I'd HAVE to hit the lotto... I'm so broke I can't afford to pay attention! There's no way I can afford to save anywhere NEAR a hundred dollars a month! And to be quite honest, I'd rather eat glass, too, than leave Larry in charge of the poor furry kids! It's not that he couldn't, or wouldn't, handle their care... he's the best. It's that I'd never hear the end of it! Some of you may remember... last summer we were supposed to go to a wedding in The Netherlands... we couldn't go because flights were way over our budget! Plus, we have the dogs to worry about. I can't trust just anyone to care for these guys... bulldogs can cause a lot of damage in the wrong hands, and I don't mean to furniture! It's a lovely thought, Kristi... but one I'll have to put in my book of dreams. Unless something drastically changes, I'll probably never get the opportunity to do much traveling.

Lets not forget that vacations are also much more liberal there too. My husband is from Europe and when he came here to live, he was shocked to see that we only get an average of 2 weeks vacation. In Russia, the minimum was 4 weeks and in Sweden they get 5! I would say do what's right for you and your family first. If DH can (and wants) to go on his own during his business trip, great but if not, then that is a huge amount of money to spend for one night and a lot for your in-laws to expect from you and your husband. After all, MIL wasn't willing to pay for it once she saw how much it cost, why should she expect you to? It's not reasonable. I have to add that last January, my mother also turned 80 and also wanted all the family together for her special day. She's in California so a lot closer but we're in Michigan and I have a sister in Texas. Rather than put any of us on the spot, she paid for all of us (7 total) to fly to California to celebrate her day. On her 75th birthday, we missed a surprise party the sisters in California gave her. Once I said we couldn't afford it, she was very understanding, more so than my sisters were. :c) So I've sort of been in those shoes and can totally understand the duress you're feeling; I hope it ends well and they finally understand your side of things. If not, ask them if they'd be willing to split the bill with you so you can afford to go. When I said that to one of my sisters, she backed off fairly quick. :c)

If you do drive up, you can go to Ikea on your return trip! Yes, because I may be missing Sweden already! Pesky, the fly and drive hotel option is what I was thinking of doing, and still might. Bumblebeez, I read Bryson's In a Sunburned Country before DH and I went to Australia, and loved it! I will have to get his Europe book on my Kindle. This isn't my first time flying solo to Europe, but the first time that I'll have to change planes there. I flew over to Germany a few years ago when my son was studying there, but it was non-stop and he met me a the airport. I will be landing a few hours ahead of my son this time, so I'll have to wait for him.

Airfares are worse than the stock market, when are you going? Right now airfare into Luxembourg and out of Paris are only $20 higher than RT Paris (from JFK). Definitely get rid of the car before you get to Paris, driving there is maddening and parking is impossible. You can buy subway passes that will get you everywhere you want to go in Paris. You might consider dropping the car and then going into Paris by rail. There are so many hotels to choose from in Paris it can make your head spin. A very general rule of thumb is that the further you are from the Eiffel Tower and Place de Concorde the lower the cost seems to be. On our last visit we stayed up by the Opera in a small hotel, the Florida, it was clean and sufficient but nothing fancy. I hesitate to recommend it since our visit was many years ago, but looking up in that area will save you many $$$.