LONDON -- If you're going to spend time anywhere in the run-up to Christmas, I'd highly recommend jolly old England.
OK, so my brother's backpacking trip on Kalalau Trail in Kauai also sounds pretty sweet, if you're into 80-degree weather, technicolor mountains and hidden waterfalls.
Actually, let's face it. My brother is a genius.
But London is a city perfect for pale, nerdy history buffs like my husband and me, as we meandered through Churchill's bunker and eyed Chaucer's original "Canterbury Tales."
And as native Midwesterners, the blustery, gray 50-degree days practically felt like a tropical paradise. It certainly trumped last year's Christmas polar vortex/ice storm tour de force which left some Michiganders without power for a week.