Help! We've just sold our house and have decided to go on an adventure for four months in Europe. Will spend Sept. & Dec. in England, Oct. in Ireland. What should we do in Nov.? We are 45+, have been to Spain, France & Portugal, love good food, wine, beautiful cities, towns, don't want to do the American hotel chain holiday, want an adventure. Ideas? Thanks.

Mavis, make sure that, while you're in the UK you spend plenty of time in Scotland--you mustn't miss it, it's wonderful!

From a pure climate point of view, I would add Italy in Nov. You may still get some sunny days, before hitting the cold in England in Dec. And stop over for a few days in Belgium on the way back to the UK. You can use Ryanair and/or Virgin Express for easy direct routes.

Lucky Mavis! What about Turkey? We spent a week there in September 2000 and can't wait to go back. It's exotic - at least it was to me. It's a popular destination for Brits - they seem to be able to get reasonably priced flights and Istanbul was only a 5 hour flight apparently. <BR><BR>Congratulations at any rate - I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

Italy! So many great areas to choose from-Tuscany, Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, Rome, Florence and Venice to name some highlights. After spending time in Italy I wouldn't be surprised if you cut out some of your extended time in England to spend there!

Okay, you want to fill a month with something unusual? Want some Italy? How about some Greece? Egypt? <BR><BR>The Griamldi freighter line (Italian) offers cruises around the Mediterranean and North Sea that run around US$80 per person per day, all in, or roughly a third of conventional cruise ship costs. You stay on the ship, get to see places 99% of tourists miss, meet interesting people, don't have to unpack every night, and have time in most ports to get a feel for the place, see the sights, and not fret about cars, trains, bags, or any of that hoohah. Plus it's very educational, you have time to write your great Canadian novel (Alex Haley wrote "Roots" on freighter cruises) and learn Italian from the crew.<BR><BR>See http://www.freighterworld.com/ or http://freightercruises.com/ for more info or other alternatives. We did a similar 4-month sabbatical a couple of years ago (2/3 in Europe) and used the better part of a month to explore the south (and middle and eastern) Pacific partly on a freighter. I know it's not Tuscany, but you might give it a thought.

Puglia (or Apullia)Italy for sure for warm(er)weather: we have even gone for a swim in the ocean there in the far southern bits (beaches of Puglia on the Adriatic).Alberobello is amazing with its unique Trulli achitecture and Ostuni (the-white-city-on-the-sea)very charming indeed. This area, south of Bari and down as far as Lecce is for the adventuresome and unless I miss my guess judging by your postin that sounds like you, Mavis!

What wonderful suggestions! I'm getting excited just thinking about what's possible.<BR>Mel - thanks for the reminder about Scotland. We were there years ago but it's probably time to go again. We did a circle drive fr. place where ferry fr. Northern Ireland docks (think starts w. a 'G') to Loch Ness, Edinburgh, St. Andrews, seeing castles along the way. What shouldn't we miss if we go again?<BR>Phil, Colleen, Lee - was wondering if weather would be ok in Italy in Nov. Sounds like it will. If you were going again what would be dream itinerary for two or three weeks (if we cut some time fr. England)? And never been to Belgium. Thanks.<BR>Susan - Could you tell me more about Turkey? What made you love it?<BR>John - I love the idea about the freighter line (I just knew if I posted my question here, I'd get great responses). November still be okay weather wise? And about Egypt. What is your opinion about whether to go re: situation in Middle East? Is Egypt insulated fr. that, I know a few years ago there was trouble for tourists w. terrorists.<BR>Thanks all of you.

The ferry lands at Stranraer which is not far from Girvan - maybe that is what you were thinking of. Any part of Scotland would be wonderful - but since you have already been north why not spend some time in the Borders. Really lovely countryside, the beautiful border Abbeys, a fantastic coastline -- St Abbs Head --near Northumberland and Hadrian's Wall.<BR><BR>As for Nov - I vote for Italy with maybe a short trip to Greece. Good weather and great food.

Are you committed to the whole month in Ireland? If not, I'd consider adding major time in Italy and a two weekish trip to Turkey (tho I don't know the weather situation when you'd be there.)

Mavis, re the freighter - <BR>The weather will probably be warm to hot in the southern Med - I haven't been in Egypt in Nov. but a few miles away in Israel we were having to hit the beach in November to stay cool. The ships are all A/C, though, so in your cabin or lounge/dining areas it will be comfortable. Regarding possible political issues ashore, (a) it's an Italian ship, for what that's worth, (b) you can stay on board if you're nervous, and (c) ships regularly change schedules or divert from ports if the company or the skipper feel it's unwise to dock. Many of the big cruise lines altered their eastern Med. cruises (Yugoslavia, Turkey, etc.) this year because of similar concerns, but on a freighter you're frankly under the radar of most folks. We called at Fiji on our freighter cruise, when things there were starting to warm up (eventual coup and other troubles) but we never felt concerned because our ship was bringing beer from Australia. Welcome visitors.

Mavis, we spent just a week in Turkey, but as I posted earlier, we loved it and can't wait to go back. I did some travelling in Europe years ago (Greece, France and Britain) and we wanted to go back to Greece in September 2000. I had heard how wonderful Turkey was, but we were a little nervous - my husband has an American passport and people had said it could be risky for him. We decided to go to Turkey from Rhodes and I'm so glad we did. In many ways, it was a complete surprise - I guess I had some preconceived notions of what the country would be like - and it wasn't like that at all. It was exotic, filled with history (ruins everywhere), the beaches were beautiful, food was good, people were friendly. It was also very clean (I think probably a lot of us think of Midnight Express when we think of Turkey.) It was very inexpensive, even given our low Canadian dollar. We hadn't booked anything in advance, and maybe that was part of the appeal - we just did whatever we wanted to do. Buses were very easy and convenient. We really couldn't speak the language at all, but enough people spoke English. Visiting Turkey, I felt like I did when I first visited Greece 25 years ago. We visited a Turkish bath. My husband went to a Turkish barber - very different from going to a barber here in Toronto. <BR><BR>Now, obviously, we didn't see a lot of the country in a week. Since then, we've had a few friends visit Turkey - they've all really enjoyed Istanbul and Cappodocia, 2 places we'll definitely visit.

Please go to Italy! You will love it! We have been in November and it is a terrific time to go. Hotel rates are lower, the weather is still warm (70's in Rome!!!)not alot of other tourists so the lines were non-existent. The people are so warm and friendly, the sites fantastic, the food is unbelievable - not like the Italian in the US at all. Since you have an entire month you could see so much - Rome, Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Naples, Sicily, Capri, Lake region (Como, Bellagio). It may be the best trip of your life. Have a great times, wherever you go!

Thanks to your wonderful ideas my husband and I are going back to the drawing board to re-configure the trip/adventure and will post to let you know our revised itinerary and ask for feedback. Thanks so much.