On To Miami, Florida.

This city has something for everyone, but it is a very plastic city, by that I mean everything including the people are stereotypically good looking. The beaches here are beautiful and there is so much to do, eg, restaurants, night life, day cruises, week cruises, fishing and the list goes on.

This place is quite expensive and that goes for everything here, we went to a sushi restaurant and we were charged double that of anywhere else we had been. Having said that though, the shopping here is based more on the top end of the market selling designer labels and custom gear and for that sort of stuff this place is great and there can be bargains found.

The public transport here, just like everywhere else in America, is quite good and the busses take you most places that you would want to go. The accomodation here is also quite good and there is something here for all ages and taste. Again we stayed in a hostel and it was one big 24 hour 7 day week party but that's what you would expect. It is the perfect option for young people who are into a networking social type holiday but definately no good for a relaxing holiday for a more mature couple. Most, if not all, the hotels/hostels are very close to the beach and are all surrounded by shops so there is no lack of time consuming activities at your doorstep. Many of the hostels and the hotels run tours and we took our hostel up on three of them.... A one day cruise to the bahamas, Everglades swamp tour and a day trip tp the Florida Keys.

Auzzie Traveller: New Orleans, Louisiana.

Auzzie Traveller: New Orleans, Louisiana.

New Orleans, Louisiana.

On to New Orleans! This place shocked us on arrival, in all honesty we wanted to just turn around and get out of there! It is still almost war torn after hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005. There are people who have lost their homes that are now living in tents under the over passes as you come into the city, and there are a lot of derelict buildings scattered all over the place which remain damaged from the hurricane three years ago. You can't help but wonder if the city can actually ever recoup its losses after such a tragedy.

It's not all bad however, far from it, the French quarter of this city is really nice and it is very much a party town. There is a casino and a countless number of bars, pubs, restaurants and various other venues to peruse. The swamps here offer all types of activities such as fishing, boating and general wildlife tours although they are quite expensive.

The city is quite easy to navigate and the public transport system is quite good and cheap and there are a number of horse drawn carts operating in the city centre for hire or for tours (prices vary) which are expensive but are definately the way to go in this city, especially in the French quarter with its beautifully decorated buildings.

The crime rate as with Memphis, is high and there are under cover police, drunks and homeless all over the place, especially on the cities main drag, Canal street. We stayed in the Canal street hotel wich is supposed to be a good quality hotel and apparantly a foamous one at that but it was honestly a joke! The place stank of wet musty carpet and was full of bugs not to mention the view of all the homeless people living in tents outside our window under the overpass.... How are you meant to enjoy you stay when you are worried that when you walk out the door you are gonna get mugged! Not to mention the feeling of guilt, here we are on holiday throwing our money away on hotel stays and the people out the window are living in tents with nothing left to thier names. So I recommend if you do travel here, stay closer to the river or in the French quarter itself.