STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

as most of you know from my posts- we are leaving for a 14 day trip to london and paris in a couple of weeks.  i LIVE in heels.  the higher the better for me and i know in my heart of hearts that i can't traipse around europe in my tall heels.  so i bought the following two pairs of flats for our trip.  and neither one works for me.

ex. cute red flats- Nordstrom Boutique brand. 

Problem:  the suede part is actually more square than round which i don't like and the fit is all wrong.  there is extra spacing in the back of the shoe- but it feels as though they are tight in the toe. 

ex. puma contre

problem:  i love these shoes and i desperately want them to work- but the piece on the back of the ankle comes up and rubs me the wrong way... and after about 15 minutes of wearing them around the house- it feels as though my feet are going to cut off circulation from the rubber band thing that crosses over the foot.

so as you can see- i am struggling here.  is there any heel fanatics out there that have found flats that they can tolerate?

the last time i was in europe i wore Steve Madden wedge boots the entire time (i was there mostly in the winter) and i LOVED them and had no problems... but my BF thinks i'm crazy when i bring up the possibility of wearing wedges.  probably b/c he has had to buy me emergency flip flops on trips to museums, etc. b/c i was insistent i could wear my sandal wedges...

HELP!