Your Rich Uncle Herb...
 

Just gave you $5000 for Christmas, with the conditions of using it in the year 2006 to take you and your wife on the trip of your dreams. Where would you go, where would you stay when you got there, and why did you choose that place?

PS Don't forget to send your very generous uncle a thank you note...

(this thread was started on the U.S. board and I thought it would be interesting to see the responses here).

At the risk of sounding ungrateful to Uncle Herb, I would have to say that $5000. for two people would hardly allow me to take "the trip of my dreams" in Europe.

Well, it would be my husband and I, rather than my wife and I. ;) Although this is the European board, I would go to my dream destination of Japan. Namely Tokyo and Kyoto. :)

Also I am a wife, not a husband, I would fly to Statia's island to share a bottle of poison :))

Oh, wait, it's the European forum and you won't understand why the poison...

I don't think two women can get married in California, would Uncle Herb give me the $ anyway?

PS: I would have to ask for more $ for a trip of my dreams, it is about 1000$ for one person to fly to Europe from here.

Oh dear......

okay, raise the gift to $15,000.

And I'm a wife, not a husband. The original thread was started by a man on the u.s. board, but of course women can be the hypothetical gift recipient.

Can I use part of the money to rent (or rent to own) a husband to join me on the trip?

C'mon down Faina! I'll have the poison ready regardless. ;) And, considering your lodging would be free, the 5K would cover your airfare AND your poison money. :D

You can use part of the money to pay for a companion during the trip, like Debra Messing did in the recent movie, Wedding Date.

Oh hell, do I have to turn straight for a lousy $5000? If it's Canadian dollars, it will cost me more than that to divorce my current partner -- the guy I married in 2004.

um -- now that the gift is up to $15,000 -- I would certainly book another safari and finish it up with a week in Cape Town, SA. (Now one of my favorite cities ever.)

I vote for taking the $15,000, and retaining my single status. I could travel cheap (I always do!) and use the rest of the money to shop! Paris! Milan! London!!! $13,000 would buy me, what, about 20 pairs of Manolos? Or maybe a Hermes Kelly bag and about 10 pair of Manolos? Hmmm....

Good point above from Linds. Can I have the entire $15,000 for a solo trip traveling on the cheap? I could last a long time in Europe on that amount!

Yes, good points Linds and Suze - I could travel solo for a longer period of time! And maybe just rent a man for a day or two. haha

$15000? Well, I'd travel and shop my way through all of Europe. Whatever's left, I'd run over to the South Pacific. ;)

Generous Uncle Herb would get postcards and gifts from all the places I visited, and a hearty kiss on the cheeks upon my return. :)

Okay, to get back to the question - - in the original spirit by which mah1980 asked it.

I would fly first class, and would spend 5-6 days at Villa Feltrinelli. This will burn through about 14 of the (now) fifteen thousand. The balance would be on shopping for my wife.

A nice trip... though hardly "trip of our dreams" - - which might start with a few hundred thousand for the automobile we would drive... for at least parts of the trip... and who knows what else.

The trip of our dreams is far closer to seven figures... not five, or even six.

Best (avaricious) wishes...

Rex

Make that generic "other person", because I'd have to decide who was the best person to take, given various constraints.

I would manage to do a fair bit with the $5000 USD. I'd start by ensuring that the two airfares would be less than $1000 USD together. Then I'd allow $500 USD total for transport once in Europe. So that leaves us with $3500 USD, which is almost 3000 Euros.

Then I'd aim for a budget of 50 to 100 Euros per person per day, depending on how expensive the country is. So make that 150 Euros for two people per day. So we could go for a 20-day trip.

Next question - where would we go? I guess I'd have to consult with the other party. There's virtually no place I wouldn't find interesting. But if I had the cheap airfares, I might be traveling when it's still somewhat chilly, so I'd probably focus on warmer spots.

If I were doing this trip with my mother, I'd throw in some money of my own, and take her to London, Paris, Rome, Florence, and Venice, five days in each, with sidetrips to some specific cathedrals she really wants to see.

OK, Thank you Uncle Herb, your present will come after the trip :)

We will pay for the airfare, we will use the gift to stay in Rome at the Hotel Russie.
Why?
We missed going in 2001 so it is time to try again.

I am not sure if this is the Dream Trip though, that one is still being worked on- in my dreams :)

I think the key is to keep the airfare as low as possible. However, if the gift was $15k you could have airfare be a couple thousand dollars and still have a very nice vacation.

OK, I’ll bite. I would use a first class ticket to get me over the pond. Cattle class is beginning to stress me out.

I would start down in Rome and work my way up the Continent. I would stay in every convent I find in Italy, and maybe 3 start hotel everywhere else (as long as it is clean and safe, I don’t care). I would rent out a husband to accompany me to every restaurant that tickled my fancy and to carry all my packages when I go shopping. I can see lots of shoes, boots, pocketbooks and leather jackets in my future. I’d work my way through France until all the money is gone. I’d take my first class flight back and start a diet.

Uh, mah1980 - I know that's how the question was worded on the US board, but Heavens is a woman. ;) Check out <b>her</b> post in this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34548599

if you don't believe me. ;)

I assumed Heavens was a man based on the post. I guess I was wrong and assumed that mostly men comprised this message board (which I think is false b/c I think it's mostly women).

Now we know Heavens is a woman.

Oh...that's easy. I'd go back down to Naxos in September with my husband and enjoy those barren beaches at sunset. Nobody there except the beautiful blue sea, the lapping of the soft waves and the soft brown sand padding our barefeet.

I would use the $15,000 to fly economy class to Paris, where I would stay at the usual hotel for 7 nights.

$1000 would be spent on lunches.

$1000 would be spending money.

The remaining $10,500 would be spent on 7 dinners.

Grand Vefour
L’Ambroisie
Le Cinq
Ledoyen
Lucas Carton
Pierre Gagnaire
Taillevent

If I survive, I will write a trip report.

((I))

If we can make the budget 'money no object' then I've always wanted to take the Orient Express all the way from London to Istanbul.

Carnevale di Venezia. It's been at the top of my wish list for decades. We had all the plans set for 2006, but family issues involving $$$ arose.

Perhaps 2007.

ira... now you're talkin'

;)

Phase I - 3 or 4 days in a posh hotel in New York; First Class to London in a reasonably sensible, hotel that people here recommend. Doesn't have to be a 5 star...just nice. Then I agree with Kate...the Orient Express. From Istanbul a quick jaunt back to France to drive around Provence and environs.
Since this would be my &quot;wedding present&quot;, Unkie Herb doubled it as my gift. I mean, what do you buy a woman in her 50's and two homes are combining.
(2 toasters, countless food processors, blenders, fondue sets, etc.)

Those dinners would be fabulous for $10,500. Probably worth every penny.

When my husband wants to buy me a present, I always say spend it instead by taking me out to a restaurant in our town, New Orleans.

I lose jewelry and forget about other gifts, but I never forget an excellent dining experience.

ttt