re: Car rental in Europe

You will get speeding tickets, particularly in the Netherlands, if you are seemingly 1km over the adjustable limit. And you'll get them weeks after the fact, even after you watch people with NL/BE plates fly past you. Except for the DE/NL transit on the plane, I'd be train all the way. I only ever rented in Northern Europe because I was driving to Bastogne, etc. The car never left the hotel garage otherwise in Paris.

You don't want to drive in Paris, except to get there. Imagine NYC with 2x third world mixed in, depending on where you are. It's not Naples, but damn, unless you've driven overseas, you're not only not prepared for the Champs Elysée, you're barely prepared to enter Paris at all. And if you have a woman with you, she will be hitting you repeatedly and often no matter what you do.

Paris' problem, at least to me, was too many f*@&% train lines. Olive green, mint green, kelly green, dark green, light green, etc. But it's also Paris, so once we hit the hotel, we walked everywhere over the course of a couple of days anyway (including my 8 year old who trucked 15 miles in a single day without complaint.)

I never advise booking through third party sites, it greatly limits your flexibility and recourse. I always book direct, because then the company you booked with can actually help you. When you book through third parties, the people at the desk can't do squat.

You mentioned two cars, and your comfort in driving stick (I presume you know stick in a truck is different than stick in a car), but what about the other driver?