3 European Weeks

"THOR" wrote in message
news
: But we're not sure where to visit. We have some places in mind, but
we're
: not sure if we've made good choices or not. We're limited by funds of
about
: $2000 each, so we're more thinking of looking at having to go to fewer
: places and staying in each one longer because intra-EU travelling is
the
: bulk of expenses. What I'm looking for is advice from folks who have
done
: Europe before. Where you reccomend, how many places you think we
: could/should travel with these fund and time limitations. Just things
for
: us to think about that we wouldn't have necessarily have. Anything
would
: really be of help.
:

More looking for Cities and History. We're both very into history and
would
love to learn and see everything we possibly can. That's one of our
problems is that about everywhere you go there's so much there in terms of
history and stuff to learn it's difficult to decide. Personally, I dig
the
coolish weather, but I'm tolerant to just about any weather really. The
really historical places I can think off right offhand are Rome, Normandy,
Athens, Barcelona, and Berlin. But I'm sure I'm overlooking some real
show-stoppers, and probably not thinking about everything as I've never
been
to Europe before.


My advice would be to pick a general direction and then stick to it. There's
no point in zig-zagging around all over the place. You might want to start
in the direction of France, passing through Amsterdam and Bruges, possibly
stopping in Paris and then perhaps visiting a couple of Loire chateaux, as
you work your way down to Portugal (very cheap!). Lisbon is a wonderful city
and Porto is also very interesting. There are many historical sights in
Portugal because of the Roman occupation. Evora has many roman ruins, for
example. You could then make your way to Spain (another inexpensive country)
and possibly visit Seville Cordoba and Granada, making your way back up to
Madrid and Barcelona and maybe San Sebastian. It really depends on how much
time you plan on spending in each place. You can make your way back into
France and visit Nice, though in my opinion that would be way too much and I
would end the trip in Spain if following this route. Countries like Portugal
and Spain have VERY cheap inter-city bus service and fabulous, inexpensive
nightlife! You can also eat very well there on a tiny budget. Go to a
bookshop and look at the Eyewitness Travel Guides, filled with beautiful
pictures that should help you decide where you want to go, but then buy the
Lonely Planet or Rough Guide to actually travel with.

Having said all that, my own travel philosophy is to pick one region and
stick with it for a few weeks, however, for your first trip, you might want
to get in two or three different countries. If you like a place, stick
around and don't feel compelled to slavishly follow your travel itinerary.
Seeing the countryside is a big part of travel and it's generally beautiful
in Europe, however, to cut distances, you might consider a flight between,
let's say, Paris and Lisbon.

All the Scandinavian countries are quite expensive, by the way.

Lana

THOR wrote in message
...
"Miss L. Toe" wrote in message
...
:
: "Deep Freud Moors" wrote in
message
: ...
: THOR wrote in message
: ...
: "I pose a riddle to you, a conundrum if you will..."
:
:
: OK, well you probably should stick to the well beaten path. I am
talking
: about Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, and possibly Rome, Switzerland or
Barcelona.
: Maybe Edinburgh too.
:
:
: Not LONDON ???

Actually, London's going to be an automatic stop just because it's our
starting and stopping location with a few days buffer at each end.


Yeah, I figured that much.

: Your budget is more than adequate
: for 3 weeks if you don't go too silly.
:
: Is that 2000 USD to spend when you get there, or does that have to
include
: the two flights from (I assume) the USA to Europe.

No, the 2000 USD is to spend. Round-trip ticket purchase is already taken
care of.


That's about 1700 Euros, which is a fair bit. You could stay for twice that
long on that amount if you wanted to go really cheap!

: Look at an Interrail pass if you dont want to spend too long in one
place,
: and remember its probably gonna be cold.
:
: are you happy to stay in hostels, or are you expecting hotels ?

I believe we're looking at hostels, I know we wouldn't be able to afford
to
hotel it.

Hostels are a lot of fun, and a great way to meet people from all over the
place. I usually stay in hostels primarily, and move to a cheap hotel room
once a week to do all my washing and sort through stuff. Also a good idea if
you are travelling with a lady friend. )

The interail pass is only good value if you plan on moving every 2 - 3 days.
Otherwise, buses can sometimes be a better, cheaper option.

Are you sure there are no countries that you have always wanted to visit?
---
DFM

All the Scandinavian countries are quite expensive, by the way.

and cold at that time of year - but cold can be fun.

THOR wrote:
But we're not sure where to visit. We have some places in mind, but
we're not sure if we've made good choices or not. We're limited by
funds of about $2000 each, so we're more thinking of looking at
having to go to fewer places and staying in each one longer because
intra-EU travelling is the bulk of expenses.

