Comments on: Questions? http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/ European travel and vacation rentals Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:30:08 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Joywriter Nancy http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-2098 Joywriter Nancy Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:35:17 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-2098 We're back from France (Paris/Loire Valley) and celebrated our 40th anniversary with wonderful memories yet again! Weather just a little tricky, several overcast days but none with outright rain. Just wanted to mention, our Visa credit card is the type that must be swiped rather than inserted into those hand-held devices that many merchants/cafes are switching to. This proved to be troublesome as they didn't want to take the next step in the card acceptance protocol which is to call and verify. It was occuring at random so it was hard to plan for. When it first occurred in Beaugency, I called Visa and was told if merchants accept Visa, they are obliged to carry out the protocol. Just FYI for summer travellers. We're already thinking about Brussels/Denmark/Sweden for next year. Gotta tell you folks though, the Airbus coach situation is dreadful. We flew USAirways and it was soooo uncomfortable. I suppose it's just a grin and bear it situation unless you want to fly business ... we are not frequent flyers so no upgrades available for us. We’re back from France (Paris/Loire Valley) and celebrated our 40th anniversary with wonderful memories yet again! Weather just a little tricky, several overcast days but none with outright rain. Just wanted to mention, our Visa credit card is the type that must be swiped rather than inserted into those hand-held devices that many merchants/cafes are switching to. This proved to be troublesome as they didn’t want to take the next step in the card acceptance protocol which is to call and verify. It was occuring at random so it was hard to plan for. When it first occurred in Beaugency, I called Visa and was told if merchants accept Visa, they are obliged to carry out the protocol. Just FYI for summer travellers. We’re already thinking about Brussels/Denmark/Sweden for next year. Gotta tell you folks though, the Airbus coach situation is dreadful. We flew USAirways and it was soooo uncomfortable. I suppose it’s just a grin and bear it situation unless you want to fly business … we are not frequent flyers so no upgrades available for us.

]]> By: Pauline http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-2094 Pauline Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:46:07 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-2094 Neuchatel is further west than I realized. You are going out of your way quite a bit to take your family members to Zurich. From Neuchatel you can drive to Lake Geneva, then take the St Bernard tunnel from south of Martigny. We drove through this tunnel 2 years ago and it is shorter than Gottard. You could out in northern Italy near Aosta. I would put the family members on a train to Zurich. You can look up the train schedules online. http://www.myswitzerland.com/ is a good resource. Neuchatel is further west than I realized. You are going out of your way quite a bit to take your family members to Zurich. From Neuchatel you can drive to Lake Geneva, then take the St Bernard tunnel from south of Martigny. We drove through this tunnel 2 years ago and it is shorter than Gottard. You could out in northern Italy near Aosta.

I would put the family members on a train to Zurich. You can look up the train schedules online. http://www.myswitzerland.com/ is a good resource.

]]> By: Pauline http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-2092 Pauline Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:19:31 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-2092 I use www.viamichelin.com for European driving distances and it is great. We have driven from Zurich to Italy. It is autobahn/autostrada the whole way. You go through the Gotthard Tunnel, which is the best way to get through the Alps. There is usually heavy traffic before the tunnel as all the lanes merge to one and as the highway climbs up, and then you spend 20 minutes driving through the tunnel which I thought would be horrible, but it wasn't. The signs are German (Eingang) on entry and Italian (Uscita) when you come out of the tunnel - which we found very amusing for no reason. We stopped at the first AutoGrill across the Italian border and the coffee was better but the cars were not parked as neatly! The trains are great in Switzerland so that might be a good option - to drive them to a main trainline and not to Zurich. Zurich is not such a huge, crazy city for driving though. I use http://www.viamichelin.com for European driving distances and it is great. We have driven from Zurich to Italy. It is autobahn/autostrada the whole way. You go through the Gotthard Tunnel, which is the best way to get through the Alps. There is usually heavy traffic before the tunnel as all the lanes merge to one and as the highway climbs up, and then you spend 20 minutes driving through the tunnel which I thought would be horrible, but it wasn’t.

The signs are German (Eingang) on entry and Italian (Uscita) when you come out of the tunnel – which we found very amusing for no reason. We stopped at the first AutoGrill across the Italian border and the coffee was better but the cars were not parked as neatly!

