Those planning to buy statues or bronze cannons as souvenirs, and (seriously) those planning to live in Europe for a while, might not be able to bring everything back with them on the plane. If so, you can contact a shipping company that specializes in overseas moves. The cheapest are in London, and listed in TNT, but businesses of this type can be unreliable. Do some serious comparison shopping, and ask if you could talk with some previous customers. Duty-free restrictions vary throughout Europe, but are standard for EU countries at one litre of spirits, plus two litres of table wine, plus 200 cigarettes (or 250g tobacco, or fifty cigars) and about 250ml of perfume. Anything more will be taxed. Each country also has a limit on other goods that can be imported without tax. This duty-free limit, in local currency, is USD 400 in the States, USD 300 in Canada, £136 in Britain, USD 400 in Australia, and USD 700 in New Zealand. When you get home, be sure to use all sorts of foreign terms to irritate your friends and let them know that, yes, you went to Europe and they did not. Complain about the coffee. Whine about the lack of art and culture.

If you intend to learn how to speak a foreign language, do so right away. Resolving to learn a language is very common among people who have just returned from Europe, and the ratio of classes taken to resolutions made is about one to twenty. It’s zero to something large with me. . . . Start planning your next trip to Europe.