The original post was mostly about European touring. Unless you have an IR, which is very rare, the weather limits for permit and C of A are identical as soon as you get across the water. Europe is visited by a large number of permit aircraft every year, with no more pain than a C of A aircraft, with the exception of the small group of countries listed earlier. I often spend 1/3 of my yearly flying time in France, and once you get out of the costal area, you find as many G reg permit a/c as c of a.
Rod1