Hey, <BR>My parents want to go to europe for their 25th and I was wondering if anyone had any feed back on some cheap/romantic places to go. I have only ever been to greece and that was on an archological dig and traveling on a student buget so i wasnt able to help them much they are planning to go for 4 weeks in july /august. any help would be great! <BR>thanks <BR>Katey

Tuscany got rave reviews from my parents as well as from other friends who went this summer. Inexpensive, and, to quote my friends, "the most romantic place on earth." They rented a car and drove where their whims took them, found places to stay with no trouble, and met some wonderful people. They could not say enough good about it. In fact, and I doubt he'd mind since his article has been published, here's what my friend wrote about his trip to Tuscany: <BR>http://www.mtshastanews.com/1999/07_...field7_14.html <BR> <BR>Have fun helping them plan!

Portugal, parts of France, parts of Italy, Sardinia, Greek islands all come to mind. A lot will depend on what your parents consider romantic - beach? mountains? lots of exquisite little restaurants? tiny cottage of their own? room service? <BR>And what's cheap? pay less for food, more for lodging, or vice versa? will they be happy traveling by public transportation, or will they want a car?

They are more then happy to take public transport, and they are both history buffs I think what they like bst is experiencing the culture

If your parents are interested in history then Rome is a good option but August 2000 might be too packed in the city, otherwise wahtabout a historic tour of the British Isles - Ireland, Scotland and England with njo language problems etc and lots of nice farmhouses or ancient castles to stay in. Otherwise a cottage on the Irish coastline ith beautiful walks and ancient mystical historic lands. Just my ideas

Italy did it for us for our 25th wedding anniversary! We stayed in Tuscany, rented an apartment and a car. The apartment was around $500 a week (U.S), the car was around $750 for two weeks but I've read about leasing for less??? We had a smallish budget so we went to experience a beautiful culture instead of spending more money on lodging and "things." We ate at little restaurants, shopped in botegas and markets for our lunch wandered among the shops and parks or sat at a sidewalk bar writing postcards. One romantic evening was spent in the church in Radda. We thought there was to be a concert that night and we showed up to listen---it was choir practice, but we sat in the dim, cool church and listened to beautiful music. Priceless! <BR> <BR>If they don't already speak Italian (or French or German), you parents should start learning now--we didn't start soon enough. That way they will feel comfortable in some of the smaller places where people may not speak English. The Living Language series is good, some come with tapes for about $20.00 Tell your parents to do a search on this forum for various places they might be interested in. Here are a couple of web-sites for places in Tuscany. Good Luck and Congratulations to your parents!! <BR>http://www.flownet.it/English/Touris...i/Small_Towns/ <BR>http://www.chiantinet.it/casaselvolini/ <BR>http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/seco...p-page-eng.htm

You didn't say whether they had been before, and the western part is where most want to go the first time. If you want good bargains, lots of history, friendly locals, beautiful architecture and romantic sites; I recommend a Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Budapest trip. Except for Vienna, the cities are inexpensive and great!! Berlin has the history, friendly people, lots of culture and is a fantastic city. Dresden is 2 hours south of Berlin by train & was completely rebuilt after the war & is a nice smaller city with Meissen nearby. About 2 1/2 hours south of Dresden is Prague--a beautiful city with great architecture because it was not bombed in WWII. The symphony is less than $20 for balcony box seats, you can eat a very nice meal with wine for less than $30. The Charles Bridge at night is one of the most romantic sites in Europe, with the bigger than lifesize statues every 50-100 feet on both sides lit up. Vienna is about 4 hours south of Prague & is a elegant city. Budapest is 4 hours south of Vienna & is even cheaper than Prague. If you stay in Prague, try the avetravel.cz web site. They have very good listings for hotels/penzions. If you stay in Budapest, try Dr. Walter Fleps, retired English-speaking attorney. He & his wife live in a home which overlooks the city. You get a bedroom with terrace view, bathroom, & big breakfast for about $40-$50. You take a bus to the metro & you are downtown. They are very nice & helpful. Please email if you need further assistance.