Friday Five: Tourist Edition

reverendmother here... It seems like this topic has been done before, but I can't find it in the archives, so......
I am downtown on retreat this week. Most of the retreatants are from out of town, so I get to experience this place through the eyes of visitors. So in the spirit of tourism:

1. What is one place you make sure to take out-of-town guests when they visit? (you can be vague to preserve your anonymity if you like) I make sure I get them to a show at Roosevelt Hall, home to our very own Prairie Wind Players.

PWP has been one of the best things about life here in Barrett: I've been in four plays, played guitar for a musical and have really enjoyed being part of a volunteer arts organization for the first time in my life. It's a real blessing and an incredible cultural element for a town of 350 to host.

2. When visiting another city or town, do you try to cram as much in as possible, or take it slow and easy? I'm a little of both, frankly. I try to do one day of being out and about and the next day relaxing, preferably as much like a local as possible. I HATE looking/acting/feeling like a tourist, especially when I travel internationally, so I try to fit in as much as possible. The first time I was in Germany, I counted my efforts successful when the owner of a local bar, on hearing that I didn't speak much German, asked if I was from Ireland. :-) I do love museums and parks and monuments and all the history of a place, but I also like to get to know the people in places, too, and to see them as more than just purveyors of my vacation bliss.

3. When traveling, where are we most likely to find you: strolling through a museum, checking out the local shopping, or _________________? Yes to both, and then also in a local coffee shop, sipping a pint at the local pub or taking in a ballgame if there's a baseball team in the area (any league will do, especially minor leagues).

4. Do you like organized tours and/or carefully planned itineraries, or would you rather strike out and just see what happens? Having done both, I can see the value in each, but I much prefer to plan my own trips. Beloved and I planned our honeymoon in Germany by ourselves with help from Rick Steves and my sister-in-law, and we had a ball, including the two days at the end where we just drove north along the Romantischestrasse until we felt like stopping. We found the loveliest little inn in Wurzburg and genuinely enjoyed the end of a nearly two-week trip.

5. After an extended trip, what do you find yourself craving most about home? My bed. The only thing I don't do well while traveling is sleep. Doesn't matter the comfort of the bed, the environment or anything - I just can't sleep well away from home. But such things are minor inconveniences; I can sleep when I'm dead. Time to travel!

Late addition: Favorite Tours/Museums/Destinations: The Night Watchman's Tour in Rothenburg ob der Tauber (actually, Old Rothenburg was all pretty cool - be sure to stay inside the Old City), the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour, the Medieval Banquet at Castle ??? in Ireland, and our walking tours of Munchen and Nurnberg - what fun!