2016 European Vacation

There is a night train from Paris to Milan leaves at 10:30ish arrives 6ish.. Looking at that.

Are you planning to provide us with a daily log on your trip?

maybe? Depends on devices, wireless, irritability, time...

Sure?
I've got one without changing
Paris Gare de Lyon, dep 19:11 [aka 7:11 pm]
Milano Centrale, arr 05:50
(That train is at least running until mid-June)
All the later ones have at least three changes and last longer. (You could leave with a TGV ten minutes later, change at Dijon and arrive at the same time )

Let the poor man enjoy his trip and not have to provide us with a daily log.

It is better to write down ones thoughts and memories when back and can sit and think it through quitely in a study.

That's fine and good, but it's very difficult to remember things when there are so many things packed into one day. Some times, I can recall things about a trip that was important some weeks or months after the event. In the few times I've kept an itinerary, I was able to relive some things some years later.

On long trips I have often made small notes in a notebook so I could remember where we were when.
Back home we wrote a lengthy "travel report" and sent as a letter to parents or close friends. I have kept a copy.
My husbond came from a family with several letter writing people. With letter writing I mean several pages.

We can only grasp so much, so deals with seeing as much as possible in a short time is waste of time and money. You will forget half of it anyway.

I usually compose an annual letter limited to one page of my travels for the year that I share with family and friends that I include with my Christmas card. Several friends do the same.

I never send annual kind of letters telling what has happened.
Letter writing is much less than it used to be thanks to e-mails.
When I write a letter it is usually at least one typed page or handwritten.
An interesting trip or even a not so interesting I can get to be one page for every week or more .
E-mails about the same but always with a nice picture matching the day, the weather or the subject.
Of course I also send short e-mails instead of a note.
Christmas cards are written personally to everybody.

I like your policy of writing personal christmas cards to everybody, but I've gotten lazy some years ago. Some of my friends do the same with short notes.

I need a vacation right now!

Go.

Still planing?

I have an Itinerary built.

Excuse the crappy cut and paste.

So much driving!

Be interested to see if you prefer



Or

Hoping everything works out as well as you've planned!

Here's a good intro to Edinburgh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh
Go to a dinner-show. I was there many decades ago, and still can picture the streets in my mind's eye. We had lunch or dinner near the bridge.

Reserve seats in the trains - it is vacation time. Plan time when you go by car - the high ways may be full. Who knows there might still be bordercontrol in July.
Wish you and your family a very nice vacation with lots of experiences.

How are border crossings these days? When I was there last, everything was pretty much open like driving across state lines in America. Has that changed since the Paris attacks?

UK>France on train
France > Germany in car
Germany > Switzerland by car
Switzerland > Italy by car

Any worries with these borders? Long lines, customs and such? Everyone speak English ok?

Police on both sides plus customs. (That has only little to do with attacks but the UK is no Schengen country)
Depends on what crossing you use at what time, but usually no problems
Perhaps the Swiss will look more seriously at your faces, but otherwise: no problems (both are Schengen countries)
[quote="McGentrix"Switzerland > Italy by car ... worries with these borders? Long lines, customs and such? [/quote] Same as above, but perhaps the Italians will look more seriously ... if you carry some non-taxed money from your Swiss bank account. (Both Schengen countries)

Perhaps not "ok". But as good as some US-Americans.