I am trying to book a Los Angeles to Istanbul trip, however it's actually a bit more complicated than that. My travel companion and I want to do a 1-2 day stop over in Europe (likely Paris and London, but open to other places) on the way there and on the way home to the US.

After playing with the Google matrix a little, I am realizing this may be more complicated than I realized and that perhaps I need a pro to do this for me. The prices jump up SIGNIFICANTLY when I try to build in a stopover.

Is this a situation that warrants going through a travel agent? I take pride in always finding the best deals and booking my own flights... but this time, it looks like I won't be able to pull it off. Thoughts?