I haven't been able to travel for a while now, but that drought is about over. France and Greece in less than two weeks!
I share your love of tasting the local flavors. The traditional, local ingredients offer more than taste; it's history. Food says so much about who we are and where we've been as a people.
I enjoy the local architecture. The older, more historic buildings that offer a glimpse into who those people were, and are, just like the food. Different ideas as to how to build, and especially those buildings suited to the local climate.
Mostly, though, I try to find a place where I can sit and watch people live their lives. Where they dine, shop, drink, party, and work. I let those impressions sink in and they are most of what I take back home with me. Those sights, sounds, smells, and shreds of conversations that echo, 'This is who we are.' That's what I look for when I'm away. The rhythm of life in that place.