My wife and I are going to spend 5 weeks in Europe this summer. We enjoy the country as opposed to the city. She is a French teacher and has spent two years living in Paris and Strasbourg. The following is our plan:<BR><BR>Rome- 4 days including arrival<BR>Florence- 3 days (could add day to Tuscany) (travel to Florence by train)<BR>Tuscany- 4 days (rent car until Paris)<BR>Travel to Alsace- 1+ day driving through Switzerland<BR>Alsace + Strasbourg- 5 days<BR>Travel to La Touraine- 1 day<BR>La Touraine- 3 days<BR>Normandy- 2 days<BR>Paris- 3 days<BR>Travel to England- 1 day (train)<BR>English Countryside to be determined- 2 days<BR>Cotswolds- 4 days<BR>Return<BR><BR>Beside the fact that we will be wiped out and will need a vacation, is this well thought out? It is my first trip.<BR>

It looks generally alright to me. It might not be how I would do it, but I have never had the luxury of five weeks away, and I feel sure I would want kids or friends or others to be part of this with me; haven't experienced that whole empty nest thing with just my wife and I traveling together on a trip like this one.<BR><BR>As a corollary, the pleasure of a trip like this is shopping, cooking, having a kitchen - - does that appeal to you? I wonder if there is some place you'd like to stay for longer to use some kind of self-catering accommodation? Maybe Alsace - - but also in Tuscany - - or somewhere between the Loire valley and normandy or the English countryside? Well, it's your trip.<BR><BR>I was thrown for a moment by "La Touraine" - - I know of no such town, though there is simply a "Touraine". I guess you mean "la" (lower case "l") Touraine - - referring to the region between Tours and Samumur or Angers. Getting from the Alsace to the Loire valley is a subject which has been discussed on this forum. The fastest route is via Paris - - if you want to avoid backtracking, you could leave from comar, and cut across country, via Epinal, Troyes, Orleans (surely of interest to a French teacher).<BR><BR>Do you have ideas where you plan to stay in Alsace and la "Touraine"?<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

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Sounds like a great trip. You're wise to include entire days allocated for travel! (You are aware that the train trip from Paris to London is just 3 hours, aren't you?)<BR><BR>The only suggestion I would make would be to reverse the order of things. Since this is your first trip, you will find it more relaxing to start in the country where you both speak the language (approximately) and end in the one where neither of you do. That way, you'll only be adjusting to one new thing at a time. (The new thing in England, besides the time zone, would be the driving on the left. I'm sure I personally wouldn't want to attempt that after a month on the Continent!)

One more thing worth sharing. I ran across this searching for what you meant by la "Touraine" - - http://www.touraine-gourmande.com/english/geograph.html - - this appears to be a marketing association, but from what I know about many of the places represented there, this is an extraordinary collection. Sure to get your palate revved up (and maybe do some serious damage to your wallets!)<BR>