just want to pick the brains of any winter travelers. have 7-8 days the first part of december 2013. have been to scotland, germany, greek islands, croatia, slovenia, central italy. would like to see somewhere new. we are considering london. any recommendations?...or should we just go to hawaii ;)
Posted by
2081 posts
Carolyn,
you will loose one (1) day traveling to London/europe.
Ive never been outside the USA/PDX for Xmas, so i cant say, but it does sound interesting and tempting.
Ive been to Hawaii in January and i really like it since i know that the people back home are cold(er) while im on a nice sunny beach on some island. Even if it rains when im there its like a warm shower to me.
happy trails.
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
For more than 20 years we would go to London during the first week of Dec. or the last week of Nov. Sometimes we would split the trip by going to parts of Scotland (Edinburgh, Inverness, Aviemore) or Austria (Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck) all are lovely in winter. London/ the UK is great in winter! There are some Christmas markets set up (Windsor has a French style market near the station, while Canterbury, Bath, York, Cardiff, Wales and other places have more 'traditional' markets -often with local craftsmen). The theatre is nice any time of year, and there are sometimes good concerts, too. Museums and churches are always there, too. Shopping is always fun. And we even enjoyed Kew Gardens one winter (their gift shop is wonderful). While you don't have a lot of daylight hours, it never bothered us. Any of the UK markets I mentioned can be done as day trips from London by train. Austria is lovely in winter (and we don't even ski). The Christmas markets are especially fun. Just plan your wardrobe well for either place (layers for warmth, a good coat, gloves, hat or hooded scarf, good socks and water-proof or at least water-resistant shoes).
Feel free to send me questions by private message.