Broadview Gardens at Hadlow in Kent (SE of London) has the national collection of hellebores so would be well worth a visit. It is open under the National Gardens Scheme (www.ngs.org.uk)on 21 February. The NGS site will also list other winter gardens so should be a useful starting point. Many famous gardens (such as Sissinghurst) close during the winter months, so do ensure that you check opening times. The Royal Horticultural Society's garden (www.rhs.org.uk) at Wisley is open all year round and has many extensive plant collections and a good nursery too. Beth Chatto's Garden is also highly recommended and is open throughout the year (http://www.bethchatto.co.uk/gardens.html) Enjoy planning your holiday! Here is a link that might be useful: Broadview Gardens

Following on the credit card advice, it's nice to have a chip card for Europe. Some kiosks, like at train stations, work only with chip cards and not with the magnetic stripes. Along those lines, don't exchange money at the airport, nor at home via your bank. Some ATM cards have no-fee benefits and many credit cards don't charge foreign transaction fees. It's good to suss that out ahead of time. For public transport with luggage, I'd suggest rolling luggage with 4 wheels, so it can roll sideways down the aisle. Also, of course a non-huge suitcase will be a relief every single day. For the long flight, I've had great luck sleeping with the combination of a melatonin pill, a glass of wine, headphones with classical music, and a scarf or hood to snuggle into. Everyone's method differs, but it's worth thinking about what puts you in a cozy, sleepy mood. I also bring my favorite tea bags and an insulated water bottle that can be filled with hot or cold water rather than being dependent on the irregular passage of the flight attendants. I set my watch for the new time zone about an hour after takeoff and never look back. I avoid the mental calculation about what time it is at home, because that just underscores jet lag. The local time is the time, period. I celebrate my arrival in Europe by beelining to the first cup of delicious-looking coffee I find in the airport. For me, the awesome coffee is an important part of the European experience! I also use coffee as necessary to stay awake and energized during the day and get into the local time zone. Other random tips - I make some photocopies of my passport to stick into various bags should I lose my original. You know the phrase, "when in Rome..."? It's great advice for infrequent travelers. There is great temptation to do everything just as you normally do, but then you miss out. Do things the way the locals do and become part of the experience. Anxiety is part of the travel experience. It's OK to be nervous - that is definitely part of the equation for lots of people. In some cases, it even heightens the delight once you get over there and realize just how awesome and non-difficult it is. It's such a thrill to look out the airplane window onto an unfamiliar landscape, to take pride in successfully navigating some other city's public transit, and to set eyes on a much-anticipated landmark. Oh, I just get giddy thinking about how cool that all is. I hope she finds her stride once she gets over there. What a transformative experience this will be! OK, I'm also ready to head over to Europe now!

First and foremost, avoid the peak months of June-August wherever you go, unless you plan to spend your time in Northern Europe (which everyone leaves at vacation time to go south.). Another thing to remember is you'll often get a better fare if you arrive and leave from the same European city, so that suggests the need for some kind of circular route. In my teens and twenties, it was nothing to grab a backpack and a train pass and bounce around like a pinball from place to place. As the years have passed, my expectations and preferences are higher and I won't go anywhere without staying at least 3 nights - 4 is better and more even better. The European continent is large and you can't quickly bounce from place to place without spending time (and money and effort) for the trip. Do you want to see cities (that's the best choice)? For three weeks, I'd pick 4-5 major cites in adjacent or nearly adjacent countries and travel by train. Or spend 3 weeks in Italy, or 3 weeks in Spain, or 3 weeks in France. Pack light. Pick the place you want to see most and then riff from that. Rome? Then I'd include a day trip to Naples (Pompeii) and go to Florence, then on to Munich - Vienna-Prague-Budapest-Berlin (pick a few). Or, London-Paris (channel tunnel train is very quick)-Brussels-Amsterdam-Rhine River boat ride for a few days (pick a few) or fly to Berlin and Prague. There's not one itinerary, everyone has different interests and preferences. To me, the best things to spend time doing are live entertainment (theater in London and concerts elsewhere), visiting museums, a few churches (depends where you are) and especially visiting historical sites. I always allow time for people watching and mingling among the people in their everyday activities. My best suggestion is to keep the distances down. Allow plenty of time to wander around, sitting in cafes and observing life (just as locals do). Sometimes quicker than the train for longer distances are the cut rate airlines. Carriers like Easyjet, flybe, Ryanair, etc. They're perfectly adequate but expect to be nickeled and dimed for basic stuff though the ultimate cost will remain a bargain. For close cities, trains are faster and they take you from city center to city center. Better to see fewer places well than more places in a rush. Leave many destinations unvisited to allow for more future trips.

Do you hire tour guides if not going with a group? If so how do you find them? No, we're not group people, and we prefer to plan our own trips. Do you purchase traveler’s insurance? Always. Wouldn't leave home without it. How many special activities (like boat rides) do you plan? As many as you can comfortably afford or physically handle? We choose our destinations based on what we want to see and do. It's never a case of, Oh, lets go to Paris, book the tickets and then, What shall we do? So we have some idea of what special activities we want to do. Then we do lots of research on websites like TripAdvisor, the destination's tourism websites and reading guidebooks from the library to see what else appeals. We do not cram every second with activities. Do you plan any down days for roaming at leisure or do you pack everyday with planned activities? Down days are always built in because it's supposed to be a holiday, not a route march. Generally we have a wish list of things we'd like to see or do if time and the energy are there, but don't have to tick off every idea (or even the majority of them). Do you plan your attire according to the country that you are going to, or for comfort? Both. I think it was Dave Sedaris who once said that it seems rude to visit someone else's country and arrive looking like you've come to mow the lawn. We always dress neat casual- pants and nice T shirts , polo shirts or collared shirts for general day wear, something dressier if required. We're representing our country and don't like to look like sloths anyway even when we're at home. Do you ever plan travel that is completely off the beaten path to countries that you know nothing about? We always research but have toured Viet Nam and the back blocks of Bali alone, as well as Hong Kong, Macau, Croatia, Czech Republic, parts of Germany, Poland and Hungary, New Zealand and London. We generally aim to go places where other tourists don't. How long do you usually plan in each city if going to several? No set time, because that's a very artificial constraint. No point in saying "Three days here, three days there," etc and then looking for things to fill up the days. We work out what we want to do anywhere, then work out how much time it will take to do that, adding a cushion for resting/things not quite working out as planned. Generally we like to stay at least three or so days in any one destination, unless it's just a travel stop.