Getting the Right Debit Card

Everyone says, including Linda, Pam, another friend too, and Rick Steves' website to use your debit card upon arriving in Europe to get Euros.  There are ATM machines all over the airports and train stations.  You don’t need to bring many with you since the rate will be better in Europe.   We heard and read that Bank of America has NO fees for using ATMs in Europe at their partner banks.  Chase, our regular bank, has no partners there so has the “usual” 3% currency conversion fee and a $5 ATM usage fee.   So we went to the BOA bank just one block from the TAS timeshare (in St Augustine) and opened a checking account to get the debit card.  The banker told us the names of the partner banks in Italy and France.  We’re set now!

SEA-JAX

Our van was parked at the St Augustine timeshare, so we flew there to pick it up, stayed a week using one of our floating weeks there, and then drove to Atlanta, from where we would fly to Rome and leave our car there with our friends.  Stayed 5 nights at Wyndham Plantation there in Villa Rica, where we LOVE!

Finalizing Plans

Checking over our plans, Joan discovered we did not have the confirmations for the hotels reserved by Pam; of course, all the others, we had.  We emailed her and yes, she would send them.  Also said we should rent a car in southern Italy to “get around easier”.  Well, no…..
      She mentioned it three times, that it would be so much easier to get around down there with a car.  We said “No” each time: we would figure out the trains (she then mentioned she didn’t know about them and would have to look up the info.  By then, Joan had looked on the web too….)

NOTE:  When we were there, taking the trains, seeing the curvy two lane roads through the mountains and seeing the traffic and difficulty parking, Ron was SOOOOO glad he was not driving!  We were able to successfully walk or take a bus or train EVERYWHERE!  Each village is well served by buses and trains (unlike in the USA).

More Reservation Thoughts

Merlyn and Mary are staying with us in San Antonio now before the Pony meeting here, and Merlyn is working to book their European River Cruise next June.  They will be meeting us at the Paris airport on May 30 to sign up together for the rental car, so both he and Ron can drive; then while we go home, they’ll stay for a cruise…something Ron has always wanted to do, but the $5000 price has us stumped for now.  We chose to visit Anzio Beach for Memorial Day prior to the French visit instead of staying longer afterwards.  They have their plane tickets, etc, so we are both all set to go.

All Reservations Made

We have all of our bookings now for the trip.  I don’t think we need to say that the week of June 6^th in Normandy was already pretty much booked!  Every June 6^th is popular but the 70^th anniversary of D-Day for next year is even more so!
     Pam found us the two hotel stays in Rome, and one in San Agnello, near Sorrento, Italy. 
     Joan found the one in Nettuno/Anzio (though booking.com), a place near Monet’s garden (booking.com) and the  Normandy stay of 8 days (vrbo.com), 2 Choicehotels for the airport connections on June 8 and 9, the rental car for France (Dollar through carrentals.com) and the air reservations between Rome and Paris (Alitalia airlines, a Delta partner).  As a travel agent, Pam is confined to certain contract sites, so she does not have as many options as we.  (She also charges an additional $50 per booking.) 
     Pam said to contact her again 3-4 weeks before the trip to talk about trains. 


Get excited about our Normandy rental and check it out on vrbo.com

     (Pam warned us about booking with VRBO properties – “maybe not so good” -- but we aren’t worried – check out where we are staying in Normandy!! …. http://www.vrbo.com/316250.  Because there are only 4 of us, so we would be using only 2 of the 5 bedrooms, the owner, Marian, is only charging us $1140 for 8 nights, and which we will split with Merlyn. AND….she's from England -- so she speaks English!  Yay! )  

Our Proposed Itinerary

Both Joan and Pam started looking for accommodations.  Since Anzio is south of Rome, Joan thought she would like to also visit Sorrento to see the Isle of Capri and Pompeii…since we’d be near the area.  She had read all about them (and other places too, of course) in Richard Halliburton’s Complete Book of Marvels, which her grandmother had sent to her at age 12.   (PS: Every now and then, you'll see it in a second hand bookstore.  Grab it!)

Our proposed itinerary:

May 17^th .  Arrive Rome, 7:30 a.m.  from ATL, Delta. 

            Stay two nights, one day, to recover from the flight before going south.

Nights of May 19-22,  Sorrento, etc to see Pompeii  Isle of Capri, etc. 

May 23 travel to Anzio/Nettuno area

Nights of May 23-26^th –Anzio area, be there for Memorial Day

Lv Tuesday for Rome

May  27-29 – Rome

May 30 fly to Paris, get a rental car. Drive immediately AWAY from Paris (remembering our rule #1).

May 30 one night near Monet’s Garden

May 31 – tour Monet’s garden, then drive to Normandy beach area

May 31- June 8^th –  Normandy  beach area

June 8^th – drive to Paris, return car to airport, get a hotel with an airport shuttle

June 9^th Fly to Rome, get a hotel with an airport shuttle

June 10^th, fly back to ATL, lv 9:40 a.m. arr ATL 2:45 pm

June 10^th, fly to Seattle

Frequent Flyer Tickets for Europe

We just reserved a round trip to Rome next May with Delta FF miles, both ways non-stop from Atlanta.  Ron wants to be at the 70^th anniversary of D-Day and also to see Anzio Beach (Italy) where his father landed in 1944, so we will visit just those two countries. Tonight at 11 p.m. Central Time, it was 331 days out to June 10^th, when we will be returning. Joan spent some time planning this timeframe to grab those flights; and interestingly, the non-stops did not open up until 11:30 p.m.
     Our original plan was to fly one way into Rome and then take the train to Normandy and then fly one way home from Paris.  It’s done often.     What we did not figure on was the high Paris airport fees.  RT Fare is $653, but.....fees are $644 (unlike to Rome, it is ~$1200 and just a $60 fee.  But when you use FF miles, it was 95,000 miles to either place, PLUS the fee.  So that made the Paris leg untenable.

    It turns out that Eurorail is not as cheap or easy to use as it was in 1970 (surprise… NOT!)

      We decided to use the FF miles RT to Rome and then fly RT to Paris from Rome.  On Alitalia Airlines, it was $363 RT for both of us (the train was almost as much and took a long time.)  PS: That price was also much cheaper than Pam could get for us.