I was signed up for the Best of Paris in 7 Days tour with Rick Steves Europe in 2020. Like many others, my travel plans had to be put on hold. I am pleased to report that RS refunded my money in a very timely manner. As soon as I was comfortable to travel on a tour, it was an easy choice to sign up again! My travel history includes a tour to Ireland with CIE (2015), Cuba (2016), and tours with RS Europe to Scandinavia (2017), Best of Italy (2018) and Best of Turkey (2019). I was fortunate to travel independently with my son to Iceland in 2021 and to Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Prague (GASP!) in 2022.
Time and money for travel are limited, but the possibilities are endless. Deciding when to go, where to go and who to go with, can be complicated.
WHERE?
I have been alternating my trips between the places that are calling to me and places that are important to my loved ones. At our house we call this "eating somebody else's pizza". I wouldn't pick mushrooms and onions, but they are still yummy! So, Ireland, Scandinavia and Turkey were my choices. My husband wanted to see Cuba and insisted that I needed to see Florence, Rome and Paris. Everyone wants to see the beauty of Iceland (and they were safely open in 2021) and Luke chose GASP. So, in the fall of 2022, Paris was long overdue.
WHEN?
When to go involves work schedules, financing and weather. Weather is a crucial variable for me. I am sensitive to the heat so unless it is in a cool climate (Iceland in July and Scandinavia in June), I travel in May and September.
WHO WITH?
Hemingway said "I learned one thing...never go on trips with anyone you do not love". I am a friendly introvert, so this is another crucial variable for me. . My trips to Ireland, Scandinavia and Italy were on my own with a tour. Going on tours is great when you are on your own. They are also great if you don't have the confidence to go independently or if you don't have the time to plan the details. My son joined me for the first time on the RS tour of Turkey. It certainly would be possible to travel through western Turkey independently, but being on the tour made it a lot easier. The other advantage of an RSE tour is the quality of the guides. All of the guides on an RSE tour are good and most of them are top tier. Even though Luke and I have had two successful independent trips, I will still choose to travel with RSE. Who you are travelling with influences the experience you have. A Paris trip with my son would look different than a trip on my own. Invalides with Luke, Momarttan Monet on my own! So 2 more decisions made. I would travel on my own. I would travel one week with a tour and a one week extension. Hence, Paris alone, not lonely.
About This Site
To navigate, click on titled buttons at the top and bottom of the page. I took all of the photographs on my Pixel 6 cell phone. To see descriptive captions, click on the photo. The cartoons were provided by WiX.
The purpose of this site is to share my trip with others, especially those that are interested in a Rick Steves' Europe tour and those that may be hesitant to travel by themselves.
