Ysnowden writes, "My husband and I are both early 50's, recently married and were second grade sweethearts. He currently serves as a Lt. Col.

in the Army National Guard and has been deployed to Afghanistan for the next six months. When he returns early April, he would like for us to go on a wonderful trip. He loves history and I love architecture.

Our ideal trip is to have everything within walking distance (or subways) from our hotel and never worry about taxi cabs or renting our own car. All inclusive trips are fine with maybe lunches on our own. We love quaintness of old buildings, old neighborhoods, love old ports/boating, but we are not sun worship people. Love sidewalk cafes and places where English is spoken. We have possibly 10 days to enjoy this wonderful homecoming trip and don't want to miss anything while on vacation. We are both early birds and love to be on the go. Thought about a River Cruise to Europe, but they are very pricey ... but that type of connecting to the villages of these small towns would be heaven for us. Any suggestions?"

Nothing would make me happier than helping you plan a well-deserved homecoming vacation for your husband. And it just so happens that the possibilities really are endless—that is, as long as we keep you within walking distance of your hotel. With this in mind, we'll skip trips that include bee-bopping around the countryside in a rental car and instead focus on big-city destinations.

I've included three trips that I believe are ideal matches for your desired vacation. However, the world is a big place and before I settled on these three, I also considered Quebec City, Canada; taking the train down the California Coast; a cruise; and a Rick Steve's Tour (a little pricey though).