We did one of these 90-minute boat tours in August 2010 and it was fascinating. The tour guide was excellent; informative and entertaining, and it's a great way to see the city. There is a great range of beautiful buildings to see and it's also quite a nice way to spend (part of) a sunny day!

caf.architecture.org/Page.aspx?pid=574

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Named after singer/songwriter Gram Parsons, this quaint bed and breakfast in Tampa is as kitsch as they come.

A favourite with troubadours and travelling musicians looking for a kooky stop-off on the road, the hippy-trippy owner insists you call an hour before arrival so he can give you a proper welcome.

Housed in two cutesy cottages, each room has its own musical theme and a comment book so guests can add decorating tips. My favourite touches are the real musical instruments that line the walls, and cassette player and book to teach you about your room’s style of music.

You can take your pick from a full score of ‘genres’ from Country Music to the Blues Room, or upgrade to the ‘Adventure Room’, a stand alone cabin-cum-tree-house with a skylight for star-gazing.

Let the novelty continue with a night in the Train Room – a sleeper car that has been converted into a co-ed dorm, or rustle up some grub in the ‘I Love Lucy’ Kitchen.

More dive bar than the Hard Rock Hotel, there’s a BYOB ‘Parson’s Pub’ where cats laze around on the veranda and strains of folk and reggae fill the air.

Wannabe rock-stars can spend an evening in the playboy-grotto-esque Jacuzzi, surrounded by an overgrown garden of waterfalls, palm trees and vines.

www.grams-inn-tampa.com/index.htm

www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/usa/tampa/5096/

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It pains me to reveal this secret spot but then it is on Main Street in Breckenridge so perhaps it's not that secret. Daylight Donuts is a fantastic place to go for breakfast before hitting the slopes. You can choose from a series of set platters - pancakes, bacon and hash browns or tortillas or sweeter options - plus endless coffee and some of the best donuts you'll ever munch. Good place to meet locals too and not expensive even taking the crashing exchange rate into account.

305 North Main Street, Breckenridge

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Not as celebrated, as big or as central as San Francisco's Chinatown, Japan Town is still definitely one of the coolest places to visit in one of the world's coolest cities. Strung either side of Post St for a few blocks between Pacific Heights and the Fillmore, on the outside it is a largely unattractive, concrete-clad, easy to miss place, save for a few Japanese plants and the Japan Centre tower. However, enter the subterranean mall and you are transported into a kitsch Japanese fantasy world. Alongside numerous sushi houses and other restaurants (many of which do charge more than the city's huge range of other fantastic Japanese eateries) are supermarkets, gift shops, art and design stores, bookshops. All with a unique, quirky, Japanese flair (one stationery shop had a hilarious line of animal-innuendo notebooks). The kitsch pastiche decor only adds to the whole charm of the place, and despite it being obviously tourist-orientated, Japan Town remains fun and not overrun, perhaps by nature of its location. Definitely remember to sample some of the bobo drinks, they're one of the cheapest things there, and fantastic.

Post St, San Francisco, CA. Civic Center BART is maybe 20 minutes walk, or the 2, 3 and 4 muni buses run a block up on Sutter to downtown.

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Although Sea Isle is a great vacation town, there is a village that is virtually unknown, even to most people in Philadelphia. Cape May Point at the very southern tip of New Jersey, has gorgeous beaches surrounding a small charming village that is known worldwide for bird and butterfly migrations. A vacation at “The Point” is a vacation like no other. A quiet place for families or couples who are looking to renew their connection to nature and calm their spirit. A true holiday getaway.

The historic town of Cape May with highly rated restaurants and wonderful little shops is a mere two miles away. An early morning walk to Cape May for breakfast takes you past the Nature Conservancy’s South Cape May Meadow, a significant birding area. As the sun comes up over the Atlantic Ocean you can watch dolphins frolicking just offshore. It may just be the most beautiful two miles of beach on the entire coast.

One of the nicest homes for rental can be found in an online search of “SeaScape Cape May Point”.

www.capemaytimes.com

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Great hamburger restaurant on corner of Newton and Turner square

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