Well, I found out yesterday that my Mom won't be traveling with my cousin and me (actually Reenie is my Mom's cousin, but I'm much closer to her and her sister than my own 1st cousins). Anyway, it will be just the two of us. Now to buy my airline tickets! I have our car rented, all the hotels reserved (Paris, Saint Remy and Avignon). Ciao!

Hi Monica. Keep me posted on any airline deals, please. I am looking too for May(Italy). Everything else is done. I got an acceptable car deal from Hertz and then asked Auto Europe to beat it. They did. Italian rentals aren't cheap but I can live with this one.

I would prefer three rather than two for a trip. When I travel with just one other person, we get on each others nerves. With the third person along, you can kind of "push off" your offending partner on them for a little while. When I was in Portugal with my b/f, I would have him call up our mutual friend who lives there and "suggest" the two of them do something together. This gave me time to be by myself. There is also nothing worse than dragging someone off to a museum that you are desperate to see, and they want to lie on the beach. A third person could aleviate this situation.

I agree with Mark Twain. It all depends on who is doing the sharing. God forbid that you include a wall vibrating snorer, particularly if you opt for same room sleeping!! Just about as bad is to include a smoker who hacks and coughs all night and wakes up craving a nicotine fix while they spew and hack at 5 AM. <BR><BR>My father for some reason wanted to travel with two other people, a married couple, until he became cured of his wants. <BR>The idea he had was that he and his wife would share car expenses with the other couple, but lodging was of course in separate rooms.<BR>On a trip to Spain with two old friends (both age and length of time), all kinds of little disputes broke out. One bone of contention was even over boiling water with an immersion heater. The wife part of the other couple would pronounce the water boiled when a few bubbles formed around the coil. <BR><BR>On another trip, a real dispute broke out with some of his wife's out-of-sorts in-laws. As they approached Salt Lake City, the husband of the outcasts remarked that he could see the Great Salt Lake. My dad replied that they were still about 50 miles away. The other man said contentiously, "I know water when I see it." <BR><BR>Later, approaching St. Louis, "other" was driving. My dad's wife said she wanted to drive through the central part of St. Louis so she could see the Arch.<BR>"Other" said "There is no Arch down there." And he kept driving on the bypass route!! Such was the end of their traveling together. <BR><BR>Fortunately, I have the world's best traveling companion, as I have mentioned on several other occasions on this forum. I think the "good" is distributed about 65% in her favor.<BR>She is indeed a traveler for all seasons, except artic conditions!<BR><BR>