Hello November!!
It is anticipated there will be extreme weather this year during winter, what not we have already seen extreme weather in Australia - snow during spring?????
2012 has indeed been a memorable year for us.
With the now happening hurricane Sandy in New York, billions of property damage, the closure of Wall Street, lives lost. Who know such disaster might happen to the least expected city in the world.
We just need to pray and hope for the best.
Anyways, stumbled across this on Lonely Planet..Well, some of you might agree and some of you might not. Personally, I hate the cold. That was what I told myself when I was in Australia for two years. Yes, the cold in a way limits your movement. Laziness will eventually prevail as you will tend to cuddle up in the warmth of your home. Now, telling myself, why not spend some time somewhere during winter?
Here is a read that some of you might want to consider on planning a trip this coming winter. However, there are some points need to be considered right at the bottom of the article.
And oh its a good time to catch the Aurora Borealis too!!!!!
The 7 Reasons to experience winter in Europe:
1. Off-season bargains
The rush for Christmas and New Year flights is over and there are
deals galore as typically ‘summery’ destinations hit their off-peak
season. Take advantage of the January slump: some tour operators suspend
their deals over the holidays but rev them up again in mid-January.
It’s also a great time to make an offer on a holiday bidding site like
Priceline.com or to scour the usual favourites like
TravelZoo,
Expedia and
Opodo. A number of sites, like
OffSeason.com and
CheapTickets.com, scoop up all the off-season travel deals in one place, so snagging a deal is like shooting fish in a barrel.
2. Jump in, the weather’s fine
Southern Europe laughs in the face of Jack Frost. Plenty of European destinations are still balmy before spring, like southern
Spain, the south of
France,
Sicily,
Cyprus and
Crete. Contact the relevant
tourist office
and ask for the stats if you have weather worries. And if you need your
dose of vitamin D, get the info on daylight hours in your destination
from
EuroMeteo.com. Warm destinations won’t swelter as they do during their summer peak, so you can see the ruins of ancient
Greece without risking sunstroke and you won’t have to avoid beaches during the midday sun. Time for another ouzo, then.
3. Don’t fear the frost
But there’s no need to chase the sun, as lashings of rain and snow
give added charisma to Europe’s classic city destinations. Who could
fail to be moved by an icy glaze on the turrets of
Europe’s castles? And what could elicit more envy than snapshots of romantic
Budapest under a smattering of snow? Wrap up in layers and embrace the cooler weather.
4. Get some elbow room
If your travel photos are usually invaded by hordes of other
tourists, spare yourself the time Photoshopping them out and travel in
winter for a crowd-free view. Big-hitting destinations are open for
business, but in winter more of the streets will be yours: that means
fewer pairs of sandaled feet pacing
La Rambla and less jostling for a view of
La Sagrada Família. Over in France, the major sights in
Provence favourite,
Avignon, are still open for business so you can pose on the famous
pont St-Bénézet and gawp at the immense
Palais des Papes. But winter travellers might be tempted by some of the more curious events too, like January’s
horse festival or the theatrical
Fest-Hiver.
5. Live like a local
Without so many tourists flocking into their prettiest piazzas, life
returns to normal in many tourist hotspots. And as locals’ guard comes
down, all the better to people-watch. Try stomping into a warm Parisian
brasserie to see chic locals shake their umbrellas (and wring out their
soggy pet poodles). Or maybe you’d prefer to eavesdrop on Londoners as
they endlessly discuss weather reports with that quintessentially
British air of gloom.
6. Winter madness
Why not unleash your daring side by timing your trip to coincide with
one of Europe’s hedonistic winter events? Something about being cooped
up indoors unleashes the wild side in Europeans and it’d be rude not to
join in the chaos. Scandinavians leap into ice-cold lakes as part of
their sauna regime, Sicilians explode in a riot of colour for the Feast
of San Sebastiano, and Croatia’s February festivals are a spectacle of
giddy mayhem (
particularly raucous in
Rijeka).
7. Cuddle up
Unless you’re hunting the Northern Lights or riding husky dogs across
a frozen plain, Scandinavia might seem like a crazy choice for cold
weather. A
Stockholm city break with shortening hours of daylight? Traipsing up to
Tromsø
for dark skies and gloomy museums? But in Scandinavia, the colder it
is, the most tempting the cosy comforts. March your rain-battled self to
a Finnish sauna, snuggle into one of
Gothenburg’s beautiful cafes with a sinful hot chocolate, or head to
Denmark to experience
hygge, an untranslatable phenomenon akin to cosiness and goodwill.
But don’t forget to plan. Make your European travels a breeze by heeding these winter winter warnings:
- Road to nowhere. Ferries, buses and train routes
can slow down or come to a complete stop over winter. Don’t pin your
hopes on island-hopping Croatia or railroading across Russia before you
check whether the routes will operate.
- Hammering in your head. Hotels sometimes use the
low season to renovate their properties. If you want to be sure you’ll
avoid a noisy night, check online reviews for mentions of building
works, or be bold and ask the hotel outright.
- Closed for business. Hotels, museums and galleries
sometimes give themselves a hard-earned rest after the hubbub of high
season, so call ahead or check the website before you rock up.
Enjoy winter people!!!!!!!!!
xoxo