clarence's European Vacation

[JulioMadrid]

You're welcome, Clarence.

[clarence]

Plane tickets are booked-
Flying out of Orlando to London Gatwick on British leaving the evening of the 29th and getting in before 7AM on the 30th
To get back- flying out of Vienna on Austrian on June 18th to Dulles and taking United down to Orlando

We will take my car down to the airport and leave it at parking. I am very excited that these details are in place and the trip is set... now we have to plan our route within Europe. We have watched the Rick Steves video on trip planning and here is what we are thinking...

London
Brussels (for day)
Amsterdam
Munich
Rome
Florence
Venice (for day)
Innsbruck (for day)
Vienna

When I say (for day) it means we will either be passing thru or using another city as our base- for Brussels we will hit on train from London to Amsterdam, Venice from our hotel in Florence- and Innsbruck on our way to Vienna. This is very preliminary and I will soon start booking hotels...

Thoughts?

[opebo]

What's the cost or budget for all this clarence?

[clarence]

Airfare is rough... a little under $10K... but I am aiming to stay under $20K. A dear friend who passed away late last year bequeathed me a large piece of property which- possibly uknown by him- has been in high demand recently as it is near several race tracks. His advice to me in life was to enjoy my own and having outlived him- I figure I will take his advice

I am blessed to be able to afford a wonderful life now- after making a cool few million in the height of the construction boom in South Florida I ended up using most of it to provide for my wife in her last years as Iw as more then happy to do for her... we traveled extensively and stayed in the finest hotels and took business class flights etc... that and her medical expenses left me in a difficult spot but I had enough money to purchase a good home closer in. I got a bargain on my home and had roughly half of that money left to place into investment accounts- thru Fidelity, Vanguard, and Raymond James. I still have a fixed annuity which takes care of most of my basic needs and now with this bequest I can afford to be comfortable again...

[opebo]

That's great clarence. 

[I left.]

What did you pay for airfare, if you don't mind? I'm going to be booking my summer flight to the U.S. soon and prices are absolutely brutal.

[clarence]

For me and the lady- the way out is about $3,000 and return is about $6,300- both in economy class (British calls it World Traveller)

[I left.]

For me and the lady- the way out is about $3,000 and return is about $6,300- both in economy class (British calls it World Traveller)

Are you serious??? I'm looking at 900-1000€ roundtrip and that'd be the most I ever paid.

[clarence]

Well we are booking just a month and a half before we fly- if you look at July and August it may be better... I also think British and Austrian may be more expensive then say Delta or American- but the routes worked better for us

[Secretary Polnut]

What did you pay for airfare, if you don't mind? I'm going to be booking my summer flight to the U.S. soon and prices are absolutely brutal.

Tell me about it!!!

I'm trying to book for November... two years ago I could have come for $900 (US$932) (E720) but now the cheapest I can get on a reasonable airline, or without needing to go through Tokyo, Seoul or Shanghai ...

Now... it's $1970 (US$2040) (E1560)....

That's through to Chicago...

Clarence, have a blast I spent 5 weeks in Europe Dec11/Jan12... it was brilliant.

[PASOK Leader Hashemite]

Why do you hate France?

[clarence]

Why do you hate France?

I love France... just does not fit within my budget for this trip. I will be in it briefly on the train to Brussels I believe

[Tender Branson]

For me and the lady- the way out is about $3,000 and return is about $6,300- both in economy class (British calls it World Traveller)

Are you serious??? I'm looking at 900-1000€ roundtrip and that'd be the most I ever paid.

I just checked it at Swoodoo.com and I got  many results for the end of May from Salzburg to NYC for 610€, roundtrip. It probably depends if you want a non-stop flight or not. This 610€ result was with a stop in Frankfurt in each direction.

[angus]

prices are absolutely brutal.

airfare is expensive now.  Three years ago we did round trip from Saint Paul to Shanghai for 600 dollars apiece.  We are planning on spending about a month in China again this summer, and the cheapest we have found so far is about $1500 R/T from Air Canada.  Maybe it's fuel futures that affect the price.

[I left.]

For me and the lady- the way out is about $3,000 and return is about $6,300- both in economy class (British calls it World Traveller)

Are you serious??? I'm looking at 900-1000€ roundtrip and that'd be the most I ever paid.

I just checked it at Swoodoo.com and I got  many results for the end of May from Salzburg to NYC for 610€, roundtrip. It probably depends if you want a non-stop flight or not. This 610€ result was with a stop in Frankfurt in each direction.

There are huge differences between "end of May" and Summer. I'm not able to fly in May, and as soon as school vacation starts in most German states, the prices go up from 600 or so to prices approaching 1000.

Non-stop isn't an option anyway to St. Louis....so that can't be a factor.

[fezzyfestoon]

Sounds fantastic! I'm fully jealous. Except for the flights

[Simfan34]

That's great clarence. 

Shouldn't you want to chop his head off or something?

Wonderful planning, Clarence! Do keep us updated.

[opebo]

That's great clarence. 

Shouldn't you want to chop his head off or something?

I suppose anyone who can't tour around Europe in high style should, simfan.

[ZuWo]

Since Switzerland is right between Munich and Rome you could plan to stop there if it's in your budget. Just saying.

[clarence]

So we've decided to bypass Innsbruck and make our day trip from Vienna to Bratislava... go behind the curtain a bit.

Over the weekend I will aim to book all my hotels- looking for reasonable quality hotels near the city center or a train that takes us there...

[clarence]

Booked all my hotels-

London- The Chesterfield Mayfair- already arranged a romantic turndown service to get the trip started ;-)

Amsterdam- Hotel Estherea- right on a canal

Munich- Hotel Torbrau- quick walk to Marienplatz

Rome- The Inn at the Spanish Steps- called the best value in Rome

Florence- Palazzo Magnani Feroni- traditional and great views of the city

Vienna- Hotel Imperial- splurging to end the trip...closing it like a Grand Tour


I am VERY excited...as is the lady! In four weeks we will be in London getting ready to have dinner...

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

Get some pizza in rome. When I was in Italy in 2000, I had some of the best thin crust pizza ever there.

[clarence]

I definitely will then- thin crust is excellent...

[Tender Branson]

When will you visit Vienna ?

Just a few infos: After you land in Vienna-Schwechat, the best way to get into the city is either by Schnellbahn (S7), which only costs 3.60€ but is the slowest (30 minutes).

Or you can use the CAT (City Airport Train) for 9€, which only takes 15 minutes.

Or you can use the CAB (City Airport Bus) for 7€, which takes about 20 minutes.

Or you can use a Taxi for about 25-35€, which also takes about 20 minutes.

Clarence, you are a Black, right ? There have been cases in Vienna, where the cabbie has refused to transport Black people - so just to warn you ...

Otherwise, the city is really nice especially this time of the year (not too hot, not too cold). Be sure you visit a lot of places and go to the local restaurants and coffee shops. Vienna coffee shops are very popular because of it's flair.

If you use the subway, you can either buy the 3-day card for 18€ or the 8-day card for 34€.

And buy the Vienna card for about 20€ for all the sights (you get a lot of discounts).

http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights

More infos here:

http://www.wien.info/en

[clarence]

Actually we are driving to Vienna from Florence...and I am not black-
However I appreciate the tips...we'll be there the 15 thru the 17 of June- we are doing a day trip to Bratislava early on the 16