Family Trip to Europe (2027)¶

Status: Stage 1 – Discovery nearly complete; Stage 2 – Research starting (group vote sheet awaiting responses; passport status unconfirmed) Last updated: 2026-10-29 Trip window: tentatively 2027-05-10 to 2027-05-21 (earliest departure 2027-05-09, 3:30 PM) · Travelers: 7, all Canadian passports, departing Edmonton (YEG) · Working route: London, Venice, Rome, with day trips · Budget: planning estimate about CAD 39,000 (range 30–50k); transport researched, lodging/food/activities still estimates

This repository is the single source of truth for planning our family trip to Europe. It holds the research, the decisions we made (and why), the final itinerary, the bookings, and the checklists. It is written to be read by both humans and AI assistants, so that anyone can pick up the work cold and continue.

How to read this repo¶

If you want to…	Go to
Know who is going, when, and what matters to us	`00-trip-brief/`
Compare options (places, transport, lodging, activities)	`01-research/`
See what we decided and the reasoning	`02-decisions/`
See the current plan, itinerary, and budget	`03-plan/`
Check what is booked, what isn't, and deadlines	`04-bookings/`
Work through to-dos, documents, and packing	`05-checklists/`
Drop in raw notes to be processed later	`_inbox/`
Publish or change the private family website	`_site/`

Folder structure¶

europe-27/
├── README.md              Front door: status, navigation, open questions
├── CLAUDE.md              Working agreement for AI assistants (conventions, workflow)
├── 00-trip-brief/         The "why and who": travelers, dates, budget, preferences, constraints
├── 01-research/           Options and alternatives, one file per topic
│   ├── destinations/      Countries, cities, regions under consideration
│   ├── transport/         Flights, trains, rental cars, local transit
│   ├── lodging/           Hotels, apartments, areas to stay
│   ├── activities/        Sights, tours, day trips, kid-friendly options
│   ├── food/              Dining notes, dietary considerations
│   └── practical/         Entry rules (ETIAS/EES), insurance, money, phones, health, safety
├── 02-decisions/          Decision log: one short file per decision (options, choice, why)
├── 03-plan/               The chosen plan
│   ├── itinerary.md       Master day-by-day overview
│   ├── days/              Detailed per-day pages (optional, created as plan firms up)
│   └── budget.md          Estimated vs. actual costs
├── 04-bookings/           Reservation tracker, deadlines, cancellation terms, confirmations
├── 05-checklists/         Pre-trip timeline, documents, packing, home/pet/mail, during-trip
├── _inbox/                Raw info dumps from the family; processed into the folders above
├── _site/                 Builds the private family website from these files (setup guide inside)
└── _templates/            Reusable file templates (research option, decision record, booking)

How we work¶

The plan moves through six stages. Each stage has an exit condition so we know when to move on.

Discovery – Capture the basics: who, when, how long, budget, interests, constraints. Exit: 00-trip-brief/ is filled in well enough to narrow destinations.
Research – Gather 2–4 options per question in 01-research/, with pros, cons, rough cost, and sources. Exit: each open question has enough information to decide.
Decide – Record each choice in 02-decisions/ with the alternatives and the reason. Exit: route, base cities, and transport between them are locked.
Plan – Turn decisions into 03-plan/ (itinerary and budget). Exit: a day-by-day plan exists with every booking need identified.
Book & prepare – Make reservations (tracked in 04-bookings/) and work down 05-checklists/ against deadlines.
Travel – Use the itinerary and checklists on the road; capture changes and lessons.

Conventions¶

One topic per file. Small, focused markdown files over long documents.
Research is not a decision. Options live in 01-research/; only 02-decisions/ and 03-plan/ say what we're actually doing.
Record the why. Every decision file lists alternatives considered and the reason for the choice.
Mark uncertainty. Use TBD, and mark unverified facts (prices, opening hours, visa rules) with the date checked. Travel details go stale.
Cite sources. Link to where a fact or price came from.
Commit small, with meaning. Commit messages say what changed and why (e.g. Research: add rail vs. rental car comparison for Italy leg). Never rewrite history.
Keep sensitive data out of git. Do not commit passport numbers, full card numbers, or login credentials. Booking confirmation codes are fine if the repo stays private; anything more sensitive goes in a git-ignored private/ folder or a password manager.

Open questions¶

These drive the next round of work. Answers go in 00-trip-brief/.

Who is traveling? → 7 people, all Canadian passports, no special needs (travelers). Dietary restrictions minimal; Andrew has a sunflower allergy (high-oleic oil is the problem) and Alisha has a peanut allergy, both with EpiPens. Still need passport status and expiry dates for all seven (tracked in documents) and birthdays.
Target dates or season, and trip length? → May 2027, tentatively May 10–21, ~10 days in Europe (dates). Return date is not firm.
Departure airport(s)? → Edmonton (YEG).
Overall budget and how it should be split? → Loren pays shared costs; no fixed number. Planning estimate about CAD 39,000 (range 30,000–50,000) in budget, to be refined with real quotes.
[~] Destinations or experiences already on the wish list? → London, Venice, Rome with day trips; interests are history, food, museums (preferences). The Vatican is a confirmed must-see. Everything else is open; options are in Rome, Venice, and London, with a group vote sheet to share.
Pace: packed itinerary, or slow with downtime? → Full schedule, but manage group energy and keep flexibility.
Preferred lodging style? → Apartments preferred; hotels OK if three rooms are cost-effective.
Comfortable driving in Europe? → Avoid driving; trains and local transit.
[~] Any fixed commitments? → Andrew is a pastor and works Sunday morning until about 1:30–2:00 PM, which explains the 2027-05-09 3:30 PM limit (inferred; confirm). He can be away 1, possibly 2, Sundays: baseline misses only 2027-05-16, a stretch option adds 2027-05-23. Still to confirm: latest workable return date.

Change log¶

Git history is the detailed record. Major milestones are noted here.

2026-10-29 – Repository created; README drafted; structure proposed.
2026-10-29 – Discovery started: travelers, tentative dates, departure airport, and initial London–Venice–Rome route recorded in 00-trip-brief/.

2026-10-29 – Discovery round 2: budget approach and first planning estimate, return date flexible, pace and interests, apartments preferred, avoid driving, peanut and sunflower allergies recorded.

2026-10-29 – Discovery round 3: allergy details, Andrew's Sunday work commitment, Vatican as must-see; first city option files and group vote sheet drafted; passport confirmation added to checklists.

2026-10-29 – First verified research: entry requirements (UK ETA £20, ETIAS unresolved, EES live) and Vatican Museums (open Mon to Sat; 2027 closure calendar not yet published). Andrew can miss 1, possibly 2, Sundays.

2026-10-29 – Flights researched via Google Flights: flights-yeg-europe.md. Budget flights line lowered; planning figure now about CAD 38,500.

2026-10-29 – Decision 0001: depart Monday 2027-05-10 (record). London to Venice and Venice to Rome researched; draft itinerary skeleton added to itinerary.

2026-10-29 – Group vote form built (group-vote.html) with an invite message and reply tracker (group-vote-invite.md). Awaiting responses.

2026-10-29 – Private family website build added (_site/): MkDocs Material on Cloudflare Pages, login by emailed one-time code via Cloudflare Access. Hosting and login not yet set up; family comments not yet chosen.

Decisions made¶

0001: Depart Edmonton Monday 2027-05-10.

Decisions pending¶

Return day: Friday 2027-05-21, or later (up to about Monday 2027-05-24) if Andrew can miss a second Sunday.

Research queue¶

Topics to investigate once the brief is firm enough. Each becomes a file under 01-research/.