[Benzgirl]

I happen to be in Europe now and here are a few more tips:

-In addition to the sleeping mask, get those squishy earplugs. It's just enough to muffle out chatter to allow you to sleep.
-I concur on buying the premium seats, particularly an aisle. If you can afford it, get the exit row too.
-Whatever you do, the day you land DO NOT SLEEP. Go to your room, shower and get outside for fresh air. Wait until evening to go to bed so that you are on Euro time.
-Order your money from your bank. I know this sounds funny but money exchanges are expensive and Euro ATMs charge Ridiculous fees. ($5 fee + 3% adjustment to the amount withdraw)
-If you have one, use a travel credit card that doesn't charge a conversion fee. I think the one I used last year was also a 3% fee.

I have already been here for 2 weeks and turned off my phone when I left the US. I have been using Skype for all of my calls (even my 80-year old mother is now on Skype), and I do everything by WiFi. I'm in Madrid and there is free WiFi everywhere. Paris was not so generous.

I haven't been to England in about 20 years but jump at the chance to get to Europe when I can. I'm flying home on Thursday and will probably be back in May.

p.s. Economy Plus is a United term. Econo Plus are all seats from the exit row and forward and give you about 5-6" more leg room and 3" in seat width. Not that I'm that tall, but the extra space is a big deal on an overnight flight.

I once booked AC and trying to choose a seat was a PITA. United allows you to select your seat anytime once the ticket is booked. You can see what seats are open on their webpage and using SeatGuru.com is a big help to determine which seats are good are not. Be careful of the row in front of the exit row -- seats don't recline. Also, if there are two exit rows, the first one doesn't recline either.