The trains are great in Switzerland so that might be a good option – to drive them to a main trainline and not to Zurich. Zurich is not such a huge, crazy city for driving though.

]]> By: Julie http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-2091 Julie Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:11:10 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-2091 We will be driving a rental car from Neuchatel to Florence, Italy at the end of July. We need to drop off two members of our family in Zurich before we drive to Florence. Can you recommend the best route to take (Neuchatel-Zurich-Florence) and how long that will take us? Should we have the two family members go by train to Zurich rather than driving them ourselves? *Julie We will be driving a rental car from Neuchatel to Florence, Italy at the end of July. We need to drop off two members of our family in Zurich before we drive to Florence. Can you recommend the best route to take (Neuchatel-Zurich-Florence) and how long that will take us?
Should we have the two family members go by train to Zurich rather than driving them ourselves?

*Julie

]]> By: Pauline http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-2086 Pauline Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:48:25 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-2086 I will post photos in the next few weeks. I have some photos on Cotswolder: http://www.cotswolder.com/photos/ (one is a walk through Burford). From Chipping Campden there are great nearby places to explore. I like the village of Blockley (and it is Kathy Wood's favorite). There are two gardens - Hidcote and Kiftsgate. You are not far from Broadway, a beautiful market town like Chipping Campden. From there you can get to the Broadway Tower (William Morris lived there!) and Snowshill Manor (we toured this on the weekend and loved the house and gardens). Stow-on-the-Wold is probably a 15 minute drive. It can be a bit crowded with tourists, but I love visiting this town - great restaurants, tea rooms and shops. It has many charming nearby villages: Adlestrop (Jane Austen's uncle lived here and she used to visit), Oddington (Norman church), Lower Slaughter (picture perfect town on the River Windrush) and more. Burford is only another 15 minutes from Stow and really is a charming town, but if you are seeing Chipping Campden, Broadway and Stow, you don't need to continue on to Burford unless you are in the mood for a drive. Tons more info on www.cotswolder.com (I know that you know this, but I can't pass up a chance to link to it :) ). Email me your day trip plans if you want and I will give you my opinion. I just received a recommendation for a car service in the Cotswolds. The woman who wrote to me found my Cotswolder site. She was nervous about driving, so hired a local car service for four days and loved the tours. It is www.tourthecotswolds.co.uk. I will post her review on Cotswolder this week. I will post photos in the next few weeks. I have some photos on Cotswolder: http://www.cotswolder.com/photos/ (one is a walk through Burford).

From Chipping Campden there are great nearby places to explore. I like the village of Blockley (and it is Kathy Wood’s favorite). There are two gardens – Hidcote and Kiftsgate. You are not far from Broadway, a beautiful market town like Chipping Campden. From there you can get to the Broadway Tower (William Morris lived there!) and Snowshill Manor (we toured this on the weekend and loved the house and gardens).

Stow-on-the-Wold is probably a 15 minute drive. It can be a bit crowded with tourists, but I love visiting this town – great restaurants, tea rooms and shops. It has many charming nearby villages: Adlestrop (Jane Austen’s uncle lived here and she used to visit), Oddington (Norman church), Lower Slaughter (picture perfect town on the River Windrush) and more.

Burford is only another 15 minutes from Stow and really is a charming town, but if you are seeing Chipping Campden, Broadway and Stow, you don’t need to continue on to Burford unless you are in the mood for a drive.

Tons more info on http://www.cotswolder.com (I know that you know this, but I can’t pass up a chance to link to it :) ).

Email me your day trip plans if you want and I will give you my opinion.

I just received a recommendation for a car service in the Cotswolds. The woman who wrote to me found my Cotswolder site. She was nervous about driving, so hired a local car service for four days and loved the tours. It is http://www.tourthecotswolds.co.uk. I will post her review on Cotswolder this week.

