Europe

by Marvin Herman & Judy Licata; Delavan, Wisconsin

When making our travel plans for early spring 2011, we decided to eschew the damaging rays of the tropical sun with a journey to the Highlands of Scotland.

My wife, Ginny, and I went on a two-week cruise to Greece and Turkey, “Voyages to Antiquity: Athens to Athens,” Sept. 7-21, 2010, with Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768).

The total cost of this educational trip was close to $16,000 for the two of us, excluding insurance but including round-trip airfare from Washington Dulles to Athens via New York, all land tours and all shipboard and tour tips.

I’ve cruised rivers in Europe, China and northern India with several companies, but my April 3-10, 2011, Rhine River cruise on Uniworld’s River Empress surpassed them all for style and elegance in an intimate and relaxed setting. Most of all, I loved being pampered!

The price for the seven-day cruise from Frankfurt am Main to Amsterdam was $1,999 plus $625 for an upgrade. The single supplement was waived on this sailing!

by Jean Nethery; Blairsville, GA

March and April have always been favorite travel months for my husband, Al, and me. Before April 15, airfares are less expensive and tourist season is still at least a month away. For 2011 we chose an independent trip to Madeira and mainland Portugal (March 27-April 14).

During my Italy trip in May ’11 (Nov. ’11, pg. 15), I was set to travel by train from Riva del Garda to Varenna on Sunday, May 22, when I heard the ominous news: Trenitalia was on strike!

The first part of the journey went as planned, by taxi from Riva del Garda to Rovereto, about 27 kilometers away, for €40 (near $55).

Paris’ Musée d’Orsay (62, rue de Lille; phone +33 [0] 1 40 49 48 14) unveiled, in October, the results of its 18-month-long, €20-million renovation. The Pavillon Amont now has four new levels of gallery space, while the museum’s fifth-level Impressionist space has been redesigned, with pieces rearranged.

by Julie Skurdenis (part 3 of 3 on Balkans)

Travel is best with a few rough edges. I once suffered through an all-night stint on the blistered, black vinyl floor of a Yugoslavian train in order to wake up in Sofia, Bulgaria. When I stumbled out of that station into a blue, new Bulgarian day, just being off the train made Sofia a thrilling destination.

There are still plenty of people traveling in Europe on the cheap. The one thing they have in common (apart from B.O.) is frugality. If even low-budget pensions and hostels are too expensive for your wallet, you too can sleep for next to nothing.

My husband, John, and I had the luck to find a wonderful hotel in the center of Brussels’ I’lot Sacré (the historic district). The fairly modern, 92-room Floris Arlequin Grand’Place (rue de la Fourche 17-19, B-1000, Bruxelles, Belgium; phone +32 [0] 2 514 16 15) has an ambiance of comfort and coziness and a location that is not to be beat.

My wife, Dorothy, and I visited the Cairn of Barnenez, located near Morlaix, in Brittany on the west coast of France, in May ’11.