If you were a travel agent advising a visitor from Australia

Janie is a school principal so if she's going to do an extended vacation it has to be during her summer break, sticking her with being here in Jan/Feb.

Boston is a terrific idea, as are Charleston and Savannah. Good point about her not needing to see more desert.

Thanks for the Memphis/driving info. They were thinking of driving between Memphis and NO already so good to have support for that idea.

I did say they should reconsider NYC although I don't like NYC so didn't exactly push it. I had considered recommending Las Vegas. The idea that Janie would go back to Australia having spent most of her time here in New Orleans and Las Vegas didn't seem right, though.

If Key West weren't so out of the way I'd suggest that.

They have no interest in LA area and seem set on doing San Francisco - which would be my choice.

Fly - I'm from Minneapolis. I love Minneapolis. Madison is another great place. I can't send them there in January.

Appreciate the input.

 

C'mon they MUST experience a true US Upper Midwest winter!

 

I love San Francisco, but I also love NYC.
Beaches, like deserts/badlands, could be a tough call for someone from Australia. I'd recommend things that distinctly could not be done in Australia, but the time of year makes a lot options in mountainous or colder locations unrealistic.
I have taken a California native to NYC and DC twice in Nov. and Jan. although she enjoyed the trips, she distinctly did not enjoy the cold.

 

I would absolutely pick San Francisco over Los Angeles or anything else on the west coast. San Diego's beautiful, but also strikes me as a close approximation of Australia, so probably not high on the list.

For what it's worth, I absolutely love Las Vegas, and I do very little drinking and practically no gambling while I'm there. It's a hugely entertaining city. Winter's a great time to be there. too.

I think Sedona is much cooler than the Grand Canyon. My favorite spots in Arizona are actually Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly and Antelope Canyon, but those are all a long haul from anywhere.

(By the way, a note for east coast SportsJournalists.com: it's actually not so hard to imagine doing a city-hopping trip of the US without NYC. I won't even fly through NYC if I can avoid it.)

 

Austin.

 

Depending on when they're here, they could catch the St. Paul Winter Carnival. That's a pretty cool deal if you're from somewhere that doesn't get much winter.

 

Athens, Austin and Nashville, all easy jumps from New Orleans, would also provide a fun time. Or there's always Tahoe.

 

I'm trying to figure out just how to explain the Winter Carnival to her. I think I can do snow sculptures and ice palaces, but I may lose her at King Boreas and the Vulcans.

Someone I used to work with got married at the Winter Carnival - the quote about why the bands were cancelled cracked me up. http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1996/Outdoor-Wedding-In-Below-Zero-Weather/id-3baea3f6998adf6d901c9862840da9e9

ETA: Janie asked me to tell you that you are "good chaps" and she appreciates your help "from the bottom of [her] antipodean heart." She isn't sure about Minneapolis after checking January temperatures but has just about decided to visit a friend of ours who lives in the country outside of Buffalo. She wants to see snow.

 

Saying you won't visit New York on a trip to America is sort of like saying you won't visit Sydney on a trip to Australia.

January may not be the best time to come, but it's still worth a day or two, especially if you're going to be as close as Buffalo. (And if they are going to Buffalo, be sure to get them to Niagara Falls.)

 

If Buffalo, Duffs for wings (fuck the Anchor Bar) and Grover's for great burgers.

 

If Buffalo, Schwabl's for 'weck.

http://schwabls.com