Mahootney

Can't help you for Zermatt.

Venice: 2 days is enough. You have to see it, but then, you also don't have to go back.

Rome: 3 days is enough. But we like Florence way better and spent more time there and in the countryside.

Venice:
We stayed at St Regis Venice, but it was called Westin Regina and Europa at the time, but apparently it was remodeled in 2019.
We also highly considered the Baglioni and Gritti Palace.

You don't have to stay near Piazza San Marco, you'll visit there enough, but it was cool to eat dinner there. It's been a minute, but I believe it was Ristorante Quadri.
Other one might have been Beccafico Guna Restaurant, but it's hard to know for sure. Basically, you won't have a bad meal or experience.

Things to do:
1. Doge's Palace/ Basilica di San Marco
2. Murano glass tours
3. Gondola ride
4. Walk around (Rialto Bridge)


Rome:
You're going to want to stay in the city center to walk to all of your sights.

Things to do:
1. Vatican tour, sistine chapel, St Peter's (Takes basically the whole day).
2. Colosseum and Roman forum guided tour
3. Walk around (Spanish steps, trevi, Pantheon, Piazza Navona
4. Opera and Michelin restaurant


Places between Venice and Rome are worth a stop:
Florence is the best (3 days or more... we liked this way more than rome and venice, but you might "have to do rome and venice once".
Sienna is great.
Montalcino / montepulchiano
Orvieto

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Steamboat is great. It still has that western vibe and small town charm. It doesn’t feel super rich like other Colorado ski resort towns.

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I personally love Hayden and the 40min shuttle. Super convenient.

Lots of lodging options for SISO, walking, or shuttling... and all of them are easy and reasonable.
Pretty great mountain for beginner and intermediates (I haven't been back since the expansion).

It has climbed in relative cost versus other options in recent years.
(I consistently price check every couple of years as a hobby/ destination selection tool.) :lol:
But, it is still a pretty good value and ranks pretty high on overall experience.

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Anyone ever been to Chile in the summer? The videos I have seen lately make it look pretty cool. That's a long flight though...

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I'm going the first winter after all of my kids are in College, but that's a long way away.
I plan on doing a full Alps tour one year.... and a South American tour during the summer.

My wife might divorce me, but I'd love to get 200 days of skiing in a year!
:cool:

He really only had one bad loss, which was to Florida in 2024.
Can you really blame him for losing to Alabama twice or LSU in his first year at ole Miss?

Lots of research says that for 2 people you really don't need to get a table. There will be plenty of options and foreigners overestimate the value of reservations. It isn't like dinner or a seat in a stadium. Plus, if you are nice to the waitress, you can easily get seated.
We will likely be there mid-week,so lunch will be easy for sure. Dinner may be sketchy, but we will be there all day. So, do you really care which party you join?

I've priced it out in the past, Europe and North America ski trips are roughly the same cost from anywhere in the South or East Coast.
It's kinda nuts really.

Flights are obviously more expensive to Europe, but everything else is way cheaper.

The only drawback, and this is from my friends that grew up in Europe, is the snow quality predictability.
When you book a trip in August-November for a ski trip in Jan-March, you absolutely know what you are going to get regardless of where you go in North America.
You know that outside of some crazy Super El Nino, Breck is going to be Breck. Vail, Big Sky, Whistler, Telluride. It doesn't matter, book with confidence.

Europe Ski Season is always like rolling the Super El Nino dice.
You almost have to wait until January to book for February because the snow season can be absolute shite.
2nd hand advice from my Euro buddies. Take it for what it's worth.

I'm in the process of booking a trip to Oktoberfest for the first week of the festival.
Although I've never been before, I have been thinking of going for a long time.
So, I'm getting quite excited! :cheers:

With that said, you would think I would have done a little research before just up and deciding to go. I have not.
I guess I thought it was just like a state fair, or Mardi Gras, or Bourbon St.
It is.... and it isn't.

Online advice: You should book a table reservation to make sure you can get a seat at the tent that you want. One for Lunch. One for Dinner/Party.
Cool.
But a table reservation isn't booking a seat for 2 within a table (e.g. like at a restaurant, or a seat at a sporting event).
Not quite. It is booking the whole 7-10 person table, with a $350 minimum (7 Liters and 7 "1/2" roast chickens). :lol:
Uh. Oh.

I'm kinda stuck now with hope being the best strategy.
Flights, Hotels, Transfers all booked ... and having to debate rolling the dice or dropping $1k per day and eating a lifetime supply of roast chicken. Haha.

Anyone else going to be going to Munich?
Maybe if we get enough people we can have our own TigerDroppings table?
Any advice from the Oide Wiesn veterans to help me navigate Theresienwiese? :cheers:

Hard to argue that LSU is one of the top 3-5 jobs in football.
Along with LSU, there are only 2-3 schools that are in the discussion.

Alabama, especially with Nick's compounding on his own success, was a pretty great job.
Ohio State, especially with Day being successful, shows that the inherent advantages in recruiting, brand, and schedule make this a great job.
... Can you really include Georgia? Yes, Kirby won 2 recently. And Richt always had them in the mix.


The media darlings of Tx, ND, USC.... have not consistently delivered championships.

Crosswalks and landscaping?
Really?
Whatever federal department funded this needs to be audited by DOGE.

Oct 2020 LSU vs S. Carolina.
Trey Palmer with the first kickoff return for a touchdown in Tiger Stadium since 1981.
Pretty crappy year. Pretty crappy season.
Pretty underrated game/win.