Planning...

Rick Steves options

We spent a good deal of time looking at Rick Steves tour options and dates. This was probably in November of 2019, the year before our trip. We all agreed on Paris and Italy tours. We decided to go September into October based partly on many of the comments in the Rick Steves forum. Summer could be hot, and it was when much of Europe vacationed. (We also considered April into May.)

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We decided on the 7 day Best of Paris and the 10 day Heart of Italy tours. By this time, it was January 2020. I kept a Word file and a spreadsheet, tracking decisions, issues, and dates.

Travel considerations

• I checked the tours in the Rick Steves site periodically: It indicates which tour dates are filling up. 

• We began thinking about the best single suitcase for each of us and what essentials to pack. The Rick Steves site has good suggestions. We knew we'd be hauling luggage a lot in Italy, so we should pack light.

• We looked at flights and other transportation. One challenge with Rick Steves tours is that you get to the initial site on your own; flights are not included.

• We looked at different options for trip insurance.

• I kept an estimate of costs on the spreadsheet. 

Once we committed to the dates of our tours, there were other decisions to make:

• We needed to book our flights to coincide with the tours. In some cases, it was best to get to the tour site early. 

• We had to decide where to stay before or between tours. 

• We estimated how much cash we needed in pounds and euros, where to get it.

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Decisions, actions

• We booked our Rick Steves tours by February, in plenty of time before they filled up.

• We decided to fly roundtrip between Austin and Gatwick airport, near London on Norwegian. We discovered they had a direct flight, about 8 or 9 hours. It only flew 2 days a week, so we would be in Gatwick two days before the tour began. 

• We booked a room at the Gatwick Hilton through Norwegian, so we got a good deal, including breakfast (one of the best breakfasts I've ever had).

• We booked a train from Gatwick to London, then a train (Eurostar) from London to Paris. We would arrive in Paris the day the tour began.

• We booked a flight from Paris to Rome. We would be in Rome several days before that tour began.

• We reserved an Airbnb in London for 3 days.

• We reserved an extra day in the Duquesne Eiffel Hotel for the day before the Paris tour.

• We reserved an extra day in Hotel Torre Guelfa at the end of the Italy tour.

• We booked our flight from Florence to Gatwick.

• We ordered the necessary items (tour books, money packs, etc.) from the Rick Steves site.

• We ordered pounds and euros from our bank. 

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Psychological prep

Personally, I wanted to prepare myself psychologically, do something to get inspired about the trip. I decided to read The Agony and the Ecstacy, Irving Stone's biography of Michelangelo. I knew it was such a famous book that I could find it at Half Price Books. While I was there, I discovered another very good book on Carravagio (who I'd never heard of). I read both books at the same time, and was deep into them by the time we left. I'm now a huge fan of Carravagio, as well as Michelangelo. Seeing David at the Louvre was very moving, one of the main highlights of the trip. I talk about this more in the Italy section. 

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Summary

It's important to make a todo list:

• What you need to accomplish before you go: Do you have the right luggage? Do you want trip insurance? Etc.

• Make a trip itinerary. We were glad we could rest a day or so before each tour. The long flights can be exhausting. You may also want to stay somewhere an extra day, see some sites not included in the tour. 

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