Travel Tips and Takeaways from Extended Stays in Europe

I’m going out on a creative limb here. Readers of The Roads Traveled know I tell stories about people, places, and passions I encounter as I travel. This post is different…more personal, more self-revealing, and maybe even more informative for your own travel planning.

I’m currently on a year-long stay with my husband, Bill, in Europe. It’s the longest trip we’ve ever taken. With French tourist visas affixed to our passports, we’re dividing our trip among 10 countries, spending the bulk of our time in France.

This dream-come-true residency grants my long-held wish to live overseas for a full four seasons.

Having ramped up our travel schedule the past dozen years, we’ve accumulated a wealth of travel tips, takeaways, and lessons learned. Friends, family, and other readers are continually curious about our travel routines and how we spend our time, especially this year. We hear a lot of “How do you…?”  “Can you recommend…?” “What’s the best way to…?”

So, here you go: our travel whats, whys, and hows, plus Bill’s cultivated list of favorite travel apps.

Our travel evolution

During our careers, Bill and I both were corporate employees and self-employed (public relations for me, information management for Bill). Our travels while employees were limited to the common long weekend or week-long getaways we could eke out within regulated vacation policies of our employers, coupled with normal life juggling. Driven by urgency to accomplish a lot within those travel windows, we often created bloated itineraries that left us returning home feeling more stressed than refreshed.

Then, becoming consultants enabled us to set our own travel “policy” with greater leeway.

Now, having left the workforce altogether, we enjoy the advantage of time. Bill and I let places reveal themselves at a slower pace. We often park ourselves in a single city for a couple weeks, or up to a month or more, before moving on to the next destination. Establishing a home base for a longer duration allows for gradual, deeper immersions into local cultures. We’re following this same pattern during our year in Europe.

Further, we’ve purposely designed our lives in North Carolina to accommodate our wanderlust.

We downsized from a house into a smaller, secure condominium. No pets or houseplants need constant attention. We manage all banking and bill paying online. Our credit cards accumulate airline mileage on a single carrier, so we earn higher status.

A change in attitude

As an aside, I don’t call myself retired or a retiree, and don’t describe this stage of my life as retirement. Admittedly, I haven’t come up with satisfactory substitute terms.

I once heard someone suggest, obviously facetiously but also with intent, that the word “retire” derives from the infinitive “to die.” Talk about a negative connotation. Her underlying message:  leverage this fresh opportunity to devise a new way of life without professional structures and constraints, rather than fear it, stagnate, or wither, which is, sadly, often the case.

My “don’t die” strategy? Endeavoring to stay busy and useful. Be fit and healthy. Pursue my interests. Keep connected. And, cultivate new experiences and relationships. Travel’s the tie that binds them.

Packing and prep for travel

We each limit our luggage to an international-sized rollaboard and a backpack. Consequently, packing requires vigorous editing. That said, we manage quite well with minimalist, black-focused wardrobes. I accessorize with scarves for a punch of color. Despite the growing popularity of four-wheeled suitcases, we still favor the sturdier, two-wheeled styles for their durability and ease of travel and movement over rough cobblestones and raised sidewalk edges.

We used to drive one car. For our current 12-month trip, we let our car lease expire. We retained a professional property manager to enter our condo regularly to handle mail, flush toilets, and give it a general look-over.

To stay in touch, we consume media digitally, and Zoom and FaceTime with family and friends. Happily, they take us up on our always-open invitation to join us whenever and wherever they’d like.

Destinations and housing

Together, Bill and I determine our travel destinations and calendar. I research locations and plan activities. He handles logistics. He loves investigating technologies to improve the practical mechanics of our travel and transitions.

On the road, we live in simple, studio and one-bedroom rental apartments sourced online, usually through airbnb.com.

Bill’s must-have criteria for selection are specific and without compromise. At least 4.8 ratings. A washer and dryer or drying rack. In-house laundry machines aren’t only necessary for clean clothes, but their very presence implies the apartments are more fully outfitted and configured for longer stays.

When he queries prospective rental hosts, he expects prompt responses, ideally within four hours and not exceeding 24. If they’re slow to respond while we’re still in the U.S., that bodes poorly if issues occur after we’ve checked in. Dishwashers are preferred, but aren’t deal breakers. He reads all reviews looking for “red flag” comments, along the lines of “could be cleaner,” “noise from nearby bars at night,” and “no elevator for a 5th-floor apartment.”

Staying in hotels for our prolonged time periods would be completely unrealistic and beyond cost prohibitive. We do allow for rare exceptions, however, when flight or train schedules necessitate a single overnight. We savor those brief indulgences, especially for their more expansive surroundings and housekeeping on call.

Joys of travel

We think of our travel life as “just living.”

Upon arrival at our apartments, we unpack and check provisions our hosts provide. Then, we shop for essentials at grocery stores, hypermarkets, and pharmacies — toiletries and household supplies, along with basic ingredients for the fridge and pantry so we can cook and eat at home.

My favorite shopping excursions occur at open-air street markets (my favorites are in Beaune and Aix-en-Provence, France), or indoors at grand covered food halls (that favorite is in Narbonne, France).

