I will be in Spain this summer to take classes for four weeks, but I would like to take advantage of being in Europe and do a little more, but on a budget. I have to be in Spain in a town near Madrid for classes for sure from June 30th to July 25th. There I will be staying with a host family. Then, the week after that there is an optional one-week stay in Madrid just to tour. You can stay for none, some, or all of that week.
I also want to go to Germany to visit a friend again that I stayed with last winter. Depending whether he's at his parents or his apartment ir would be in the Frankfurt/Strasbourg/Stuttgart area.
I also wanted a third desination, possibly Paris (I have never been there) but, I am open to other suggestions.
Basically I'm asking if anyone can make suggestions on:
1) Where I should go
2) What dates I should go to each place (I have from June 21st to the end of August open for travel and would be flying out of Cleveland) and in what order I should see places that would be most convenient and good for my budget
3)Lodging suggestions (when I'm not staying with someone)
Basically any advice that you can give that would make for a fun trip for a student on a budget.