Originally posted by Dan:
Don't forget to checkout local universities while travelling. [...]
Not a bad idea. I remember as an undergrad, there were practice rooms galore which were readily available during certain hours of the day (and night, as long as you knew the combination). This was at UCSD. Of course, with all the changes there since I've graduated, I'm not sure if the practice rooms are still around the Mandeville Theatre area or not (or if that part of campus is still the same or not).
When I was in grad school at Clark University (Worcester, MA), I had a couple of students who were music minors and had access to the music building after hours. So they gave me the combination to get into the building, and I was able to get my piano fixes that way. Too bad they didn't maintain the pianos in the practice rooms (there were three of them that I recalled) but the piano majors and minors had a key which let them into the rooms with the (in tune and properly maintained) grand pianos. Of course, a little bit of creative exchange (I help you study for your organic chem final, you let me play the grand piano for about an hour or two after hours) helped me to avoid the poor neglected practice room pianos.
