Where to go in November?!!!!

Well, it's raining this week but it's too early to know about November. An obvious place would be Tuscany; it's usually still in the high 50s/low 60s in Nov. Check flights to Pisa (PSA)... Air France (Delta partner) has good schedules to there. Spain could be another destination.... still in the 70s in the South (like Seville). Probably good fares to Barcelona (BCN) this time of year.

Or, you could always come visit me here in Hawaii.

We loved Austria in late Nov/early Dec. Yes- it is a bit cold and we've had some snow- but we enjoyed it. The Christmas markets (esp. Salzburg) were lovely, and crowds were down (it wasn't yet skiing season). Austian wines are among my favorites, too. Vienna, Salzburg and Insbruck were all fabulous. We also did a day trip to Budapest, and I hope to return there. We have also enjoyed the UK in late Nov/Early Dec. - I know , its not a wine area, and it is cool and sometimes rainy (even snowy a few times - esp in Scotland). But we loved it. Smaller crowds, great food, excellent theatre, good markets- even some good Christmas markets (Cardiff, Bath, Edinburgh, Canterburry, and York, espeically).

That time of year, we often go to Arizona for some much-needed sunshine!

We went to Venice in November for my 60th. It was rainy and chilly, but we still really enjoyed ourselves. In fact, I think it was fun to be there out of season.
We have also been to Girona in Spain (near Barcelona) in November and had a good time there too. Just make sure you pack some warm clothes and waterproofs.

We're going down to San Diego for a week!

Check out the Canary Islands - they belong to Spain and are located off the NW coast of Africa. Their weather is about the same year-round. They are a huge vacation destination for Northern Europeans looking for sunshine.

We have done England twice in November and are currently on our countdown to Paris this November. It can be rainy and cool, but well worth it. If you want warmer weather I would pick Italy.

We go to Paris and London every November (generally leave Nov. 24th or so and stay 10 days). It's become a habit we can't break! We love that it isn't beastly hot. We love the Christmas decorations going up all over. We love that there is (slightly) less of a tourist crush. But if you are really cold-averse, then head south. How about the Costa del Sol? Or Nice? Or Palermo?

WOW! Thanks everyone for all the input! I'm hitting the library now looking into the destinations of everyones suggestions. You're all right that we should try traveling off season for a change....especially now that we're empty nesters and don't have to work around school schedules!

Its cold here this morning,, so reading the heading of this thread all I could think of was HAWAII,, lol, which I know is not what you were looking for,, but hey,, love to experience the warmth right now myself. I have heard the Canary Isles are nice though,, a beach destination, not a wine one though. If you don't care if its beachy warm,, then southern Italy, Greece , Portugual,, basically anything south would be ok,, although as per thread about Cinque Terra shows, wet weather hits Italy too!

Janet, I would be looking at Italy (Rome with a side trip to Pompeii) and Greece. If you've been following Rick Steves on Facebook on his Mediterranean cruise, Mykonos looked very good.

Janet; south Portugal (Algarve beaches, Lisbon, etc) and Southern Spain can be absolutely wonderful. Go to Weather Underground.com and look at the average temperatures and rainfall for those areas, and any other place that you are contemplating.. Believe it or not, we were wading in the surf one XMass in Southern Portugal. We then drove North to the rainy area around Porto and sampled some of the great Port wines. It was a fun trip, and the Port wine houses were great. Pick up a copy of Rick Steves Spain and Portugal book and do some reading. We loved his suggestions. Portugal is especially lo-cost, with great food and wine, and friendly people. When we did So Spain early this year we really enjoyed the "cab" tour of Gibralter, and loved staying in Ronda. Driving is easy, and using the lo-cost inter EU arilines to hop around lets you see many different areas in a short time. (use Whichbudget.com to search for flights)

Hi Janet! I very much agree with Toni about Salzburg and Vienna. I was there in November 2006 and was postcard perfect! Maybe that was just luck, but the fall leaves were so lovely and the fall dishes were just wonderful, like pumpkin soup and many other meals made of pumpkin. The best food ever! There was a chill in the air, but coming from Texas I so much enjoyed that! No matter where you decide to go, I'm sure you will have loads of fun. People here gave great suggestions!

Here is something I post on another thread about Salzburg in November...
Oh my gosh, the best meal ever, when I was in Salzburg in November. I had pumpkin soup that was out of this world! The waitress was laughing at me when I scooped the rest of the soup with a piece of bread! The bowl looked like it was never used! lol! Also, something else made of pumpkin, there was a thin layer of pumpkin skin rolled up with rice and raisins inside, and that was so yummy! If I ever go back to Salzburg, I would go in November again because it's the only month they have the pumpkin dishes! I lucked out on the weather!

@LIsa.. was there pumpkin soup everywhere? Or just a particular restaurant? I am going there in a few weeks, and I love pumpkin, so I hope you can help me chase down the pumpkin dishes. Should I try and get the recipe????

How about....Istanbul? I think it's a magical fabulous city!

Well, my wife and I just returned last week from Budapest. The weather was lovely, and the city is incredible! Hungarian wine was also amazing - we didn't have even one bottle that we didn't like, and many that we loved. It was great to get to try so many that we just can't get in the US. But if you want warm weather, I'd add to the voices suggesting Portugal or southern Spain. Be careful, though - it can get a bit nippy at night, and some places don't turn on their heat!