rhkkmk

we plan to be in france from apr 29 to may 7, then in italy until may 16 and one nite back in nice....and then home....with family at the beginning and friends at the end....should be a good trip....neither place is new to us, exept for two days in cinque terre....

then thailand and india in november and december...

should be a good travel year...

granny

Both France and Italy in one trip. Sounds good to me. I've never been to either yet, but we're just starting to plan a three week trip to France next fall, staying in gites. I think that's what you call them. We'll be traveling with another couple and renting a car. I'll have to move over to the Europe board to start getting information, but I'll check back here to see what you good folks are up to.

rhkkmk

france is great....i have been there many times and always find new things to do....the south is so different from paris, which is so different from normandy, which is so different from chanpagne, etc...

a good car rental deal is from auto france in NJ....i have used them several times....it is a lease...you get a brand new car...min rental is 17 days...full insurance included...pick up and drop off in different place in france is free....all peugeot cars...

i don't see their address in my address book but if you can't find them on google, contact me:

[email protected]

we are renting houses in both places (VAR and tuscany) which makes it much more relaxing....

granny

Bob, we've used auto Europe twice with no problem, but I'll check out Auto France when we know more.

How did you find your rental houses?

marcy_

ttt

rhkkmk

granny---i just found my auto france pamphlet....the toll free # in usa is:

800-572-9655

they are fantastic...i have used this service at least 3 times....it is not cheap but you get a lot for your money...its an odd arrangement....you actually buy the car on paper and sell it back at the end...they then sell the car as a used car i think....you pay only the leased period fee....cars are brand new....

www.autofrance.net

as an american company they are easy to deal with also....

houses.....the one in the south of france belongs to some english friends...
the one in tuscay belongs to two guys who own a B&B (fantastic) in the middle of florence where we stayed last year...

i have rented from a tuscan agency once before that an aquaintenance put me in touch with..

i rented a fantastic apartment in venice from a posting i saw on this board (europe board)...

i just keep my eyes and ears open to new opportunities....fodors.com is about as good as it gets for leads...

bob

Dottie

Granny,
Thanks for the great report. We are planning on taking this trip next year, and it sounds like over all, you had a great time. Did anyone in your gruop take the side trip to Cambodia? If so what did they think of it?

Dottie

Sorry I can't spell.quot;>

simpsonc510

Bob
We'll almost pass each other in flight on your Europe trip. I'll be coming home from Switzerland and Italy about the 20th of April. Your rental car outfit sounds great, but we don't fly into or out of France anytime. For us, it's always ZRH, where we find the airport very easy to maneuver, and DH knows all the ins and outs of picking up his rental car and rental phone.

Oh, btw, DH got a new Nokia 9300 phone for Christmas. A Swedish friend has one, and DH said he really wanted one. They (technically) are not yet available in the US yet. Now he has to figure out which kind of SIM card to get so he can use it in Europe, US and Thailand! At this point, it's a neat new toy. He can get a SIM card in Thailand, for sure, if he doesn't find one before then.

Carol

granny

Hi Dottie,
All the rest of our group, 11 people, took the pre trip to Cambodia. They all said it was great, but very, very hot.

We usually take the breakaway and go off on our own for several days.

KATHERINEMAEPARDEE

Dearest Granny,

Loved your posting. We leave in a month for Thailand and I do have a few questions; hope you check on line but if not, please


write to my email address

[email protected]

Thanks so much. I too am a northwesterner...living in Sequim, WA