I enjoy chatting and laughing with farmers and vendors, even with my limited French vocabulary. They know immediately I’m American (on occasion, some mistake me for British), and they express interest in why I’m here. Some have extended extra kindness…just because and out of the blue. In Beaune, a man gifted me a massive head of crisp lettuce. Another day, a mother had her young son add a a complimentary mango to my shopping bag. Several people have considerately waived the full cost of my bill when I lacked exact change. Surprisingly, not everyone accepts credit cards, so I always carry a small amount of cash.

I load the cart with gorgeous, fresh produce, lean meats, aromatic cheeses, hearty breads, artisan pastries, olives, nuts, seeds, hummus, and wine. Dinner at home on market days means an herb-stuffed rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes basted with dripping chicken juices. I also frequent specialty food shops, especially for Edmond Fallot Dijon mustard to use in salad dressings and marinades.

Out and about

Many moments, sometimes entire days, are purposely low key and unscheduled, ripe for whims and serendipity. Others we specifically plan.

We walk in parks, and hike hills. We taste wines, take private tours, participate in cooking classes (me), and attend art exhibitions. Ancient castles and cathedrals are a given. We’ve boated on Lake Como. In Scotland, I’m exploring my ancestry. During summer’s blooming season, I literally wept with joy in a field of French sunflowers. We’ve joined the audience at a tango performance in Barcelona, and heard the symphonies at world-renowned Philharmonie Berlin and Milan’s La Scala.

We’ve celebrated La Fête Nationale (aka Bastille Day) on July 14 at an outdoor concert in Rennes. Alongside villagers in Chevaigné, we cheered the whoosh of cyclists in the Tour de France. December in Alsace meant joining the jostling, merry thongs shopping for ornaments at Christmas markets. We just happened to see The Last Supper in Milan’s Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery on painter Leonardo da Vinci’s 573rd birthday.

Of course, dining in restaurants is a favorite and frequent pastime, too.

We like to chill, unhurried, on the terrace of a neighborhood café, reading and watching the world go by. On the other hand, the rarity of dining at a Michelin-starred restaurant can be the week’s highlight.

Meeting and mingling with locals

Rental hosts (when we happen to meet them), restaurateurs, Uber/taxi drivers, shop clerks, fellow diners and passengers, tour guides, and even neighbors are the people with whom we interact the most. We eagerly engage in conversations, not just for pleasantries but to gain local, insider knowledge. Best of all, we’ve formed lasting friendships with some.

Sometimes, our apartment owners cordially invite us to their own homes to socialize. Once in Paris, I emailed a fellow travel blogger, whom I didn’t know, but knew to be there as well having read her recent post. I suggested she and her husband meet us for drinks. They accepted, a friendship launched, and we now get together often when our travel paths coincide.

Upon arrival at La Bonne Excuse, our favorite restaurant in Paris, the husband-and-wife owners greet, hug, and cheek-kiss us in the welcoming French way.

Bill’s favorite apps, services, and websites

Wise Our currency management game changer. Marketed as a “bank without borders,” Wise operates in 160 countries with 40 currencies. This year, we’re using five different currencies – Euros, Danish kroner, Swedish krona, Swiss francs, and British pounds. Wise creates an account in the needed currency, and we transfer money into it using the app. Most of these transfers take mere seconds, and at some of the best exchange rates with minimal fees (tenths of cents on the dollar). Wise provides debit cards, which work with any currency funded.

Trainline EU and UK tickets from Europe’s number one train app enables price comparisons directly on the calendar. Bill sees the cheapest trains and schedules at a glance for over 270 train companies. It sends live notifications, arrival and departure platform info, and updated times. Created in English, there’s no awkward or confusing translations.

WhatsApp Commonplace for texting in Europe.

Vodafone Easy-to-use data eSIMs for traveling in Europe. Prices are competitive, and they often have promotions offering additional data or 2-for-1 eSims. They provide instructions for installing and set-up in well-translated English.

doctorsa.com Video conferences scheduled quickly via WhatsApp with local, English-speaking doctors who can write EU prescriptions. Urgent care available 24/7. Bill used this service to obtain a consultation with a physician to treat a sinus infection that worsened into bronchitis. They booked his online appointment on WhatsApp 15 minutes after his emailed outreach. His physician was highly credentialed and responsive.

Mondassur Insurance Company Comprehensive medical coverage. Also offers emergency health insurance, which we purchased to help ensure approval of our French visas. We bought it before leaving the U.S.

Medjet Insurance coverage for all-expenses-paid medical transport back to the U.S. We hope we never need this service, but it’s comforting to have in the back pocket.

Booking.com Bill usually uses for our occasional hotel reservations, as it makes finding and comparing hotels easy. Sometimes, though, the hotels’ own websites may provide an add-on or slightly better pricing (for example, free breakfast if we book directly).

G7 Taxis Prolific cars in Paris, with professional drivers, and high-end, well-maintained vehicles. Works like Uber. Available in other, mostly French, cities, as well.

Freenow Mobility service provider for taxis, private hire vehicles, and more. Similar to G7, but more widely available.

UK ETA Apply for the new travel authorization that’s required from now on for any stay in the UK. Heads up – EU countries will implement a similar program, called ETIAS, in late 2026.

Road and time tested

So far and knock on wood, our year is relatively free of travel snafus, save for one cancelled train, one delayed plane, and a couple of brief bouts of illness.

And, we’re still happily “just living.”