As I said in the other thread, it might be helpful pick a theme (or a few themes) that interest you - it would help structure the trip and help you choose where to go. Faced with "Europe" I would have no idea where to go. Picking a theme of "travel to Istanbul and back by surface transport and visit as many ETers as we can, with a side-trip to Rome because we've never been" made the planning process possible.  And if you pick a theme then we can offer useful suggestions.

Three month pass from Eurail is $900 or so. Not bad really, though you'll spend more than that with reservation fees and so on. Accomadtion will cost moderately real money if you're not willing to do the hostel thing. Guess that depends on how small your profit is!

By, the way, we did something similar on our trip to Hawaii a few years ago (although we made most of the arrangements before we left). Even though Hawaii doesn't have a big B&B tradition (unlike, say, New England) we managed to find some and only one was a real disaster (in Hana).

I don't know about the rest of Europe, not having been there for a long time, but I would imagine that you could find similar options. Without meeting "real people" a trip mostly becomes interactions with shop keepers and waiters.

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape

Then, you could cross the Alps to go to Tuscany around Florence and Sienna:

European cities are very different from American ones, and many of them are really worth being visited. I couldn't list them all, but apart from Avignon, Aix, Florence and Sienna, you should definitely visit Paris, Prague, Rome, Venice...

If, on your way to Provence, you want to stop in Lyon (a very nice old city and the best place for French cuisine...), I can put you up and I will be glad to show you the place.

"Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

since i can send pix through email, something that still mystifies me with scoop.

july there is a great jazzfest in perugia.

lotsa painters around these parts....can't think why....

are you going to be famous-painting-hunting?

there are some good ones around here, piero della francesca ring any bells?

for chilling and painting you might feel good here, but public transport is pretty scarce out in the sticks...hard to do without a car unless you want to spend a lot of time walking.

i can pick you up at the station, get you sorted with groceries and cruise a bit with you, however i am pretty busy during the summertime, so would be less available.

what i can offer is a very quiet, rural cottage in the woods, with a nice view, secluded, yet not too far from rome -3 hours - florence- same, etc.

seeing europe in 4 months is like seeing the usa in 4 months, you'll get   a real good taste, obviously at a much deeper level than a regular 7-10 day tourist.

if you try and see too much it'll end up a blur.

(a trap many americans seem to tumble headlong into!)

the appenines where i am, are rolling hills, with serious mountains an hour away, though nothing like the alps, or even the dolomites, which offer beautiful summer hiking.

august can fry yer brain...tho' you're used to strong heat in hawaii, i guess.

do you live the dry side or the wet side?

if i were you, i'd pick three countries and spend a month in each, your memories'll be a lot more coherent, than if you 'do' paris, prague, vienna, berlin, rome etc etc.

but your mileage may vary...

n. europe and scandinavia would be better visited in peak summer, and the med area just before or just after, imo.

i have heard many people regret buying the europass, unless you are committed to spend most of your trip changing and waiting for train connections, it may be overkill.

if you are a train freak, or you know in advance you want to cover a lot, and i mean A LOT of ground, then you'll get your money's worth.

paging dodo...

you can get a LOT of train rides for €900!!!

have fun, is it your first yurpean visit?


'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

Last year we got dirt cheap flights to Rome from Lihue -- $1030 ish round trip leaving about March 29.  Bought them at Xmas though.  Great place to start.  Pick an end point and get an open jaw. Priceline?  No reason not to try a low bid.  Last year, Air France had some real cheap flights out of LA or SF if you can get to the west coast cheaply.  US Air may also have some cheap deals.

If art is your thing, starting in Rome, heading up through Florence to Venice would be terrific.  Then work across to Spain and Portugal.  Not that southern France isn't great, I just don't know it at all. Seville, Madrid, Lisbon are all great places to visit with great art museums.  Others here that know their countries better can recommend less touristy spots but I loved visiting those cities.  Esp Seville at Easter and I'm not at all religious.  What a spectacle.

Spend some time in Paris, London, A-dam, Munich etc.  I don't know eastern Europe but many of those cities sound great and are a hell of a lot cheaper.  Switzerland -- pretty but painful on the wallet and not as much fun unless you want to hike the mountains.  

I'm not sure I'd do the the Eurail Pass unless you plan to travel non-stop.  For 4 months that could really add up (guessing you are over 25 so no big discount). Used to be some plans let you have so many travel days so you don't have to travel continuously. Might be better to get discounted fares for off peak travel once you get there.  That will also let you play it by ear on how long you want to stay in each area.  Defn do some research on that as you can't buy passes once you get there I don't think.  

If you are travelling by yourself, a car is both expensive and isolating.  Though you can get some lease/purchase deals that are cheaper than a straight rental.  An RV at $7/gallon would be brutal.  Not to mention a pig to drive in older cities.

Obviously the big cities can be very expensive, but if you google around you'll find services that let flats by the week/month.  There was one in London I used that had interesting flats for reasonable rates.  A place called home in London, but it's been 15 years so probably long gone.  The countryside is usually far cheaper.  You can day trip into many of those cities or limit your hotel time to just a few days.  If you are in southern areas before the season starts up in June, you should be able to get decent prices on b&bs.  

I agree with the Edinburgh rec.  If you can hang on until Sept for the Festival, that would be a hoot.  Glasgow?????  By reputation, that's like visiting Cleveland.  If you like wild unspoiled places, the islands to the west are very interesing -- Skye etc.

Other beautiful cities/areas -- Salzburg, Vienna, cruise the Donau?  Touraine (sp) region of France over to Normandy.  The area around Dijon is also beautiful.  We had a great time in Bruges.  Oslo is very nice in summer .  The Norwegian fjords are something to see.  I've always wanted to spend time in the Rhineland but have never pulled it off.  Ireland is also a great place to visit.  Still have Stockholm on the list.

I wouldn't worry about the American thing.  Most people are cool.  A few Italians asked me about Bush.  I just asked how they got Berlusconi.  Big laughs all around.  And just like here, bit of aloha goes a long way.  If you see Americans piling off a bus, just head the other way.  

Pencil out an itinerary and I'm sure people here can help you flesh it out.

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