Our family of 5 returned from a 12 day excursion in Paris, Rhine area, Munich, and Salzburg. We packed so light, we were not prepared and had to buy jackets and long pants. Advice: check the weather carefullyduhhhh. It seemed to me that most tourists were wearing travelling type shoes. I looked "out of it" in my comfort, open toed wedges. Advice: Choose shoes for comfort over style. I didn't see any thieves. A few times we saw armed soldiers chase off the illegal, annoying sales people selling models of the Eiffel Tower. Advice: Don't get too worked up about thieves. Just be mindful. We felt very safe at all times. We barely stood in a line. The only line that we waited in was at the Louve, but it was just enough time to study the map, so I didn't mind. Advice: Plan ahead for best times to visit your points of interest. We saved a bundle by buying point to point train tickets and using booking.com for some of our hotels. We also tried a hostel-and it was okay! We got on and off about 20 different trains and had no problems finding the right train. Advice: shop around, learn everything you can from the people on this helpline be adventurous!Viel Gluck and Bon Chance on your journey!!
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
102 posts
Congratulations Lynette, great advice. Next month we're bound for France. It's our 4th trip to France, 8th time to Europe. Going to Toulouse, Bayeux, and Paris for 13 days. Hoping to go your way, France then on to Germany & Austria in a couple of years. Plan ahead, travel smart, and don't panic, Europe's not as safe as Disney World but it's not the most dangerous place on earth either. Happy Trails.........
Posted by
Phila, Pa USA
144 posts
Jeez ........ two from the Philly area ... shocking .... A dozen more or so, and we might have enough to form a Saturday group ! Gail from Downingtown, are you lurking around today, too, by any chance ?
Posted by
Spring City, Pa., USA
7 posts
Laura - we're from Spring City ! Thats close to D -town and Drexel Hill!
Love to see whats on the blogs, so interesting and always brings back memories of our many trips abroad!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
Lynette, It's great to hear that you had such a fantastic trip! I find that every trip is a "learning experience" in one way or another. I suppose you're now busy planning your next trip to Europe?
Posted by
OP
Lancaster, PA, USA
49 posts
You know me too well! I've been home one day and I already picked up language immersion software in French and Spanish. I have to save my pennies again. I'm proud that we did our trip for about $2,100 per person, including airfare--thanks to some of you who lent advice! Sometimes I think it's cheaper to travel in Europe than in the US. Our hotel rooms at the Eiffel Tower amounted to less than 100Euros per night per room! Point to point tickets instead of Eurorail passes saved us $1,800. So much value for the dollar!! We weren't even careful with eating. At St. Peter's Keller our bill was $265. I could've done it for much less! We went full force day and night, seeing everything that we wanted to see and eating well! My husband chooses the next vacation. He wants to head to Alaska. I can't bear to spend more on an Alaskan vacation than a European vacation, but unfortunately it may come to that. Alaska is beautiful, too. Thanks to all of you!
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10633 posts
Hi Lynette,
No one has been prepared for the cold weather in most of France this summer, including the French. It's been unseasonably cold since early June. Everyday the weather forecaster on tv says normal temperatures are coming and every day the prediction is revised. I'm glad you were able to buy what you needed to stay warm.