saw all the sights, but just loved having the time to wander and explore away from the tourist areas.
Happy travels.