My sister and I agree on almost everything - except travel arrangements.

She’s convinced that, “flying by the seat of your pants” is the way to go and loves to find surprises around every corner.

I reminded her of the great European fiasco of 1998 when we found ourselves wandering around one evening in a strange city, looking for a place to stay - in twenty-five degree weather.

Ironically, it was the Christmas holidays and everything was booked.

So, for our most recent adventure, I went to www.bungalows.com and booked a charming place for each city we would visit.

Even without surprises, my sister admitted that having a little house or chalet ready everywhere we traveled beat pounding the pavement.