How much does a rainy day(s) ruin your vacation?
 

I've spent 7 weeks in Europe on vacation and it has only rained about 5 days, but those 5 days ruined the day! Am I a major wimp? Of course 4 of those days were in Provence, France and I don't remember there being any indoor things to do there. It only rained 1 day for 2 weeks in England! How much does weather affect your happiness on vacation?

Well it makes for a different experience -- but you just have to "go with the flow" so to speak:) [<I>sorry</I>] <BR> <BR>If I KNOW it is going to rain, then I plan to do as many indoor things as possible. If it rains enroute -- well if I'm not prepapred I get wet! <BR> <BR>Actually I came close to drowning in Vienna last summer. I was just so wet that there was no point in even caring:) So I slogged from the Kunsthistoriches Museum back to the hotel and took a hot shower before I continued my day:)

Rainy days can be fun on a vacation. Just take a candle, some bubble bath and find some soft music on the radio. Am I romancing about Venice again???

Last November we were on a tour by motor coach on the way up to Arthurs Pass in New Zealand. It was raining. Within two miles of the summit, the bus quit. The passengerload was too much for the incline. We were asked to get out and walk up to the summit in the rain. We were handed umbrellas and started on our way. Two miles later we met the bus at the summit and continued our tour. I've traveled worldwide and forgotten a lot of travel-related things, but I'll never forget that trip. <BR>

Sunshine - <BR> <BR>It doesn't. Other than heavy rain making camping more difficult, I can't remember it ever coming close to ruining a trip? What about the rain ruins the trip for you?

Not one little bit! If it's coming down in buckets head for an indoor activity, if you are in the countryside , have tea or a leisurely lunch, if you are stuck in the hotel, relax, grab a book, catch up with your journal or your love life! One of my most memorable nights in paris we were cought ina torrential unexpected downpour after leaving the restaurant late at night to walk back to our hotel. Standing forever in a doorway was not an option. Running for it was senseless as we were already as wet as we could get, so did the Gene kelley thing, sans umbrella, all the way back, had a wondereful evening and everything dried out by morning

We have some gorgeous pictures of Venice from our first RAINY morning there. The hotel provided giant umbrellas (boy, were they nice!) and we had no problems at all. Of course it cleared by lunch time, but we were lucky, I guess. Didn't mind the rain that morning, but days on end can be depressing (used to happen when we took our kids to visit Grannie & Pops in Florida every Christmas:"Oh, you should have been here LAST week") Ann, you really must have been fantisizing about soft music on Italian radio -- had to have been a CD! I always check out local radio wherever we travel, and it was pretty dreadful in Italy. At least music-wise...it was OK if you like to try to improve your language skills by listening and trying to translate yourself...On the other hand, Italian TV is a blast!

Coming from a very arid part of the USA where five months can pass without a drop of rain, I EMBRACE a rainy day when I'm traveling! Go out there, walk around, get wet, wear a waterproof outer layer, but no umbrella for me! I'll take a rainy day over a hot and muggy day any day. And it can make for some interesting photo ops. Especially after the rain stops and it starts to clear up. Usually fewer crowds outside to deal with, as well. Just look at the bright side of a rainy day and certainly don't let it ruin your day.

Rain never really bothers me. Well, maybe that's not really never. I recall one 6-day vacation in Belgium when it did not stop raining for the entire six days. We found things to do, but the rain sure did curtail our activities, and by the end of the vacation I was getting a bit depressed.

When I went to Italy in May it rained 6 of the 12 days we were gone. We did not see the famous "Tuscan sun" at all. However, I felt better about it after I talked to my husband and it was 107 that day in Phoenix. Today, the high is predicted to be 110; 112 tomorrow. We're lucky if we get 7 inches of rain a year. Right now, I'd love to be back in rainy Tuscany!

We arrived, by bus, in a little town, with a closed B&B in a fierce storm on the east coast of Ireland. Luckily the folks at the nearby elementary school drove us to the next town. After we were dry, warm and had 2 day reservations we saw on the news we were in a gale. Had never been in a gale before. It was fun looking at from inside our B&B. Felt bad for the fisherman out in his boat that frequently disappeared in the waves.

Aloha, <BR> <BR>One goal I had on my first trip to Europe last year, Mrs Kal had been over before, was to get rained on in London and Paris. <BR> <BR>It was absolutely gorgeous! In London we walked all around the Buckingham Palace/Green and St James Parks...Almost had the whole place to ourselves. <BR> <BR>On our last night in Paris, we walked back from the Eiffel Tower to our hotel near the Arc when a light rain started falling. We took the long way back to our hotel... <BR> <BR>Something about a place during and right after a rain. The sights and smells will stay with me forever. <BR> <BR>We WISH it would have rained in <BR>Rome! Bad air days! <BR> <BR>While not a Europe story, one of our best travel/rain stories happened in New Orleans when we got caught in a massive rain storm while we were in Cafe Du Monde! <BR>Darn...what a place to have to sit and drink Cafe Au Lait and eat a few beignets and watch golf ball sized rain drops fall for an hour! <BR> <BR>Thank goodness it wasn't a place like Pat O'Brien's! <BR>Kal

sunshine - <BR> <BR>Sounds like you have an answer to your question about being a wimp.

