Europe arrangements

My husband, Colin, and I took a 5-week self-drive tour of Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, March 27-April 30, 2013. We made all of the lodging arrangements, ourselves, combining visits with family with places of interest to us.

We had used the services of travel planner Bob Bestor, owner of Gëmüt.com (Ashland, OR; 800/521-6722), to book a package and car to attend the Passion Play in Oberammergau in 2010. For our 2013 trip, he arranged for our rental car at a fantastic price, $743 for 28 days, then found he could get business-class seats for us, round trip from San Francisco to Frankfurt on Delta, for the excellent price of $1,961 per person plus a service fee of $200. 

For the most part, we stayed in short-term apartments for several nights each. The following were the best of our accommodations.

• In Brussels, we stayed four nights in a one-bedroom penthouse apartment booked through Vacation Rentals By Owner, or VRBO, for €99 (near $130) per night plus €10 for an underground parking space. It had many amenities.

Diedier, the host and owner who lived upstairs, was most helpful and very attentive to our needs, such as showing us how to get on the Internet.

• The best restaurant we ate at during our entire trip was right across the street from the front entrance, Restaurant Les Uns avec les Hôtes (1121 Chaussée de Gand, 1082 Bruxelles, BELGIUM; phone 02 465 1616). 

The 3-course prix fixe meal cost €40 ($53) per person; wine cost extra. One night, we had a starter of scallops St.-Jacques followed by fresh-caught turbot and, for dessert, profiterole with chocolate sauce.

• In Giverny we stayed a night at a bed-and-breakfast, Le Clos Fleuri (5, rue de la Dîme, 27620 Giverny, FRANCE; phone +33 2 32 21 36 51), for €99 ($130) per night. 

We wished it would have been longer! Near Monet’s house and gardens, this was a lovely property with its own beautiful garden. The owner spoke fluent English, and we had an interesting conversation with the other guests at the breakfast table.

• Through VRBO, we rented a one-bedroom apartment (202652) in Paris for four nights at a very reasonable price, €199 ($261) per night, garage parking included. Just a block off the Champs-Élysées, we were well situated for sightseeing or just enjoying the neighborhood. 

Gabriella, the hostess, was super-helpful and allowed us to leave the car through the afternoon on our last day so we could have more time for touring.

• In Landstuhl, GERMANY, for four nights at the start of our trip and three nights at the end, Ölmühle Hotel-Restaurant (Mühlstr. 2, D-66849 Landstuhl, Germany; phone 06371 404 98 0) was our home. We paid €99 per night, including breakfast. 

The Starz family made us feel at home and provided for our every need. We ate in the hotel’s restaurant twice and both meals were outstanding.

ETHEL BRODIE

Discovery Bay, CA