PLANNING OUR 1996 TO EUROPE

January, 1996 Planning our next journey

Our lives have changed over the past four years since we ventured to France for our first trip to Europe. That was a three week odyssey of flying to various parts of France. We crisscrossed the country from Normandy in the north to Provence in the south; ventured west to Rennes and Lourdes then east to Strasbourg....like a yo-yo...always returning to Paris for the next trip!

Since that time we sold our real estate business and now I work for the company as a real estate broker allowing more freedom to travel with my retired husband Jim. For our next adventure we planned a trip with Jim's sister along as a travel companion. She is an experienced traveler and we are looking forward to her expertise during our trip.

This month we pre-ordered a car through Kemwel Auto Agency of New York and purchased our American Airline tickets. We also purchased an International Entertainment Book for picking up some bargain hotel rooms and meals during our trip.

The plan is to fly to Frankfort, Germany; pick up our car and head south. Because of all the problems we had with food on our first trip; one whole suitcase will be devoted to FOOD....not going to be hungry on this trip! We have our route scheduled but will book hotel rooms as we arrive in the towns we plan to stay in. (We soon discovered that this was harder than we thought with three people having to agree on a new hotel nearly every evening.)

Welcome to the real world! Travel not only broadens your experiences....it teaches you patience and sharpens your negotiating skills. This was our first experience in traveling with someone other than our children. I hope you enjoy our trip to Germany, Austria, Italy, France and back to Germany; we leave tomorrow so clear your calendars for the next month as we journey back across the pond!