For starters you have to understand that I'm a person who normally HATEs rain -- makes your hair frizzy, etc. So I was very disappointed 5/00 with a sudden thundershower and heavy downpour just has we were about to enter Sissinghurst Garden in England. HOWEVER, it was short-lived, and when we walked through the garden the rain had brought out the most incredible fragrances from all the flowers and foliage! Plus, I'm sure the crowds were smaller because of it. Turned out to be my favorite experience of the whole trip.

The last time I was in Paris it rained buckets. We stood in a shop doorway until the owner very rudely ran us off. She said in English: If you are not going to buy anything, get out of my doorway. However, she was the only rude person we met; se la vie.

Not criticizing you for this error (&lt;&lt;se la vie&gt;&gt;), just correcting for others who will think "I know that's not right, but what IS right?" <BR> <BR>It's c'est la vie <BR> <BR>a contraction of ça (that) and est (is). <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

On any vacation, one cannot expect perfect weather every day. <BR> <BR>Rainy days are perfect for museums. Sunny days send me outside. <BR> <BR>I do remember one day in Scarborough, England, during a home exchange a few years ago where I simply caved in and stayed home all day and read a book. Of course, on a 4 week trip it is possible to do that without feeling guilty. <BR> <BR>The trick is to always have an alternative rainy day schedule. If I were in Provence and it were rainy, I would use it as an excuse for long leisurely lunches. I would also grind my teeth in disappointment, but such is life.

I'm from the Pacific Northwest, where rain is pretty much par for the course most of the year...and I LOVE it when it rains on vacation in Europe. I wear rain boots and carry an umbrella, and go everywhere I'd go anyway. <BR> <BR>I wouldn't like it in say, the Carribean, if I were going for the sun, but in European cities it just adds to the romance. Think of old movies, and enjoy!

My son and I take walks in the rain when we're home and vacations are no different.

Rainy days just require a different approach to a vacation. The year before last, it rained nearly three weeks out of our four in France. The first few days we sat around and read, did errands, cleaned house, and generally kvetched about the weather. For the next two and a half weeks, we did whatever we would have done had it been sunny - we canoed in the rain, we hiked in the rain, we went horseback riding in the rain, and we swam in the rain. We also pulled a lot of weeds out of the garden, which is a lot easier in the rain! And we went touring to some places we might not otherwise have visited. Yes, if you've planned a long time for a trip abroad and spent a lot of money and invested a lot of time in research, it can be a disapointment not to have good weather, but heck, weather is just weather - it shouldn't keep you from having a good vacation. Anyone who spent 7 weeks in Europe and had only 5 days of rain was pretty darn lucky, IMO.

I was in France for two weeks this past June. It rained/showered the first four days. I was just so happy to finally be there (long flight delays) that I honestly have to say it didn't bother me. Toward the end of the trip it became hot and humid and that bothered me.

I'd sell my soul right about now for some rain; I, too, live in the arid desert climate of Arizona, and it got to 113 today...and it'll be there again tomorrow. <BR> <BR>We've been rained on in Ireland and London (and the surprise would be...?) and France and Spain and Malta and....we even got rained on in Morocco. <BR> <BR>We still do what we had planned, and drink more tea and coffee than wine and beer. So far, it's not curtailed our sightseeing. <BR> <BR>

ciao sunshine <BR> <BR>not at all! i allways find a way to have fun. normally it's the day (ore the days) when i work on my laptop (due to my business, i'm selfemployee, i have to work even in holidays) or i take a good book or some guidebook which i didn't read before and learn.... or i go and sit in a nice coffee and buy some journals or things like that. <BR> <BR>tanti saluti <BR> <BR>christina

One of the nice things about travel in Europe is that you almost always have alternatives on a rainy day. Churches, museums, nice drinking places, etc.

Actually... I LOVE RAINY weather on vacation in Europe!!!! Maybe it's because we live in So. Cal, where it's hot and dry most of the time. <BR>I want my castles damp, my cappucino's steamy and my pavement "shining like silver" in the streetlights... heck If I want sunny bright days, I'll either stay put or head to Vegas!

Once you get wet, you can't get any wetter. <BR> <BR>Plan for rain, be prepared for rain, and if it rains, no problem. If it doesn't, so much the better. <BR> <BR>Some places are more magical - and less crowded - in the rain. Venice and the island of Delos in Greece are two places that immediately come to mind.

Rain does not ruin anything - just go prepared - europe is beautiful sunny or raining. In europe people don't worry about the weather as we do here in usa. For good weather go to florida!!

