I really want to read trip reports from people who have been to Paris/Loire and Normandie when we plan to go.

Have you been at those times and have a trip report I can read? Please let me know. I am so excited I can't stop researching.

Not a trip report, but there are a couple of newsletters covering Normandie in the late fall you might be interested in reading:

Basse Normandie - William the Conqueror, Calvados, Camembert & D-Day
Haute Normandie - Rouen, Monet’s Garden, Abbeys & the Alabaster Coast

You can expect the weather to be a little cooler with some rain along the north coast in late October-early November, but not unpleasant. Paris will be typically beautiful at that time of the year.

When we were in Normandy in October of 2010, the weather was cold and windy. At least at that time, the D-Day tour operators shut down at the end of October. So if you're planning on going on a tour of the beaches (which typically leave from Bayeux), I'd check to see what will be available at that time.

We plan on going to the Loire and Normandie first then the last week in October and the first week of November in Paris. I figured the coast would get colder sooner so I thought this might be the best option.

Plan on carrying a good umbrella on this trip. It will come in handy.

We've been on driving trips through the LV in late October/early November. Beautiful and most places had no crowds at all. Be aware, however, that Nov 1 is a holiday and some places use that date to close for the season. We were in Angers, which is one of our favorite cities in France anyway, and we did find some open restaurants

However, the OP will be in Paris and while many places will be closed, there should be restaurants open, at least in the most touristed part of the city.

You know you can use the search tool to find trip reports. Search within France and put in the search box "Normandy AND "trip report"" without the outermost quotes. YOu do have to sift through a lot of stuff as, unfortunately, it doesn't allow you to just select trip reports. I think it could, actually, as they are tagged, but Fodors doesn't give you a way. Here is one
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-provence.cfm

I did try to figure it out on how to search for trip reports but couldn't find a way.

You can use the seach feature at the top of this page 'Search the Forums:'

I meant to search specifically for trip reports. I did try but it came up with too many posts that were not related. I found it frustrating.

You're right. They need to improve the search engine!

We went to the Loire Valley in May 2011...

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ance-again.cfm

We always go to Paris the last weekend in November and it is usually cold enough for winter jackets with periodic rain. We still love it though!