So I'm off to Europe...where to start

Somewhere in my head I have this idea of what Europe is like. In fact I think my geography's OK. So when I decided to take some time looking around Europe the last thing I wanted to do was fly over large parts of it. That would be copping out. I want to see how it is connected. For instance....what lies between Paris and Brussels? There's only one way to find out and that's to travel over land. I've been researching how best to really get a flavour of the continent and opted for coach travel with Eurolines. It's a cool deal with two great things going for it - Firstly, it is VERY good value. My 30-day Pass only cost me £179, so I've a load more Euros left in my travel fund. Secondly, it covers all my main routes to over 40 cities.....so I've loads of options for where to go and what to see.

Because I'm not exactly sure about my route yet, I've been looking at the map and a ton of websites and guide books. Everywhere would be great, but not realistic. I could head north and take in Scandanavia, then Central Europe or pitch down to the South. Decisions, decisions. Still, I had to choose my first journey to be able to get our Passes, so it's first stop Paris and who knows where next. My friend Rachel is going to be travelling with me, so we can argue about the rest of trip on the coach out of Victoria Coach Station. Now where's my French phrase book?.....