re: European Travelers of the Board

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I absolutely love Siena. When I had a record shop, I used to sell at the record fair there twice a year and always stay for a few extra days. All the medieval mountain top villages in that area and south toward Roma (Orvieto, Todi, Narni, Viterbo etc) are beautiful and, while there are tourists, it's not so overrun that you lose things like the quaint, family style restaurants and just the general feel of "difference".

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My dream trip is a week in Siena for the palio. Definitely number one on my bucket list for things to do before I die.

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I honestly haven't traveled all that much to smaller towns in the northeast since I lived in Roma and Cagliari and Genoa for a short while but based on the few I've spent time in (like Bolzano about an hour and half north of Venice and the "vacation-y" Ravenna/Cesena on the coast a bit south, I think it's hard to go wrong off the beaten track.

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I spent two weeks with my girlfriend's family in Udine. The north side of the city is beautiful, especially into the mountains. The city itself is very small and you get that local feel - no skyscrapers or large office buildings. Ravenna is wonderful and so is Trieste even though both are very touristy. If you want touristy, but not overbearing and still get the small town feel you can't go wrong with Cinque Terre.

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Also agree about Milan. Great city if you're trying to get exposure for the new leisure wear line you're designing but otherwise kind of a large, gray city that has some beautiful buildings but not worth missing almost any other place in Italy to see.

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The cathedral will take your breath away. Other than that it reminds me of a metrosexual mid-west America, but with bigger buildings and more pavement.