Hi all

I'm in the middle of a particularly stressful stint of work, and to occupy my time (and preserve my soul) I'm trying to plan a vacation for September/October. Here's what I'm working with.

I can take two weeks total. If I max that out I can get a total of 16 days.

I'm hoping to fly via Iceland and spend a couple of days there. So deduct 3 days.

I've been to Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Prague, Ireland, and London. But would go back to any of them if it seemed appropriate.

I'm looking for art, history, nightlife, walking, not walking, beaches, cities, small towns. Add and subtract from this list as needed.

I speak English (very well!) but not much else. In fact, nothing else, but I'm great at pictionary and pantomime!

I'm a female in my twenties, and I may or may not be accompanied by others. I'm going with or without them. I'm pretty self sufficient, but have no need to trailblaze the "undiscovered" "up and coming" new hotspot that might be somewhat scary. Plus there's lots of other stuff I can see.

So um....help? I'm basically up for anything. I could just buy a train pass and do that, but I'd rather have more of a gameplan.

I could also maybe do something a bit off the beaten path. Secondary cities might be nice, so I'd definitely be open to those too.

Oh, I've also thought about only taking a week and then going on a two week cruise in December through Panama.

Alright fodorites....lemme have it!

Berlin
Vienna

I vote for Portugal!

FLY INTO GENEVA OR BERN SWITZERLAND.STAY A NIGHT AND TRAIN TO FREIBERG GERMANY ( BLACK FOREST AREA).STAY A NIGHT ,PICK UP A CAR AND PLOT A TRIP THROUGH BAVERIA ENDING UP IN MUNICH.

GO THROUGH SOME OF THE MANY SMALL VILLAGES,SKIRT THE ALPS, AND MAKE SURE TO STAY IN SOMEPLACE LIKE LINDAU ON LAKE CONSTANCE.

DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH TIME YOU CHOOSE FOR THIS PART OF THE TRIP YOU CAN THEN EITHER GO TO BERLIN (ALL NEW WITH HOT SPOTS) OR TRAIN TO VIENNA ( OLD WORLD ).

BAVERIA IS A BEAUTIFU PART OF THE WORLD.

GTG

FLY INTO ZURICH OR GENEVA.

IF YOU ARE STRESSED OUT, THE BAVARIAN AREA WILL TAKE YOU TO ANOTHER WORLD----NOT THE USUAL TOURIST STOPS.

ONE OTHER POSSIBILITY FOR " ADVENTURE ' IS TO FLY TO MOSCOW THE EITHER FLY OR A RIVER BOAT CRUISE TO ST. PETERSBERG.

MOSCOW IS QUITE A CITY.

Hey, gplusg, it's considered "shouting" on the internet to type in all caps, and it's darn hard on the eyes as well, so please cease and desist.

shirley, some thoughts: Normandy and Brittany, the Dordogne, Provence; Tuscany or Umbria or Rome and Cinque Terre; Croatia for something a bit new and exciting; Turkey; Morocco.

Barcelona has everything! History, nightlife, beach... Otherwise, if you are flying via Iceland you could continue with the Nordic countries and go to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki or Oslo for example! Stockholm is a great city with lots to do! Everyone speaks English so that won't be a problem, it is a safe city so no problem if you go on your own, lots of things to do, history, culture, restaurants, bars, cafes... Good luck!

Scotland!

Icelandair flys into Glasgow. They have a fine arts museum and easy train connections to Edinburgh.

Scotland!

Oh I'm so excited! Keep em coming!!!

Spain!
Since you haven't been there. ;-)
If you focus on the South it should be quite the opposite from Iceland.
I'd vote for Madrid-Cordoba-Sevilla-Granada. There's so much to see and do, even if you're traveling alone, you won't get bored or lonely. Plus, eating in Tapas bars is perfect for the solo traveler.
You don't necessarily need to know Spanish, especially if you stick to the larger cities. However, it doesn't hurt to know a little and you could certainly learn some easily by listening to cd's before you go.