budget travel on short notice?

Dan - it's all going to depend on flights. If I can find a cheap, round-trip fare to somewhere in Europe, I can do the rest on as much as my pockets will allow. There are lots of options to sleep on the cheap. Food expenses can be greatly reduced by using grocery stores and take-out. The one variable that is hard to control is airfare. Do you have, perhaps mileage points stored up? If so, call the airline's mileage plan office as early in the morning as possible when they aren't busy. Be as charming as you can to the human you get on the phone - throw yourself on their mercy to spend time looking for options. I once had an Alaska MVP agent tell me my hopes for getting from Portland to Paris in the next two weeks on miles were futile - until she remembered that British Air flies out of Phoenix and had seats available from there. Getting from Portland to Phoenix to make that flight was just part of the award.

The New York Times has a weekly column called the Frugal Traveler which you can look up on line. The writer been traveling in Europe the past few months, including couch surfing and eating on the cheap.