Senor Schmutzig
Footballguy
Yes, it's a bit late in the season to be planning a trip to Europe, but that's how we roll. Never ones to plan THAT far in advance, we tend to be rather spontaneous when it comes to travel.
I was let go from my company in mid-December and have a 6-month severance package so I'm hoping to start a new job on or around July 1st. My son is graduating high school in May so I wanted to put together a two-weekish European vacation in June as a somewhat graduation gift and a suitable end to my 6-month "sabbatical".
I am looking to book for anytime in June so there is some flexibility as to the dates and the locations. Not sure what the real purpose of this thread is but I always accept recommendations from FBG's for locations, hotels spots, restaurants, etc.
It's still early in the planning stages, but my initial idea has us flying FLL-LGW on Norse Atlantic Airways (startup in 2021 from previous execs from Norwegian Air that went belly-up during COVID). it seems to be relatively inexpensive for a late booking so that's where I'm starting. London is always an easy transition when traveling to Europe, plus I want to take a day to head up north to the place I spent my first year in college (Lincolnshire). I highly valued that year and want to instill the "travel abroad" spirit into my son so he can experience it as well at some point in his college career.
So 3 to 4 days in the UK before heading to Paris for a couple of days. Not sure if we will rent a car in the UK and drive, or just take the Chunnel train to Paris and rent a car there for the rest of the trip.
Again, this is still entirely up in the air, but I would like to get to Rothenburg ob der Tauber as that is where my family heritage is from before heading south. Want to make a stop at Neuschwanstein Castle because it's a castle, and I really like castles, especially this one (despite it not being that old by comparative European standards). We may stop in Frankfurt between Paris and Rothenburg as I have a friend that lives there that I would love to see.
After that, we will probably take a meandering route south through the Alps via Switzerland or Austria. We have an affinity for both so not sure which route we will take yet.
We will probably end up in Italy, most likely Rome as it's one of the few major places in Europe that we haven't been to and a logical place to fly back home.
For some context, we spent 5 weeks in Europe back in 2010 when my son was five. I had to be in Amsterdam and Lisbon for work for a week apiece and then had some planned vacation time as I knew I was leaving my company shortly thereafter. We ended up taking a train from Lisbon to Barcelona, then on to southern France, renting a car, and driving through Monte Carlo, northern Italy, Switzerland, and France before flying back home from Paris three weeks later. This may be the last "big trip" with our son so I want to make it memorable.
I'll update this thread as things get clarified but I am all about taking some suggestions from y'all about where we should go and what we should see while understanding the general route we are going to be taking. Our vacation choices are usually driven by our stomachs (we love food and are driven by culinary opportunities) and tend to focus on the off-the-beaten-path type of places.
Do your best FBG's.
Possibilities:
England - London and Lincolnshire
France - Paris (Paris is back on the table as a possible arrival/departure city)
Germany - Frankfurt*, Rothenburg*, Neuschwanstein via Romantic Road*
Switzerland (Zurich)
Italy - Rome*, Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Capri
* if definite
I was let go from my company in mid-December and have a 6-month severance package so I'm hoping to start a new job on or around July 1st. My son is graduating high school in May so I wanted to put together a two-weekish European vacation in June as a somewhat graduation gift and a suitable end to my 6-month "sabbatical".
I am looking to book for anytime in June so there is some flexibility as to the dates and the locations. Not sure what the real purpose of this thread is but I always accept recommendations from FBG's for locations, hotels spots, restaurants, etc.
It's still early in the planning stages, but my initial idea has us flying FLL-LGW on Norse Atlantic Airways (startup in 2021 from previous execs from Norwegian Air that went belly-up during COVID). it seems to be relatively inexpensive for a late booking so that's where I'm starting. London is always an easy transition when traveling to Europe, plus I want to take a day to head up north to the place I spent my first year in college (Lincolnshire). I highly valued that year and want to instill the "travel abroad" spirit into my son so he can experience it as well at some point in his college career.
So 3 to 4 days in the UK before heading to Paris for a couple of days. Not sure if we will rent a car in the UK and drive, or just take the Chunnel train to Paris and rent a car there for the rest of the trip.
Again, this is still entirely up in the air, but I would like to get to Rothenburg ob der Tauber as that is where my family heritage is from before heading south. Want to make a stop at Neuschwanstein Castle because it's a castle, and I really like castles, especially this one (despite it not being that old by comparative European standards). We may stop in Frankfurt between Paris and Rothenburg as I have a friend that lives there that I would love to see.
After that, we will probably take a meandering route south through the Alps via Switzerland or Austria. We have an affinity for both so not sure which route we will take yet.
We will probably end up in Italy, most likely Rome as it's one of the few major places in Europe that we haven't been to and a logical place to fly back home.
For some context, we spent 5 weeks in Europe back in 2010 when my son was five. I had to be in Amsterdam and Lisbon for work for a week apiece and then had some planned vacation time as I knew I was leaving my company shortly thereafter. We ended up taking a train from Lisbon to Barcelona, then on to southern France, renting a car, and driving through Monte Carlo, northern Italy, Switzerland, and France before flying back home from Paris three weeks later. This may be the last "big trip" with our son so I want to make it memorable.
I'll update this thread as things get clarified but I am all about taking some suggestions from y'all about where we should go and what we should see while understanding the general route we are going to be taking. Our vacation choices are usually driven by our stomachs (we love food and are driven by culinary opportunities) and tend to focus on the off-the-beaten-path type of places.
Do your best FBG's.
Possibilities:
England - London and Lincolnshire
France - Paris (Paris is back on the table as a possible arrival/departure city)
Switzerland (Zurich)
Italy - Rome*, Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Capri
* if definite
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