Audissey Guides Presents iPod Walking Tours of New Orleans and Miami Beach

Boston, MA (PRWEB) August 23, 2007 -- Audissey Guides is pleased to announce the launch of The New Orleans Audissey and The Miami Beach Audissey, the newest addition to their iPod audio walking tours available nationwide, inviting visitors and residents to walk in the footsteps of a city "insider." Audissey Guides tours are narrated by local fixtures in each city's social scene, offering a unique and "un-touristy" alternative to checking out a city -- and can be taken at your own pace and at your own time using an iPod or MP3 Player. Audissey Guides are also available in Seattle, Boston and Chicago with more tours scheduled for late 2007.

"This is a new way to travel -- to let your iPod become your tour guide," said Rob Pyles, 29-year old Founder of Audissey Guides. "The ambient sound effects, the eclectic soundtrack, and the narrator's voice -- they combine to give you insider access into the soul of a city. It's something a tourist can't experience any other way. And the best part is you don't look like a tourist -- people just think you're listening to your iPod."

The New Orleans Audissey

The New Orleans Audissey, a 16-stop, hour-long tour, is narrated by Brent Baudean, a New Orleans native of Cajun Creole descent -- a 22-year old sidewalk poet, musician, tour guide and self-professed "Quarter Rat" (the moniker for hipsters in the French Quarter). The tour starts with Baudean beckoning guests to "walk the city with me, my city, my New Orleans." And so begins Baudean's very personal and poetic journey into the heart and soul of the Big Easy with stops at favorite local haunts, as well as beloved New Orleans landmarks.

Baudean veers off the beaten track of Bourbon Street to such places as a bar where you can order an absinthe (yep, they will serve it), Saint Anthony's Garden (a former dueling grounds), and Baudean's favorite corner grocery store. Visitors will even meet a voodoo priestess, and explore the streets of Lower Decatur and the Marigny, what Baudean calls the "New Bohemia". The New Orleans Audissey features an original, New Orleans-inspired soundtrack -- an avant-garde mix of jazz, electronica, Dixieland, and Goth.

The New Orleans Audissey is also a walking celebration of New Orleans and a tribute to its residents who have reclaimed their beloved city post-Katrina. The tour concludes in a small park, outside of the French Quarter, where Baudean emotionally relates his own personal Katrina experience -- and triumph. As he tells listeners, "New Orleans is immortal."

Audissey Guides will donate $1 from each tour sale (the tour costs $10) to the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic, a not-for-profit clinic offering healthcare to musicians in New Orleans.

The Miami Beach Audissey

The Miami Beach Audissey, also a 16-stop, hour-long tour, is narrated by Miami local Claudia Verela, a bikini model by day and bartender by night. Half-Salvadorian, half-Haitian, and "totally crazy", Verela is the perfect companion and tour guide to all places fashionable in the city known as the "Capital of Sexy."

Strolling down Ocean Drive, Verela takes you on her own personal tour, guiding you with her sultry voice and Latin flair matched to the beats of ambient tunes. She takes you for drinks at some of her favorite bars -- a tasty mojito or perhaps a popsicle martini- while stopping along the way to point out great people-watching spots and art deco buildings. With the sound of Verela's stilettos hitting the pavement, she fills you in on some off-the-beaten-track sites, such as the filming location from the famous chainsaw scene in Scarface, Al Capone's old hangout (now a Crunch Fitness), the Gianni Versace Mansion, and the American birthplace of Rumba.

Even a stranger to the city will feel a part of the sexy South Beach in-crowd with a Miami Beach model giving you a VIP tour and introducing you to some of her friends: you'll meet bouncers, bartenders and dancers along the way who offer you their own insider tips on South Beach nightlife.

Other Audissey Guide Tours include:

The Boston Audissey

Malcolm X. Ho Chi Minh. The Mafia. This is the Boston they never told you about. Travelers and culture junkies looking for a unique "off the beaten track" experience can now tour Boston's hidden sites ?and all you need is an iPod. The Boston Audissey: Hidden Sites of Beantown, a 21-stop tour, leads visitors down mysterious alleys and cobblestone streets to reveal hidden treasures, secret stories, and local finds. A motley crew of Boston natives narrate the tour, from FBI agents to local authors, and give you the inside story on their hometown.

The Chicago Audissey

Become a Chi-Town Insider with The Chicago Audissey. The 18-stop tour is narrated by renowned hip-hop poet, poetry slam champion and Chi-town native Kevin Coval. Coval leads visitors and residents on a lyrical journey through the heart of Chicago. The Chicago Audissey also features an original soundtrack, inspired by the city of Chicago.

The Seattle Audissey

What do Bill Gates' step mom, a peep show dancer and a tribal leader have in common? All three are guest narrators on The Seattle Audissey. The 20-stop tour offers visitors an insider's look into the people, places and personality of "The Jewel of the Northwest". The host narrator on the tour is DJ Michele Myers, uber-cool Seattleite and host of the popular radio show "Nite Life" and gives travelers the inside scoop on her hometown. The tour features a colorful cast of local guest narrators.The tour starts in Pioneer Square, weaving in and out of buildings, bars, and even basements. A ride on the bus is part of the journey, helping the listener to mix with local people, before exploring Post Alley and, finally, Pike Place Market -- one of the coolest places in America.

How It Works

The tour is as simple to use as an audio guide in a museum -- except you're walking the streets of the city using your iPod (or any MP3 player). The price of each tour is $10.00, 1 mile long and takes about an hour. You can download the tour as well as a printable map and get more information at www.AudisseyGuides.com.

About Audissey Guides:

Audissey Guides is pioneering a new form of travel -- iPod audio tours that feature local narrators, original music, and creative sound design. Put in your earbuds and follow the voice of the narrators, hip-hop poets to bikini models, who guide you off the tourist trail through their hometown. Audissey Guides offers audio tours through New Orleans, Miami Beach, Boston, Seattle, and Chicago -- with more scheduled for late 2007. Check out www.AudisseyGuides.com.

Press Contact:

Tiffany Woolf

917-532-3366

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