Hi all,

In June I'll be in Europe for about 4 weeks - a week in France, then 10
days in Italy, then 10 days in the Netherlands. My sons and their wives
will be with us for much of the trip, but we may go separate ways for a
time while we're there.

I'm looking for a convenient and inexpensive way to stay in touch with
my sons while we're all in Europe. One kid has Cingular GSM already; the
other has Verizon service here in the States.

Currently my wife and I have Verizon service here in Portland; we're
happy enough with the program and service to stay with it, so no need
for a quad-band phone. Also, we can make the odd call back to the States
using European prepaid phone cards. My last trip to Europe was in 1999
before I got turned on to cellphones.:-)

Some have recommended buying an unlocked phone before leaving, then
acquiring SIM cards in each country, or else a single European SIM card.
Others have suggested just buying a cheap prepaid phone when we arrive.

RailEurope has a lnk from their website to callineurope.com. They seem
to have the best deal I've seen: $19. for an unlocked Motorola C123
(though the phone model seems to change from week to week), plus $29.
for a Europe-wide SIM card, plus airtime at $.39 or $.69 per minute
(depending on country). Incoming is $.39/min in W. Europe. You order it
over the web and receive it here before you go. We do texting rarely if
ever, just brief voice calls.

How does this deal compare with others you've seen? Any experience with
the company? I suppose the RailEurope endorsement means it's not
completely fly-by-night.

Any advice will be much appreciated!

Mike