Ed Zubrow, Italy-bound:

>I am looking forward to the trip and the things we will see and
>experience. But I'm dreading the 9 hour flight.  What suggestions
>do you "savvy" travelers have for me so that I won't suffer
>withdrawl from CD's and book?

You do need one book of the kind which can be read in small doses.  The
airline's CM channel might be more interesting than you'd expect:  years
ago, a friend discovered Surinach's Piano Concerto on a long Air France
flight (flights from Australia to most places are long!) and by the time
he arrived, he'd heard it often enough to know it well.  Alternatively, you
might like to try "playing" a symphony in your head as a useful discipline,
especially as the orchestra sometimes wants to get ahead of you.  Regular
walking on the plane is recommended - DVT does not stand for digital
versatile tape.

It's tempting to take a Walkman, but there are at least two drawbacks.  The
phones are fragile and prone to tangling.  If my experience is any guide,
you hear at least one unfamiliar sensational orchestral work which is back
announced in a language you don't know, and there is no way of finding out
what it was.

I remember a great CD shop across the road from the cathedral in Florence.
I didn't find any rare Italian music there, but I did pick up a couple of
Walton CDs I hadn't seen in London.  And if there are any concerts, they'll
be on the day after you arrive somewhere or the day after you leave.

Best of all, when you get home, your CDs will sound fresh and strangely
invigorating.  Bon voyage!

Richard Pennycuick
[log in to unmask]