Ok, dissenting opinion: <BR> <BR>I know rain's one of those weather essentials, and if I'm inside curled up with a book I love it. If I have to be outside, however, I _hate_ it. There is nothing worse for me than feeling damp. Hot damp, cold damp, whatever -- I despise it. So I hate unexpected rain. Or even expected rain that blows all over me and makes me damp. Bleah! <BR> <BR>On the glass-half-full side, if I know it's going to rain, I prepare myself for less sightseeing and for more expensive pursuites and go to cafes, tea rooms, pubs, restaurants, etc., and treat myself to something nice, warm, and tasty!

I agree with John and several others that the rainy days can be very memorable. Once looking for a place to sleep in Paris with two good friends in a total downpour with heavy backpacks. Stopping for a $5 cup of tea to just get a break from the rain - one of the bext cups of tea I've ever had. Also enjoyed a total drenching in Varenna last fall while hiking with my mom. It makes the sunny days that much more enjoyable. And I agree with all about the unbeatable ambiance after a rain storm - of course I am also from the NW. <BR>

Not at all! We live in an area where it seldom rains during the summer time. So, we really do have to remember to bring umbrellas and light rain gear. We have very fond memories and some good pictures of two trips to Italy where we had to hold up under an awning while it poured; once when a cafe was open and we sipped coffee and another time when the cafe was closed for the afternoon. My wife filled out post cards while I read. We were comfy both times. This last year in Scandinavia, we did get several days of rain. One late afternoon we were hold up in a door way while it poured in Arhus, Denmark. Fortunately, there was a jazz concert going on in a tented facaility across the square. So, we tapped our toes in the rain, well protected and happy to be there.

It isn't always pleasant when it rains but it's never ruined a vacation for me. My first week in Paris, it only rained (hard) on the last day. But I was in love by then and it didn't matter. I went back the following year and only got sun on one day. The rest of the time in rained. Didn't care. It was great. <BR>I've had rain in London (big surprise) and still enjoyed it. In a lull, we got to watch the Queen's guard practicing without have large crowds around. Then, we went to the National Gallery while it poured outside. <BR> <BR>Surprisingly, it didn't rain once while I was in Scotland but it was misty in Edinburgh. The only thing it ruined was the view from the Castle. <BR> <BR>We had one big thunderstorm in Florence but my friend had a folding umbrella so we stood in the Boboli Gardens under it and enjoyed the rain that lasted for about 15 minutes or so. <BR> <BR>Lee

I took some of my best pictures in Italy in the rain. I thought all I would get were rain drops but that was not the case. The greens of the Fiesole ruins turned out deep and rich. So don't be put off by the rain when photographing, especially nature shots. <BR>

I only mind the rain if it is raining too hard for me to safely use my camera when hitting the most photogenic spots, especially if my shots really need blue skies to work, or when I am somewhere that is just not the same without the sun. In some places (London, for example), rain can add atmosphere. In others (beaches, for example), it is mostly a pain in the ***.

Not a bit! I've discovered some of my favorite pubs by ducking inside during a sudden rainstorm in London! <BR> <BR>Also, my travel theory is: If it's February (for example) and cold as hell where I live and also cold as hell in Paris, I'd rather be in Paris, so why wouldn't I go anyway?

It rained my first day in Amsterdam. I just walked out of a coffeeshop and drank my first, second and third Heineken Pils from Holland. I really didn't seem to mind.

Topping for rain fans.

Well, if I had had to put up woth five horrid rainy days during my vacation I would have considered the entire 7 weeks totally ruined. I mean how can you possibly put up with anything that isn't exactly what you planned for?

Being British we always EXPECT rain on holiday in England and therefore if it doesn't we consider it a bonus, which is why most Brits head to sunnier climes for their holidays. However even the sunniest destinations can have an 'off' day. I remember one particular holiday in the south of France (normally guaranteed to be dry in the summer), when camping with a total of ten young children.<BR>The first day of rain we just shrugged our shoulders and went for a walk, the second we said'never mind it will be nice tommorrow' and read books and played cards, well by the fifth day it had become beyond a joke and we were all feeling quite cheated. The children were getting bored with card games so we had the bright idea of having a Disco. We backed one of the cars up to the entrance of the largest tent, cleared out the furniture and made sandwiches hot dogs and jelly ( I think you call it Jello in the US). Then we put on all the 'party tapes we always carry in the car to keep the children amused on long trips on the car stereo at full blast and hey presto we had a great party going. Word soon spread around the site and every kid in the camp converged on our tents. They all spoke different languages but we managed with fractured 'school' language and sign to teach them all such traditional english party dances as the Hokey Cokey and Ackadoo. They all had a whale of a time , and my young son was heard to say as we tucked him up in bed that night 'I hope it rains again tomorrow'. Luckily it didn't for the sake if the grownups sanity , but it will always be one of our great holiday memories.

Hi Countrymouse,<BR> An excellent example of &quot;When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade&quot;.

hi If we are talking about rain in the Uk just think it WILL rain, dress accordingly take an umbrella and have a positive attitude. pauline