Where would you go on the spur of the moment?

I'd map out something that includes Lisbon, Portugal, Seville Andalusia Spain and Italy since you are trying to get away from crappy weather. also I would consider what I like to do. For instance I would do sightseeing in day some kind of music festival at night

Watching the snow fall? Malta. It's warm there, Europe like historical and they speak English.

Italy. Especially if I heard they were getting 12 inches of snow tonight. I'm pretty confident I can keep costs under control.

I'd find the best/least expensive direct open jaw round trip and then connect the dots. If money's no object...follow the weather.

Paris.

Altho my escape under similar circumstances in Feb from snow-laden Idaho involved driving straight south to AZ. I have to tell you, on the way back we were working our way thru the Utah national parks and I almost cried when we got to Bryce which was still under snow. I was thinking I needed to turn around and go back south!

My condolences to your plight. I took my snow tires off this week so expect a dump at any moment.

Anywhere in the UK. And why limit it to 2 weeks (if we're going to say money is no object, then neither is time). Start with London- 3 days minimum.... or maybe 6....or 10..... Day trips to Windsor and Cardiff, Wales, possibly to Bath or Canterbury or Dover. Train to York - 1 or 2 nights. Train to Edinburgh- 2 or 3 nights. Train to Aviemore- 3 to 5 nights- visit lots of distilleries and castles. Train to Inverness- 2 to 5 nights. Then figure out where to fly out from, and fly to Salzburg, Austria. Spend at least 4 or 5 nights. Day trips to Eagles Nest and salt mine. Maybe train to Vienna (might need to reverse order here) for a night or two and possibly throw in a couple of nights in Innsbruck. I know Austria would still be cold, but it's worth it any time of year.

OK, the power just went out (no problem, I have generator :).
Malta sounds nice. My sister used to go there multiple times a year for work (reconditioning Cunard ships) but she never said anything like: "Oh, you really need to go to Malta.". Somehow Portugal and Spain have never called out to me. However, has anyone been to the Azores? How is it this time of year? London sounds cool and rainy though I will be going back there soon. Italy is always calling me back.
I sent the original message as a lark as I was looking at the calendar and seeing the snow. Money is an object but having seen recent posts for $400 rt to Europe, it really got me thinking that I don't have to be here right now. Immediate issue though is to re-new passport, but if I booked I could drive to St. Albans and get expedited renewal and be out of here. This isn't the first time we have had snow in April, but somehow this year I am having trouble dealing with it. Maybe it is the thought of shoveling the stuff in the AM:(. .
But I think I will be checking out flights and go on from there.

My snows do not come off until late April or early May!!!

Not envying you the snow and cold! Places calling my name are Portugal, Wales, Scandinavia, Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Loire Valley - but spur of the moment? London. :)

We can legally have studs on until April 30 but I run non-studded. I decided since I am retired if the roads are bad enough to need the grip of winter tread I will just stay home, lol!!

Venice. In a heartbeat.

Well, spring seems to have forgotten Nova Scotia as well. Now, not spur of the moment, been planning for months, but we are going to the NL in a week - I think the spring flowers will do wonders for my soul. My daffodils just got covered with another few feet of snow (and tulips are a no no because of the deer). Also hitting Paris - I thought I may be there to see the cherry blossoms in April, bit it seems spring arrived in Paris a few weeks ago and the cherry trees have already bloomed.

do deer like to eat tulips? who knew?

I would choose Paris or Venice.

Iceland - because it's a short 5 hour direct flight for me (it's always a redeye too, which I really like), and it's such an easy place to get around in. I've already been twice but would go again in a heartbeat.

Paris... ❤.... Sitting outside at a nice café, people watching and drinking a café crème... heaven.

Right now, spur of the moment? Three days to pack and take off for a max of two weeks? No problem, London and Paris, to be sure.

Oh Nigel - the whitetails LOVE tulips! And day lily, and star gazer lily, and sedum, and hydrangea, and clematis, and hostas, and (my list grows ever longer...). At least they don't eat my daffodils or crocus or poppies!

Now that I am retired from teaching, I (truthfully!) would/could go just about anywhere. I love the big cities (Paris, Rome, London, Oslo, Amsterdam, etc) but have only spent a few days in Madrid and Barcelona, so I suppose those would be my first choices. But then, I also love the small towns in France, England, Italy, etc. Thank you for posting this thread, cbrochu. It's fun to see everyone's ideas.

