A very brief trip report and big thank-you for all the helpful hints
 

My dh and I spent 3 weeks last Sept. in Europe. We started off with 7 nights in a not so great apt. just off the strand-good location for sight-seeing but not much of a neighborhood.. The apt. was poorly maintained,and communicating with agency not so good. Elevator not working the whole time we were there{on the 4th floor} That being said London was fabulous! One week was not nearly enough time but we did manage to do quite a bit. The crown jewels in the Tower of London were one of my faves, as was banqueting house. The Winston Churhill war room exhibit was very interesting as well.. Wesaw Hampton Court Palace and stopped inClapham junction to change trains on several occasions{thats the most we saw of Clapham but hubby was happy.]
We bought paper travel cards and used the 2-for-ones a few times. We did a lot more walking than we were prepared for! St.James park was my favorite spot to relax-we saw Covent Garden and Leicester square-saw a play and walked through tTrafalgar square many times. Rode the London eye,was awe-struck in Westminster Abby and never made it to the zoo but did go to Camden for the afternoon.
We rode thr train to Paris and spent 5 nights there in a tiny., well-kept apt. on rue st. honore. we both loved our time in Paris,the cruise on the Seinne, the tower at night and sipping wine in a cafe were highlights. The Louvre was huge and we were a little overwhelmed-spent most of a day there. I was amazed that on any street if you looked up or just turn a corner and you found beautiful architectural details and lovely statues abound.
We took the tgv . to nice for 9 nights and used this as a base to explore the area..Our apt. was just on the edge of the cours market which I enjoyed browsing daily for fresh ingredients for our suppers. The supermarket at home disgusts me now. The buses and tram were easy to use and cheap.
We flew via Easy jet to Gatwick{yuck!} and the train from there to Windsor for 2 nights in a really nice b and b before flying home. Windsor was my favorite place for a number of reasons and was a really nice end to the trip. All the advice I got regarding transportation was invaluable-everything went smoothly and once again many thanks.
Colleen



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A whirlwind of a report but it conveys a lot. Thanks.

I'd be interested in knowing what it is about the area around the Strand in London that makes it, "not much of a neighborhood".

Also, what is it about Gatwick Airport that causes you give it a {yuck!} rating?

ron- The apartment we stayed in faced a block with a lot of offices in it so a mad rush of foot traffic in the a.m. and at quitting time,otherwise not many people about. It was more of a business district. As for Gatwick airport I am comparing our experience there with Heathrow and found that clearing customs took much longer. Maybe this is not the case for everyone, or perhaps they were simply busier at Gatwick but it did take a lot longer to get through.

Sounds like a wonderful trip! Thanks for sharing.