How much can we expect to have to spend for the two of us for this type of trip?

Thank you in advance. I look forward to your answer.

Professor K

Mark Pearson: Professor K,

Do you have any long lost relatives that you can stay with? It's hard to say how much this type of trip will cost you. From what you described, I would expect to spend about $100 a day. To save money, you have to make some sacrifices. For example, you may want to steal a page from the Europeans and stay in one spot for 6 weeks. It's only the Americans who race around the Continent trying to see as much as possible. The more you move around, the more it will cost you.

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Blaine, WA: I'm going to Italy alone in May, 2007 and I've been told to be careful in train stations. Aside from that, is there anything else a 50-something woman alone should watch out for? I'll be mostly in the area between Milano and Firenza.

Mark Pearson: May is one of the best months to travel in Italy. I would be more concerned about the 50-something Italian males wooing you than the train stations!

I strongly recommend buying a money belt to store your cash, credit cards, and passport. The money belt should be worn underneath your clothes. There are entire books full of safety tips. It comes down to using common sense.

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Payson, AZ: We will be traveling in Spain later this summer. We like small, out-of-the-way places, but are finding it almost impossible to get train routes and schedules related to the small towns. Specifically, we can find nothing about connections from Santiago de Compostela across the Costa Verde, including the towns of Le Coruna, Ortegueira, Ribadeo, Gijon, SantanderBilboa and San Sebastian, then on to Bayonne France. The Renfe web site doesn't list those towns and refuses to offer connections possible more than a month in the future. HELP!!! James

Mark Pearson: I feel your pain, James. I had the same problem with the Renfe Web site last year! First, the time schedules may not vary much from month to month. The times you see this month are likely what you'll see next month. Second, you're often better off traveling by bus instead of train. If you don't want to wing it, the RailEurope.com train schedule search works pretty slick. However, you don't need to buy train or bus tickets to these small towns in advance. Finally, one train strike will derail all the planning.