I have been fascinated by some of the responses to this thread. I can understand Scandinavia as a summer destination but for the first of April for someone wanting to get away from the cold and snow?
So it just might be Paris and somewhere in Italy. Will be checking flights, etc. I just want to come back to enjoy the beauty of spring and summer here.
BTW, I read an article in the local news about one April in the 1800's about April being the snowiest on record with 60" of snow that month.

Nicole, the deer here are just as un-fussy (is that a word) as in Canada. Every spring they come in and chew down the bee balm and coneflowers. Forget about trying to plant anything else. So I've just let the milkflower thrive and over-take everything.

I forgot to mention that the bears are out and about despite the snowcover. Last week he/she came and destroyed the birdfeeders. Poor things....how to find food with 2ft of snow on the ground? Local sheep farmers/chicken owners/bee keepers very concerned esp since we are in the midst of lambing season.

Paris without hesitation.. as weather doesn't matter there to me, but it will be nice enough as weather there is similar to here, and here my street is lined with blooming Japanese Plum trees.. the smell is amazing.

cbrochu30 - I have some things the deer didn't touch for years (clematis, hosta) then they developed a taste for it. They (as of yet) haven't eaten my Peonies. But the deer have a buffet here - they are safe in the suburbs, not pestered too much, and have lots of gardens to chew on but still lots of woods to hide in (there is a swath of trees that run behind most of the houses on the upper part of our street and up to our town reservoir). The babies are sooooo cute tho. The herd numbers about 10-15.

And we have a wildlife rescue that just posted they got their first orphan raccoon babies a few days ago! They said baby season was early...

And as I type this, we are getting yet more snow...we had nicer weather in February than we have had the last 4 weeks...sigh...I am so ready for Amsterdam....

Nicole P, totally off-topic but around here neighbors plant marigolds and that seems to keep the deer away. We have a fence which keeps them out.
For a spur of the moment trip, I'd go to Paris in a heartbeat!

If I were planning a last minute trip to Europe, I would probably go to Rome and/or Venice. I told my hubby years ago that if I ran away from home I would go back there again. I also told him that he didn't have to be in a hurry to come bring me home, unless he wanted to join me for awhile, that he was welcome. We just got back from Rome and France in October, was great!

I am surprised that no one has mentioned Greece. From what I read about their economy, it sounds like there are some good deals to be had. Rick has a tour that does Greece and it sounds great; the reviews are good. That might be our next RS tour.

I can add that I have tried everything to get the deer to not eat tulips, then I just gave up! They need to eat too. We had a very mild February and played golf a lot. This coming week we are supposed to drop temperature and get snow on multiple days. Our mountains have continued to get it and the skiing is good!

Happy travels
Mimi

I would probably just go to Paris, my favorite city in the world.
But if you are looking for warmer weather, friends of mine have enjoyed early Spring trips to Portugal and Sicily.
Do let us know if you get away ...
;-)
SharYn

As a New Englander, even though we only got a coating and some icy rain, I can understand your wanting to just get out of dodge and go somewhere the sun is shining.

I'd probably lean more towards Spain, Southern Italy or Greece - somewhere where it gets really hot in the peak summer season so I could take advantage of the fact that I won't be roasting, but have a decent shot at some pleasant weather.

Not that you can't enjoy some of the other cities mentioned - you certainly can, especially if you just want to enjoy some indoor pursuits like museums or sitting in a pub drinking, but why travel all that way to escape the cold, damp weather of New England only to deal with more cold and damp in some of those other cities?

You can expedite your passport renewal, but if you've got $5K to spend on 2 weeks of travel and don't feel like dealing with scrambling to get your passport renewed, you may want to consider what options would be good right here in the U.S. I love parts of Arizona in the Spring. Maybe not Grand Canyon as you'll likely still find snow up there, but someplace like Sedona or some of the resorts around Scottsdale would make for a nice trip. If the weather cooperates, parts of California. Otherwise, Louisiana, Florida & the Florida Keys, Puerto Rico - I'd look at those.

SIcily? Have you been there yet?

I would chose Japan . I read that spring is one of the best times of year to be in Japan. The temperatures are warm but not hot, there's not too much rain, and March-April brings the justly famous cherry blossoms (sakura) and is a time of revelry and festivals. I want to see it all so much.

Paris. Any time I'd have $5,000 and 2 weeks off it would be Paris! :)

The Mediterranean; southern France to be exact. Just looooooove it there.