Eurolines Busses offer 15 days for 220,- EUR.
It's not cheap but a choice!

lg Gernot

Following up to THOR

The
really historical places I can think off right offhand are Rome, Normandy,
Athens, Barcelona, and Berlin. But I'm sure I'm overlooking some real
show-stoppers, and probably not thinking about everything as I've never been
to Europe before.

I never think of Barcelona of one of the great historical cities.
The Ramblas and Barceloneta are great, then there are Gaudis
buildings but its places that show the occuptation by the moors,
say Granada, that come first for me.
all these beat Barcelona for me:- Granada, Cordoba, Toledo,
Segovia, Sevilla, Cadiz.
--
Mike Reid
"Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso
UK walking "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Spain,cuisines and walking "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Following up to Miss L. Toe

Not LONDON ???

he starts there, or rather here.
--
Mike Reid
"Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso
UK walking "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Spain,cuisines and walking "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

One possible way to save some money in Europe is to say in hostels. They
can be a very good bargain. Buying food in local markets and eating in
parks is another hint. I often travel overnight and slep on the train
and save a hotel bill while getting where I want to go. Many countries
have special prices on admissions and transportation for students. Check
out a few books at your local library and decide what YOU are interested
in seeing and then start making plans. And don't forget to use the
internet for info.

~~DORIS~~

If you are truly interested in history why not start in Athens then Rome
and work your way back thru Paris to London

"THOR" wrote in message . ..
"I pose a riddle to you, a conundrum if you will..."

My girlfriend is taking a semestre abroad in London;

Studying what?

at the end of the
semestre (this one), her school gives three weeks off for the purpose of
allowing the students to travel Europe. I'm taking three weeks of leave
between 16 Nov 2003 and 07 Dec 2003 for the purpose of travelling with her
during this time. We are both extremely excited about this and can't wait
until we get started.

But we're not sure where to visit. We have some places in mind,

Such as?

but we're
not sure if we've made good choices or not. We're limited by funds of about
$2000 each, so we're more thinking of looking at having to go to fewer
places and staying in each one longer because intra-EU travelling is the
bulk of expenses. What I'm looking for is advice from folks who have done
Europe before. Where you reccomend, how many places you think we
could/should travel with these fund and time limitations.

3-5 (depending upon your definition of "places")

Just things for
us to think about that we wouldn't have necessarily have. Anything would
really be of help.

Thank you for any help any of you can be,


She's in London so I'd suggest getting out of the anglo-saxon
world for a bit. As much as I love Paris, it's probably something
she can squeeze in on her own during the semester. I'd probably head
much further south. But to where depends a bit on what you hope
to see/get/do. Rome awaits and is surrounded by places you can
easily reach, and the train can be inexpensive. Florence,
Cortona, etc. are all possibilities. You can do the French Med,
and much of it probably fairly inexpensively. You can probably
stay quite cheaply in Cannes and wander up and down the
coast. You could probably even sneak up into the Provence
country side. Truth is, you could probably do a whole Med
theme kinda thing and do some of Italy, southern france, and
into spain. I'm not exactly avoiding northern europe, but
it will be cooler that time of year. And you do have an
interest in keeping your travel costs down, although it
would seem that some multiday, all you can eat kinda tickets
probably would allow you to move around a bit.

"THOR" wrote in message . ..
"I pose a riddle to you, a conundrum if you will..."

My girlfriend is taking a semestre abroad in London; at the end of the
semestre (this one), her school gives three weeks off for the purpose of
allowing the students to travel Europe. I'm taking three weeks of leave
between 16 Nov 2003 and 07 Dec 2003 for the purpose of travelling with her
during this time. We are both extremely excited about this and can't wait
until we get started.

But we're not sure where to visit. We have some places in mind, but we're
not sure if we've made good choices or not. We're limited by funds of about
$2000 each, so we're more thinking of looking at having to go to fewer
places and staying in each one longer because intra-EU travelling is the
bulk of expenses. What I'm looking for is advice from folks who have done
Europe before. Where you reccomend, how many places you think we
could/should travel with these fund and time limitations. Just things for
us to think about that we wouldn't have necessarily have. Anything would
really be of help.

Thor - Think about flying from London to Athens using it as a starting
point , then go to the former east european countries. They have lots
of history and are much cheaper than the rest of Europe. Croatia,
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary. Get a
guidebook of these areas out of the library or buy one and see what
you think. Or do some internet research. Try to see not only the
cities but some of the countryside and smaller towns too.

have a great trip! keep your enthusiasm.
Nancy