A Different Bed...Every Three Days!

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.  ~Seneca

Deciding to go to on a trip like this was really easy. It was instinctive, instantaneous and an impulsive decision! "Sure, we'll go" was our response when asked... None of us had a clue as to what it would cost.  And where would we stay?  All we knew was that we were going and that the cost would be determined at some later date...!  Risky! 

Have you ever heard of Air B + B? Last year we took a cruise that left out of Montreal.  We had decided to lengthen that week's vacation by heading to that city a couple of days early... Hotels were expensive! Our "DDD"...Darling Daughter Danielle asked if we had even head of Air B + B.  "Air B + B?  What's that?", we asked.  (Here's a good Wikipedia explanation...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb).... Check it out...it's a great way to reduce your costs when traveling with another couple, or with children or family.  

Long story short we stayed two nights prior to that cruise at this couple's spare condo with free WiFi  in the heart of Montreal.  "Monica" greeted us when we arrived; showed us around the studio apartment; gave us a city map, brochures from local attractions along with their recommendations for restaurants.  They had stocked the kitchen with fresh bakery bagels, cream cheese, coffee, a carton of orange juice for our morning breakfast; a bottle of their favorite wine along with cheese and crackers.  And before she left we were given her cell number in case we needed help or additional info about Montreal... It was cheaper than a hotel, had a washer & dryer & a full kitchen where we could have cooked a full meal had we wanted. In short, it was an impressive first-experience with Air B + B!

So based on that we decided that we would start to investigate the possibilities in Paris and the other cities in Italy.  As we mentioned in an earlier post, the investigative part of searching for the right place in the right part of a particular party of any given city takes LOTS of time.  It first requires that you download a city map to figure out what section of the city you want to stay in, and then to narrow your search to that area and your price range. We used Mapquest and listed the addresses to figure out how far the places were from transportation stops and attractions. Hosts list their places with an appropriate name or catchy title to entice you to click on their listing. For example, our selection for Paris is listed under the caption "View of Eiffel Tower".  Now if you're visiting Paris who wouldn't want to click on that listing???

Probably the most helpful aspect of Air B & B is the ability to see the timely posts and comments made by recent travelers who used and stayed at each of these places.  They are invaluable for weeding out and narrowing down your choices, so if you decide to pursue the Air B & B avenue for lodging...whether it be in NYC or in another country...make sure you read all of the comments to get a fairly good idea of whether this would be a good fit for you.

Since Dick and I will be alone in Paris we only needed a one bedroom place...Here's where we are staying there:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/30969. Click on the link to see lots more pictures and details...

At the end of the Paris stay we will be hooking up with MJ & Joe and staying staying in two bedroom places so the nightly costs will be divided by two! ....

Our Venice lodgings with a view of the Grand Canal: ttps://www.airbnb.com/rooms/235221.

And in Florence: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/282770

And finally in Rome: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/466155

It would be negligent of me not to mention how helpful each one of the hosts in these cities have been...from their assistance with the best & most cost effective methods to get to their places from the train stations; to letting us leave luggage with them should we arrive early; to giving suggestions for little seen and not-to-be-missed attractions in their cities. We have emailed them frequently with questions about their respective cities and they have been so accommodating with prompt answers, advice and seemingly great suggestions.

So, at this point Air B + B is high on our "RL"....our Recommendations List... and we are hoping that this next journey will find us continuing to brag about it! We will let you know!

Now back to packing...after all there are only ten days left! Hope your day wherever you are is as pretty as our NC weather today!  It a spectacular day to spend on our porch enjoying the sunshine!