TRAVELREPORT - NEW ORLEANS (Oct 2-4)

New orleans Travelreport brought to you by Nadia:

Our trip to New Orleans was fun and entertaining.  We flew on Continental, (through Houston with its oddly high number of electric inside airport vehicles zipping folks around).  I have to say that regardless of what Continental reports, their service is not really that great.  I mean I was not thrilled when the flight attendant spilled soda on me and did not even notice, while I fussed to make sure that it wouldn’t stain my clothes.  Our hotel, which we enjoyed, was in the business district (Marriot Renaissance Arts Hotel).  Room was good, although the shower pressure left a lot to be desired, especially in such a new, modern hotel.               

We kicked off our Big Easy sightseeing with a haste walk from the business district to the French Quarter (aka Vieux Carre).  We were running late for a lunch reservation at a very yummy restaurant, NOLA, where we dined on some Southern favorites like shrimp and grits, and a pecan dessert.   After lunch we braved the humidity again (and I am not one to complain about, enjoying East Coast summers for years but in the Deep South it is a whole other ballgame) and set out for the Garden District.  Note to every traveler, if you want to make your way from the French Quarter to the Garden District quickly, skip the walking and the tram, a taxi is a better bet.                                                                                   

The tour of the Garden District put on by Haunted History Tours, (which meets outside the Pontchartrain Hotel), was fun as and quite educational.  Aside from seeing beautiful southern mansions, we enriched ourselves with a ton of trivia.  For example, did you that Cajuns and Acadians are the same thing?  Or what a real Creole person is? Or, that gumbo literally means “okra?”  Or, that Louisiana is the only civil law state in the US? And most fascinating to me, that it is a lie that in New Orleans the dead are buried above ground because of the sea-level.   For more info about this type of burial (not at all unique to NOLA) see here.  As a part of our first day, we also experienced a ride on the slow-moving but fun and efficient tram. Another important not-to-miss place in New Orleans, Café du Monde, where the smell of beignets and sight of powdered sugar all over the floor invites you to sit down and relax for a bit. Besides, while you are there you might as well check out the French Market and the statue of Joan of Arc.

Bourbon Street deserves its own long entry but I will keep it brief.  From early afternoon to the wee hours of morning, the place is loud and bumping.  From lawful drinking in the street to billboards which invite you to enjoy some true adult entertainment (with no cover charge), you realize that New Orleans is the original Las Vegas, and what happens there should often, just stay there.  We experienced the street at various hours, although the evening is the craziest.  The folks there do not need Mardi Gras to party like it’s 1999.  In fact, we collected a good amount of beads by simply being around when a German parade was going down the street (these happen rain or shine, and in our case it was hard rain).  It is unfortunate that a lot of the people on Bourbon Street are annoying, immature, desperate men who in their alcoholic delirium, hope for a chance to see up-skirt or down-the-shirt, of some woman.

Other not to be missed places, are the cemeteries (they have odd hours and most are closed on Sundays).  We checked out St. Louis #1, and found it quite interesting.  Also, if you have a chance, do eat at Commander’s Palace (NOLA’s famous, best restaurant for many years).  It is the kind of place where a gentleman may not enter without a jacket.  We were treated quite well by the staff there, although our main waitress was a little on the odd humor side.  We dined on turtle soup and black-eyed pea soup, local fish, awesome soufflé dessert and had really good “beverages” from the bar.  On the food side was also had a great Southern style brunch at Lüke Restaurant and Galatoires (another place where on Sundays gentlemen may not enter sans-jacket).  Also, check out Lafitte’s Blacksmith Bar (yes this used to be owned by the notorious pirate). If you get a chance before you go, download an Audissey tour of the city.  We recommend these as they are free and you can do them at your own pace in a variety of American cities.  They are done by locals and allow you just take everything in slowly.  Happy travelling and do enjoy your own trip down to the Crescent City.