]]> By: chiaro di luna http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-2085 chiaro di luna Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:16:36 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-2085 Hi Pauline, Any chance of posting some photos of the area you are in now? Trying to decide a day trip or two from Chipping Campden for this trip 2009. Looking at the free maps I got from tourist info. office. Towns seem fairly close, but driving on the wrong side of the road will be a challenge/scare for me. chiaro Hi Pauline,
Any chance of posting some photos of the area you are in now? Trying to decide a day trip or two from Chipping Campden for this trip 2009. Looking at the free maps I got from tourist info. office. Towns seem fairly close, but driving on the wrong side of the road will be a challenge/scare for me.

chiaro

]]> By: Pauline http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-2002 Pauline Fri, 15 May 2009 03:42:24 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-2002 Hi Brenda! You are planning October 2010 and I still don't have anything figured out for July 2009 (we will be in Europe and I am sure we will figure it out in June). As you know, apartments in cities are more expensive than in the countryside. Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris, London - all much more expensive. I have never rented an apartment in Florence, but I would probably look for something on the outskirts of the historic center or at least south of the Arno. October will be less expensive than June or September. Remember to compare apples to apples - if you were staying in a hotel, you would have two rooms. For a comparable price you can get a spacious apartment with a kitchen - I know that you are like me and like to prepare some of your own meals and that saves a lot of travel money. It is not always the case that you save money renting directly from the owner, but I do think it is less expensive (usually) to book with a local agency. We have a list of our favorites on the site: http://www.sloweurope.com/vacation-rentals/italy/florence.php Remember to send us a review after your trip! Hi Brenda! You are planning October 2010 and I still don’t have anything figured out for July 2009 (we will be in Europe and I am sure we will figure it out in June).

As you know, apartments in cities are more expensive than in the countryside. Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris, London – all much more expensive. I have never rented an apartment in Florence, but I would probably look for something on the outskirts of the historic center or at least south of the Arno. October will be less expensive than June or September.

Remember to compare apples to apples – if you were staying in a hotel, you would have two rooms. For a comparable price you can get a spacious apartment with a kitchen – I know that you are like me and like to prepare some of your own meals and that saves a lot of travel money.

It is not always the case that you save money renting directly from the owner, but I do think it is less expensive (usually) to book with a local agency. We have a list of our favorites on the site: http://www.sloweurope.com/vacation-rentals/italy/florence.php

Remember to send us a review after your trip!

]]> By: Brenda http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1990 Brenda Wed, 13 May 2009 05:20:22 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-1990 Hi, Pauline, I'm in the beginning stages of planning my next grandmother-grandchild trip...I'm thinking of taking the now-16 year old to Italy, Florence specifically. We're looking at October 2010. I have a few questions...we need a good 2 br/2 bath apartment that doesn't cost the sun and the moon. I want the boy to have his own bedroom and bathroom. Actually, I want to have MY own bedroom and bathroom! Any recommendations? Any advice? Great website, Ms. Pauline! Oh, yes...have a fabulous time in France! My son is going there for a month and leaving in a few days. Hateful child, isn't he? Hi, Pauline,
I’m in the beginning stages of planning my next grandmother-grandchild trip…I’m thinking of taking the now-16 year old to Italy, Florence specifically. We’re looking at October 2010.
I have a few questions…we need a good 2 br/2 bath apartment that doesn’t cost the sun and the moon. I want the boy to have his own bedroom and bathroom. Actually, I want to have MY own bedroom and bathroom! Any recommendations? Any advice?
Great website, Ms. Pauline!
Oh, yes…have a fabulous time in France! My son is going there for a month and leaving in a few days. Hateful child, isn’t he?

]]> By: Pauline http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1989 Pauline Tue, 12 May 2009 19:17:41 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-1989 Would love to meet you! I will email you. Would love to meet you! I will email you.

]]> By: Happy in Paris http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1988 Happy in Paris Tue, 12 May 2009 19:08:51 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-1988 Pauline, are all your Paris meals reserved? Can we meet? We'll be homeless for a week starting May 23, but still here. Dave Pauline, are all your Paris meals reserved? Can we meet? We’ll be homeless for a week starting May 23, but still here.

