In this section, information and posts will be about the Europeans destinations I love.  The category is broken into countries and, in some cases further, into cities or regions.  All information here is from firsthand experience and, where appropriate, the year of the trip is noted as well as information about hotels, restaurants, etc.

It should be made clear at the outset that I have a few tendancies when I travel.  Because my trips are on a bit of a budget, I always stay at two- or three-star hotels or pensions (bed and breakfasts).  Also, I try to stay at smaller hotels where you get to interact more with the locals than other tourists.  Sure, there are times when you are the only person everyone doesn’t know in the restaurant or bar but that is part of the adventure.  Also, because cities are generally more expensive than towns and villages, I usually head for the smaller places.  Of course, there are exceptions (Paris, for example) but that is my general rule.