It’s summer and time to travel.  Although I love hotels so much (luxury is terrific), there are often less expensive alternatives that offer more in different ways.  Renting a room or an apartment gives the traveler a different perspective on a destination, one can truly feel as though they are part of a city or town.  Europe Without Hotels by Benji Lanyado in The New York Times describes a number of sites to rent rooms or apartments.  I’d also like to add the site HomeAway.com, a site I used to rent a wonderful apartment in Verona, Italy.  For many of us, finding accommodations this way can be a real leap of faith (it was for me).  My experience was wonderful but it’s important to do your homework.  Happy traveling!

~mary anne