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May 4, 2016 9:03:10 GMT -5 mccjeff said:

Instead of spending thousands of dollars every year to see mostly bands we've seen before I think we are going to spend that money on seeing places, peoples & cultures we've never seen before.

I'd say that is a very prudent decision.

My wife and I have been having similar conversations recently. Right now our kids are still young and traveling with them even short distances is somewhat arduous. So we are currently on the separate vacation plan, with me doing festivals solo and her doing cruises and what not with her friends. But in the next couple of years our kids will be at a better age and likely more appreciative of seeing more of the world. So we've built up a pretty extensive list of places we want to see.

Of course our travels will still be centered around places of musical significance, with Vienna pretty much topping the list.

I'll still catch shows as often as possible but they'll have to be local. If Phish, Mule, Umphrey's, String Cheese and (God willing) Widespread Panic want my money, they're gonna have to come to me.

• Make the effort to go to Trieste...right on the border with Slovenia and a stone's throw from Croatia. The city has a crazy "who owns me" history, and has a influence from a number of cultures. It does not have some of the big "guidebook" attractions, but if you want to soak up some really interesting culture, food, and places to wonder around...loved this place. There is a reason James Joyce spent so much of his life writing there. If you are going to go to Venice anyway, it can't be more than 2 hours away by car.   
• If you want to see the Alps, skip Turin and go to the city of Aosta. Both if you can, but the effort to get to Aosta is worth it.  
• You mentioned it, but don't skip Siena if you go to Florence. If you can hit one of the couple horse race dates - it is unreal. 
• You mentioned Lake Garda...yes, get outside Verona (after seeing opera there). 
• Going South, didn't see Salarno on your initial list - cool city. I didn't get past Pompeii, but my wife studied in Sorrento and loved it. I really liked the Adriatic side of the south - Chieti is a can't miss.    

Dec 12, 2016 20:59:56 GMT -5 @endless said:

Hitch hiked thru Italy in '79; bussed thru in '81; Eurailed in '88. Thousands of things to do.  Try not to miss Pompeii.

if I ever go back I'm gonna skip all the sites and just travel from restaurant to restaurant.

My first trip to Italy was a short stop  after 7 months hard travel in southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent '80-81. All I did was eat; thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

Subsequent trips are all about the food and wine; the other points of interest follow. I especially love the mandatory lunch wine with local bread/meat/cheese. To sit in a park with a $40 Brunello you bought for $5 in the grocery store just feels delightfully wicked. And truffle oil in everything.

Love finding cool liqueurs (aperitif/digestif), too. Once found one made out of myrtle leaves/berries (Mirto) that was like a drink of the East Coast salt marsh. 

And let me plug Umbria (Perugia) for the chocolate....

Chris, a great souvenir are the small bags of mixed spices for your pasta you can find in any Saturday street market--inexpensive, light weight, duty free, last a long time at home and each time you cook with them, you travel back. From those I learned the technique of cooking the dried spices in my olive oil first, rather than adding them later. 

So jealous....