Intro: 2 women, late 40's. Carried backpack and small extra bag each, I have been to Europe before, my friend never. <BR>Rome: took train and subway to Spanish Steps. Easy and without problems. Stayed at the Intercontinental de la Ville. Business weekend rate...$230us/nite. Good hotel, great beds and shower. I recommend. Ate on the fly so no real restaurant recommendations. Spent a wonderful afternoon at Travestere across the Tiber. Would be interested in staying there next time. <BR>Venice: very crowded (May Day) Hotel Giorgione, very nice. Wonderful breakfasts, free internet access and nice bar area. Quiet area with many restaurants, near Rialto. $200us(deluxe). Recommend. <BR>Murren, Switz.: Mostly closd up, between winter and summer season. Beautiful little village. 2 cable cars or cog train to reach, not for people who don't like heights and hiking. Stayed at the Anfi Palace (timeshare), very comfortable, lovely eiderdowns, ample breakfast and amazing views. Wonderful vacation from our vacation! Alpenhof Hotel has great food (near cablecar). <BR>Paris: museums free due to strike! Hotel Muguet, small rooms, spotless bathroom on quiet street by Rue Cler (great area)$80/no breakfast. Try crepes from stands. 7thieme Sud is a delightful restaurant on Grenville, full of Parisiens. Also recommend. Hotel reserved shuttle to CDG, which was very convenient (give yourself an hour to get to airport.) <BR>Conclusion: Europe has become more affluent, since last I was there. We had great weather and abolutely no safety issues. Will not wear so much black, next time. More washable clothes. Happy we had a train pass. Good recommendations from this site. Thanks to all who gave me their input. Hope I can pass on the favour, now. A.M. <BR>

Hi A.M. <BR> Thanks for the report. <BR>J.

I'm leaving for Switzerland in 2 weeks. May go to Murran. Thanks.

A.M wrote: &gt;&gt;Recommend. <BR>Murren, Switz.: Mostly closd up, between winter and summer season. &lt;&lt; <BR> <BR>Yeah, I'm looking forward to popping over to Murren from my Wengen base later this summer, September actually. <BR> <BR>Diane wrote: &gt;&gt;I'm leaving for Switzerland in 2 weeks. May go to Murran. Thanks. &lt;&lt; <BR> <BR>You have to go to Murren. Try and do that little walk over to Grutschalp from Allmenhubel. Excellent views of the Jungrau and company. <BR> <BR>And take the little walk downhill to Gimmelwald. Just hang around diggin' the scene. Stop and do a coffee or a cold, frosty beer at ole walter's place. <BR> <BR>It's like a gaser babe. oh, sorry, I've been watching the Rat Pack clips again. <BR> <BR>

I hate to admit it but that "little walk down to Gimmelwald" almost killed me on the way back up, the 1st time I did it. I wanted to add that the hostel there is quite nice. A.M.

up.

A.M.: Could you tell more about the Anfi Palace in Murren? I posted a question a couple of months ago about this hotel but got no answers. My main question was, since there are no cars in Murren, how far is the Anfi Palace from the train? Would it be a problem with luggage on wheels to walk from the train? How far ahead did you do your time share exchange to get in there? Thanks for any info. <BR>

Hi Susan, <BR> The Anfi (a lovely hotel) is a very short walk from the "Murren" train, a long walk from the "cablecar." Both can be done with wheeled luggage (uphill). The train was not running when we were there due to the fact that it was "shoulder season", which is also probably why we were able to exchange so easily (2 months in advance of our trip). Murren is beautiful I encourage you to go there, bring good walking shoes or sandals as you will be walking uphill often. <BR> An interesting thing happened to us there... we took the gondolas up to the Shiltorn, when we got to the top my friend got altitude sickness!!! My suggestion is, if you plan to do the higher and more expensive Jungfrau trip, test yourself at the Shiltorn. Have a wonderful trip. A.M.

If you like to see the mountains without getting altitude sickness, visit the following sites: <BR> <BR>www.wengen-muerren.ch <BR>www.schilthorn.ch <BR>www.jungfraujoch.ch (only in German but with some links for the Bernese Oberland) <BR> <BR>Enjoy! .. and in Wengen and Mürren no public traffic!

A.M., <BR>Thank you for the concise, helpful report! Glad you had a good trip. <BR> <BR>

A.M.: Thanks so much for the further info on Murren. I hope we're going to go there next year. I appreciate the input! <BR>

How were the breakfasts at the de la Ville? Our rate includes either brkfast or room upgrade, what would you suggest? <BR>