I have visited New Orleans a couple of times the “Big Easy” has a very vibrant vibe with amazing music around the clock and the food is delicious.  Bourbon Street is great but Frenchmen Street is more authentic.  I have visited New Orleans during the week and at the weekend, I enjoyed the more local music blues bands during the week and found the weekends a bit too busy for me.  A visit to the swamp to do an alligator airboat tour is a must.  If you are into road trips a drive from here towards Florida following the Gulf of Mexico is amazing, hug the coast and avoid the freeways to find amazing beaches and restaurants.

Sausalito is a laid back waterfront town, cool old houseboats, easy to visit from San Francisco via bike, hop on-hop off bus and ferry.  This restaurant has a deck over the water and claim to fame it is where Otis Reading wrote sitting on the dock of the Bay.

A very fun day full of action, theme rides, shows, movie studio (head straight to the back of the park and do the studio tour first to avoid queues later in the day).  We purchased the express passes and it was worth it.  

The Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are world famous views, a Sydney harbour cruise is a great way to look around along with exploring Darling Harbour’s bars and restaurants.  The ferry and train system make it very easy to get around.  China town was great with good live music and yummy food to try and just across the road is the famous markets.  You could spend a few days here easily.

Inside Passage cruise that stopped at Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and a day cruising Tracy Arm.  The White Pass rail journey from Skagway to the Summit of White Pass was a definite highlight and recommend, take approx. 2 ½ hrs and you can still see the walking trails of the gold miners from years past.  We added on a self drive at the start from Calgary, stopping in Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Vancouver.  During the summer months the ski gondolas run giving opportunity for great views (even saw a couple of bears!).