liquidt, thanks for posting a few more details about your travel plans. The additional information gives us something to work with. Since you'll be departing from Vancouver (hopefully I will too!), it's almost certain that you'll lose a day in flight and due to the time change. One point to make, DON'T understimate the effects of jet lag! Having been a shift worker for 35+ years, I thought I'd be able to handle this well, but was surprised at how much it affected me.
Regarding your suggestion to adapt the Rick Steves Itinerary to your trip, I don't believe this is a realistic idea. I'm very familiar with the RS trip planning methods as I use these extensively for planning my trips. It's important to remember that the Itinerary you posted relies heavily on pre-arranged lodgings and a pre-booked Coach for much of the transportation; this has been fine tuned over the past 30+ years that Rick has been offering tours, and operates with the precision of a "Swiss Watch". I believe it would be quite difficult for the average traveller to duplicate this precise timing without these benefits.
To add to the previous comments from Jules, now that you've provided a bit more detail it should be possible to work out a reasonable travel schedule (emphasizing Italy and France as you requested). Perhaps something like this would work:
> Sept. 10 - Fly to LGW - travel to London, arriving Sept. 11th; tour London (there's LOTS to see, so have a list of things that will interest you the most so you don't waste time). LGW is S.W. of London, and there's a Coach or Shuttle for transport to the city centre; I can't recall whether there's Tube access?
> Sept. 13 - train to Amsterdam (EuroStar? If so, reservations might be an idea; also be sure to budget for this, as it's a bit "pricey". Also, I belive Rail Pass holders are entitled to a discount - be sure to ask about this. Allow about half a day for travel)
> Sept. 15 - train to Munich (allow about a full day for travel). You'll probably be hitting OctoberFest, so might be a good idea to pre-book accomodations, IF you can find any. I suggested Munich as it offers good possibilities for day trips (Neuschwanstein Castle, Dachau) and ALSO because it's closer to Italy than Berlin, which will cut down your travel time. You MIGHT be able to fit-in a day trip to Rothenburg on the way to Munich, IF you can work out effective transportation connections.
> Sept. 18 - train to Italy. You'll have to let us know which cities might interest you the most. The usual "favourites" are Venice, Florence, Siena, Rome and of course the Cinque Terre! You might allot 8 days to Italy, which might allow 1 day in Venice (perhaps save this for a future trip?), at least 3 days in Florence and AT LEAST 4-5 days in Rome. Dropping Venice in favour of the Cinque Terre would be my preference.
> Sept. 26 - train to Paris (allow about a full day for travel, but this will depend on the cities you choose in Italy, and the order you visit them). As with London, have a list of the sights you want to see, so you don't waste time.
I reduced your travel time in Amsterdam and Germany, due to the fact that you were most interested in France and Italy. On a 21 day trip, I might consider eliminating Amsterdam, and planning this for a future trip (as Rick Steves frequently says, "assume you will return").
I haven't suggested budget airlines, as "time is short" at this point and most of the cheap seats are probably gone. Once you figure out a definite order of cities, you can use
www.railsaver.com to recommend the best rail pass for your trip. Travel by rail is not the bargain it used to be as the rates seem to increase every year, but for the most part this is a reliable and predictable travel method.
One final point, if you've never been to Europe before I would
highly recommend reading the Rick Steves book "Europe Through The Back Door". It's an
essential pre-read for anyone travelling in Europe IMHO, and I've seen copies on sale at the Chapters store downtown (Granville & ?), so you should be able to find a copy easily.
I'll hopefully be travelling at about the same time, but for a longer period. I'll probably know this week (perhaps even this afternoon) whether my trip is actually going to happen. Watch for a new Thread later this week titled "The Wheels Are Now in Motion!", probably in the
Living Room section of these Boards. That will be the confirmation that the details are beginning to "fall into place".
Hope this is some help. Let us know if any of these suggestions will work for you.
Happy travels!!!
