TTT

Thanks Ira and Pauline.<BR>Actually the last few years we have been pleasantly surprised with the english weather. I don't know if it's something to do with global warming but we have had a mild sometimes warm October with quite a bit of sunshine and November, although wet hasn't been nearly as bad as previous years and definately milder.<BR>My philosophy of life is like the old chinese saying, 'life is like a selection of boxes, some contain butterflies and some have snakes. Don't be worrying about if the next box will contain snakes as you will miss out on the joy of the box of butterflies youve opened now' Usually in my experience even the 'boxes with snakes can turn out to contain harmless ones with pretty markings if you dont worry too much about them.<BR>Coo-er thats rather Zen for 8am on a friday morning.<BR>Keep smiling Fodorites.<BR>Luv CM

Sunny days? What are they? The United Nations should send us to drought-stricken countries, their problems would be solved immediately.<BR><BR>As long as our feet aren't too wet, our umbrellas don't blow away, and there's the promise of a cup of hot tea -- or something a little stronger -- when we reach our destination, we don't worry too much.

my husband loves it when it rains when I am in a flea market or shopping and that leads us to a nearby cafe or bistro we may never had discovered.

Rain RUINED two days of my vacation once . . . on an Austrian ski slope. The slope turned into a ski-nightmare. Otherwise, I could care less. Or I guess the inverse would be a problem; snow or sleet on my beach vacation.

I can't remember a single day of any vacation I've ever taken that rain ruined. If it's raining I just bring an umbrella, and maybe get a bit damp. I'm not going to melt, after all!

&quot;Time is more important than the weather.&quot; I managed an outdoor sports hotel for 17 years. We lost/could not go outside twice in that period. Weather gear is now available for any activity...We now have air conditioning, car engine heaters, super clothing...

On vacation rain almost seems romantic. I never let it spoil my day. I go to cafes sit and have a warm drink and take in the scenery. I remember the rainy days fondly!

A cold rainy day in Paris beats a warm sunny day anywhere else on the planet.

Larry J

My advice from experience: if you get caught in a giant rainstorm and still want to visit places, don't choose that time to economize by walking.

Yes, you are a whimp. During the worst thunderstorm I have ever experienced I spent six hours fully engrossed inside the Benaki museum in Athens. A brilliant day.
A rainy day is a museum day or shopping mall day.

When is it NOT raining in Europe. Of course, I usually travel off-season so the weather is usually pretty dreary. I love it. It helps me appreciate how much the Europeans were able to accomplish despite the depressing Winter weather. It also cuts down on crowds. And I've always maintained it's much easier to dress for cold, wet weather than for stinkin' hot, humid weather.

I hadn't thought about it until I read this, but my favorite travel month ever included rain at every stop. Last October I experienced rain in New Orleans, Nagoya and Tokyo Japan as well as San Diego. Now that I recall, I had, and used, an umbrella nearly everyday. However, when I think of my travel experiences I have to be reminded of it. Funny, I'll be in Italy next week and the forecast includes rain for at least the first couple of days. I'm disappointed at that but I guess I need to keep in mind that It won't be what I recall and it probably won't affect a thing. Got a lot of miles on my umbrella - maybe I need to display it on the wall with all my photos.

I love rainy days at home or abroad. Of course I live in Southern California and we appreciate rain after a long drought. It drizzled all through our trip to Pompeii and stopped only after we were almost through. I have a beautiful photo of a rainbow over the city. And since I love to travel off season most of my photo albums include rainbows far away places.
I spend a lot of time in museums so I hardly notice the rain.

Since I'm mostly an off-season traveler to Europe (October thru March), I expect for and prepare for miserable weather. Light rains have never curtailed my outdoor activities in Europe, but heavy rain/snow certainly does. I cope by being as flexible as possible with my itinerary, prepared to change at a moment's notice. If I start to venture outdoors and see the weather take a turn for the worst, then I head for the museums, catacombs, palaces, and long cafe breaks. Warning: pay little attention to the weather forecasts there. They have proven to be very inaccurate in my experience.

I'm going to admit that rain CAN ruin a vacation if you are on a trip to get away from the miserable weather at home and enjoy some sun. Luckily, I don't take too many of those kinds of trips.

it also depends on the kind of rain. rain in Hawaii is not such a big deal. it's warm and it generally ends quickly. Rain in London is not so good. It's cold and it rains hard for most of the day. Of course, no one goes to London for the sun, so it doesn't matter as much.

Depending on your plans, rain can also interfere with your one and only day viewing the mountains or whatever. i don't think it's wimpy to complain about bad weather.

Well, it rains where I live now and again and there's just nothing you can do about it. And, it's such a good thing for the lawn and landscaping (especially while we're away).

I figure the chance of rain no matter where you go is 50/50 (it may rain or it may not) each and every day.

For it to rain only 5 days during a 7-week trip is unimaginably fortunate for you. Not to mention only 1 day during 2 weeks in England.

All in all, rain is a wonderful, and necessary, feature of nature, and hardly even an inconvenience of any sort - when you consider all sorts of other contingencies of travel.

So, yes, I'd go with &quot;major wimp&quot;.

I'll only have a few precious days to visit Paris in winter. If it rains then I cannot just stay inside otherwise, I'd have wasted my whole vacation time.

I'm optomistic. If I've spent part of my downpayment for a house on a trip to Paris, I'm damned well gonna enjoy that trip! That said, yes it did rain a couple of days in November. I adored the reflections of those buildings in the watery roads and pavements. I wish I had had a black and white camera.
Also, I got a chuckle from one of the &quot;grande dames&quot;. A beautiful older woman but...evidently, she had not watched Meteo that one particularly rainy morning. From my window seat at lunch, she came by, full length mink, extraordinarly pointy toed high-heels, hair only in a scarf. Her expression said it all; the appearance of a very large, very drowned mink! I like rain.