Scheduling on to the continent, weeks 2 and 3 are booked and the cost is staying in control! We will spend 2 days in a simple hotel in the heart of Paris ($180) and then 12 days in a converted barn/cabin in Upper Normandy near Honfluer ($425). That makes the whole first month including taxes, fees, parking and whatnot total $1405. Less than at home....but of course also MUCH less space. We will be compromising and adjusting but not as much as I was prepared to. I haven't yet had to give up a nice kitchen, my own bed and WiFi to get a great deal.
For these bookings in France I again used a broad range of tools for searching and gathered email addresses as I went. I narrowed choices down to those that were attractive, convenient, could sleep 3, had a useful kitchen and WiFi with free parking for the car (more on that in a minute). Out of dozens of inquiries looking for the best deal, several responded positively for each location and we negotiated from there. To get there from our first stop in London, we are crossing the channel by Eurostar train where the competitive frequent crossings put the cost at $70 for all 3 of us.
In Paris I knew I wanted specifically the center city near the river but could only afford the high cost of metro lodging for 2 nights. I was surprised to see the fair price on the many private residences that have really nice guests quarters to rent by the night. Breakfast is included in some of these and you can find them from www.tripadvisor.com or just general searches.
Our off-season timing is really working in our favor in France, where I have booked a Normandy coastal cabin for $35 a night. No one wants a beach vacation in the early spring. Nor do I, except to bundle up and stroll the pretty coastline once or twice. But the bus we can catch in the nearby harbor gets us to Paris cheaply in a scenic 1 hour and 45 minutes. I wish it were closer, but everything else is perfect and we will only go in for 2 or 3 day trips. And how great not to worry about parking or driving or toll-paying while touring Paris! Other days we will use a rental car to see the many castles, landmarks, farmers' markets and festival days that are near our temporary home. Some days we will stay put and rest, cook, study, blog, read and relax. The cottage is a section of a thatched-roof 1700's farmhouse that was divided up decades ago and renovated in 2009. I found it here: http://topsun.co.uk/ They squeeze a family into 34 square meters by putting the beds in a loft above the kitchen/dining/living room, which works fine for me. They don't include linens so we are stopping at Ikea on the way. We could have reserved the place all month but I declined, knowing Italy and Hungary are next to plan!
The only holdup so far has been with the vehicle. Yes, there are plenty of late-model, low-mileage, fuel-efficient used cars on the market. But as I get more responses from seasoned travelers and inquire of more local experts I am getting discouraged. It is harder and more costly than I thought to register and insure a car over there. So I wait for more information from the several international corporate giants that I finally contacted today (it hurt to give in but small companies haven't been able to do it). We may be traveling by rail after all. Or using local public transport options everywhere except this rural cottage in Normandy where we will need to rent a car.
More to come....jump in and comment!
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