Dave

]]> By: marta http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1941 marta Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:46:22 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-1941 Nancy, that is a wonderful time to be in Loire Valley. You mention liking the countryside. Do you have any specific interests? I love gardens. We had a thread on Slow Travel discussing gardens in the region. You might want to take a look at that thread to see if any are of interest to you. http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/3956056284/m/6661001736?r=6661001736#6661001736 Nancy, that is a wonderful time to be in Loire Valley. You mention liking the countryside. Do you have any specific interests? I love gardens. We had a thread on Slow Travel discussing gardens in the region. You might want to take a look at that thread to see if any are of interest to you.
http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/3956056284/m/6661001736?r=6661001736#6661001736

]]> By: Chris http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1936 Chris Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:15:21 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-1936 Nancy, if you really want to shop in Paris, the Marais is your best bet, because most retail outlets elsewhere in Paris are closed on Sundays. It's a fun area for shopping, and on Sunday you will often find street musicians and/or people selling crafts in Place des Vosges. Another alternative would be to take one of the tour boats (or the batobus) from Tour Eiffel to Notre Dame, and maybe walk back to the 7th via Luxembourg Gardens. We always like to just walk around and savor Paris on our first day. Will you have a car outside Paris? It's hard to make any specific recommendations without knowing more about what your plans are. Are you visiting specific chateaus? Nancy, if you really want to shop in Paris, the Marais is your best bet, because most retail outlets elsewhere in Paris are closed on Sundays. It’s a fun area for shopping, and on Sunday you will often find street musicians and/or people selling crafts in Place des Vosges. Another alternative would be to take one of the tour boats (or the batobus) from Tour Eiffel to Notre Dame, and maybe walk back to the 7th via Luxembourg Gardens. We always like to just walk around and savor Paris on our first day.

Will you have a car outside Paris? It’s hard to make any specific recommendations without knowing more about what your plans are. Are you visiting specific chateaus?

]]> By: Pauline http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1934 Pauline Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:11:57 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-1934 Hi Nancy! Steve and I will be in Paris too, at the end of May. It sounds like a great trip. We debated about spending the week in the countryside or in Nice or in Paris and finally decided on Paris because it has been 21 yrs since we have been there. Also, this is a long trip (10 weeks) and the rest of it is in the English and Swiss countryside. But - I can't answer your question because we don't know France well. I will ask Marta and Chris, who both travel regularly to France, to post something. Hi Nancy! Steve and I will be in Paris too, at the end of May. It sounds like a great trip. We debated about spending the week in the countryside or in Nice or in Paris and finally decided on Paris because it has been 21 yrs since we have been there. Also, this is a long trip (10 weeks) and the rest of it is in the English and Swiss countryside. But – I can’t answer your question because we don’t know France well. I will ask Marta and Chris, who both travel regularly to France, to post something.

]]> By: Joywriter Nancy http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1917 Joywriter Nancy Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:36:54 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-1917 Pauline and Steve! Thom and I return to France for the last two weeks of May ... celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary. This time we're traveling on the weekend and will arrive 8:00 am Sunday, CDG. We've arranged a car service from the airport to our hotel in the 7th arrondissement. We leave the following morning from Paris for Beaugency, then Amboise, Saumur, Orleans and Paris. As you know, the countryside is our thing and the cafes and the beauty of French villages. Can you recommend some of these while we're in that region? Also, a Sunday activity for our arrival afternoon ... perhaps the Marais as shops may be open there? Our best to you both! Pauline and Steve!
Thom and I return to France for the last two weeks of May … celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary. This time we’re traveling on the weekend and will arrive 8:00 am Sunday, CDG. We’ve arranged a car service from the airport to our hotel in the 7th arrondissement. We leave the following morning from Paris for Beaugency, then Amboise, Saumur, Orleans and Paris. As you know, the countryside is our thing and the cafes and the beauty of French villages. Can you recommend some of these while we’re in that region? Also, a Sunday activity for our arrival afternoon … perhaps the Marais as shops may be open there? Our best to you both!

]]> By: Pauline Kenny http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/2009/news-and-events/march2009/comment-page-1/#comment-1719 Pauline Kenny Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:47:17 +0000 http://www.sloweurope.com/blog/?p=743#comment-1719 Lillian, ask any questions as they come up. I added a "subscribe to post" feature where you get an email any time someone posts a comment here. It is below the "Leave a Comment" box. Lillian, ask any questions as they come up. I added a “subscribe to post” feature where you get an email any time someone posts a comment here. It is below the “Leave a Comment” box.

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