[Superman]

Whoa! You folks are as reliable as gravity. Much appreciated! Perhaps the best I can do for now is to answer jyl's excellent questions:

Originally Posted by jyl

Some questions to start

1) What standard of accommodations do you two need, to be happy? Only nice hotels in nice areas, okay with the occasional grubby place by the train station, want to spread out in an AirBnB apartment, okay with a 12'x12' hotel room?

No special luxury needs, but just a comfortable place that is relatively safe. No gold bathroom fixtures....No herds of cockroaches. Shaun mentions, in his thread, of an AirBnB that is walking distance to most places. This would be good.
Doesn't have to be large or fancy. Just safe and comfortable. I'm going to be looking into Stephanie's suggestion(s).

2) Do you want to see a lot of museums, monuments, and other stuff listed in guidebooks, have a list of very specific things you already know you want to see, or do you prefer to just poke around, hang in cafes, randomly run into interesting stuff some days or on other days nothing at all?

Not a lot of specific things, but I want to see David and I'd like to see St. Paul's and the Pieta. Sculptures in Florence. Paintings in Paris. It will be breathtaking just for me to see the architecture alone. Really looking forward to Paris.
I want to "be" in Paris. Just "be" there. If that makes sense.

3) Thinking more of seeing cities or seeing villages?

Good question. Lisa and I will have to talk about that. Again, we just want to "be" in these places. Rural settings might be wonderful, in addition to the standard "sights."

4) Plan to travel by train, car, or plane? If rented car, how are you with driving in unfamiliar cities that are like, say, the most chaotic parts of NYC x 2?

You are good at forming questions, aren't you? I think a motorcycle would be a blast, but I think Lisa will prefer trains. Trains are a good plan for us, perhaps. They have them there, I hear.

5) In general, what's your tolerance for unforeseen and frustrating things going wrong and forced improvisation?

These are my preference!

6) Are you thinking of this as your one trip to Europe ever, or more of a scouting trip to find places to go back to on future trips?

I think I am going to fall in love. With Paris, certainly. We plan to travel. Ireland sounds fun. This is not a one-and-done thing.