NOLA

They say New York is the city that never sleeps, but I’d argue that New Orleans is a strong contender for that title. Not only was it full of life all day and night long, but the culture, food, and experiences were something I was blown away by. New Orleans is a city we’ve always been curious about, both for different reasons. For me, I first grew curious about it when I read a few Anne Rice books and saw a few vampire movies that were set in the city. It held an air of mystery for me. Something that seemed both classy and dirty, exciting and nefarious, bold and easy going. From the allure of beautiful music to amazing food, haunted cemeteries and voodoo queens, rich culture and epic parties, I knew it was a city I needed to explore…and explore we did. I’m going to start this story though by saying we didn’t get nearly enough time there. Although we tried to do all the things, see all the places, and eat all the food, we didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what this wondrous city had to offer. A trip back is definitely in our future, but for now, I’ll give you our New Orleans story.

Halloween is a holiday Matt and I both love. We began discussing trip ideas and New Orleans was the obvious choice. Vampires, ghost, and alcohol… I mean, why wouldn’t we go to New Orleans for Halloween? We left home on Saturday and had a brief overnight stay in Florabama, which was a fun little layover. We checked out the bar there that seems to be the touristy hot spot and we weren’t disappointed. There were several live bands, all of which were pretty good, the drinks were good and reasonable considering it was totally for tourist, and the location right on the beach was a bonus. It was a short, fun stay and then we arrived in New Orleans early on Sunday. I’m glad we did it that way because it was an 8 hour total drive, but with the stop in Florabama, we only drove 3 hours that morning and hit the ground running, well walking. Our hotel (Renaissance New Orleans Pere) was just a couple short blocks from Bourbon street, which was a really great choice. We immediately hit up a bar, Bourbon Street Drinkery, that had an extremely over priced drink menu, but hey… when in Rome, right? FYI, New Orleans isn’t cheap. I’m sure there are some tricks to the trade that can be applied here, but we just went for it on this trip and suffered the high price consequences, which we have zero regrets about. Life’s too short for those anyway. As we sat and sipped out cocktails (his was a very gingery Moscow Mule that we highly recommend you take them up on tasting it first). We contemplated our next move. Matt wondered aloud if they had any bars with absinthe, I then googled, and confirmed that they indeed did have a bar that was primarily for that purpose, we made the decision to go that evening. With that decided, which wasn’t really much of a plan, we agreed to simply wander around for a bit and see where the roads took us. It was a wise choice. The absinthe bar was at the end of the road we were on. It was definitely meant to be.

Old Absinthe House was a small, hole in the wall like bar with a vibe that we both immediately liked. Side note: it ended up being both of ours favorite by the end of the trip. Again, this is day one, hour 1 or 2ish so we decided to keep it light and I ordered a cocktail. I wanted to give you the name but when I looked them up online, it appears that they change their menu often, so although I don’t have the name, it was a Prosecco based drink. It was not my cup of tea to say the least. No matter what it’s mixed with, absinthe taste like black licorice and it cannot be masked. It’s also gross. I’m sorry for anyone that likes it, but for real, it’s bad. It’s strong as hell though so I see the appeal. I sipped my cocktail, avoiding the urge to shiver after each taste, and we chatted for a bit as we took in our surroundings. The walls were covered in business cards, the people were nice without bing pushy, and the noise from the street behind us trickled in. It was a really great spot. However, there was much to see and do, so we agreed to come back our last night to have an official absinthe drink and see what the green fairy had to offer us.

We wandered around for a bit longer before heading back to the hotel to change for our riverboat dinner cruise. Matt and I both dressed a little nice, embracing the idea of a nice boat ride on the Mississippi river, under the stars, with jazz music playing. Full disclosure, this wasn’t quite worth the price but we don’t regret the experience. The food was mediocre (all except for the cajan pasta which we tried to duplicate the night we returned home from our trip, it was that good), the seating was not great unless you were one of the first ones to board the boat and get a table next to the jazz band. If you weren’t close to the band, there wasn’t really much else to do other than drink and eat. However, we definitely made the most of it. We enjoyed the city view from the river, the moon was beautiful, and watching the back of the riverboat and the paddlewheel was both cool and pretty. If we could do it all over again, I’d say skip the meal and just do the riverboat cruise for the experience. I mean, how many times will you be able to be on a real riverboat, in the Mississippi river, with a live jazz band, and in New Orleans?

We ended our night with beignets and coffee from the infamous Cafe Du Monde, which was just a 5 minute walk from where we exited the riverboat cruise. The beignets were exactly as we expected. Warm, soft, covered in powdered sugar. Prior to our trip, we’d planned to try them from several places to compare, but while they were tasty, having them once was enough for both Matt and I. We did sit for a while, enjoying our treat, before taking the quick walk back to our hotel and calling it a night.

Day 3 we decided to have brunch at The Court of Two Sisters, a place we’d walked by the day before and read the brunch menu on the door. It sounded amazing and from what we could see, looked like a nice restaurant. It did not disappoint. The brunch buffet offered all the best New Orleans cuisine that we’d hoped for. There were regular breakfast and lunch items along with jambalaya, red beans and rice, seafood, gumbo, ettouffee, and bananas foster. They even had a seafood option for eggs benedict that looked amazing but I was already full by the time I noticed it. Not only was the food amazing and something we’ll definitely go back for, but the court yard seating was beautiful AND there was a live jazz band playing during brunch. The area, in my opinion, embodied what comes to mind when I think of New Orleans. Brick walls surrounding the courtyard, a fountain in the center, wrought iron tables and chairs, a cobblestone/brick ground, all surrounded by flourishing greenery growing in a way that I wasn’t sure if it was wild or grown to look that way. With the band playing, it felt magical.

After brunch, we walked the streets for a bit, taking our time to get to Cemetery 1, which we had a scheduled walking tour of. The cemetery was definitely different than what we’re used to, all the tombs above ground. Some were very old, some new, all different from each other. The guide offered a bit of history of some of the people that are entombed there, especially Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Her tomb was interesting, a bit underwhelming though, but only because due to recent vandalism, the tomb had been refurbished and offerings were not allowed anymore. We did enjoy our walk though with some history of the area and Matt took some beautiful photos.

Once we finished our tour, we made our way back to the main area, Bourbon Street and the surrounding area, checking out some shops. In doing that, we stumbled on the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum which we had to check out. The museum was small but offered a lot of information, history, and exhibits despite its size. There we saw a lot more temples with offerings from visitors. It was really interesting and informative, something I’m really happy we decided to do. New Orleans offers a lot of culture and history, the voodoo culture being a huge part of what has made the city what it is today. You’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t at least dip your toe into some of it and learn a little.

After a nap, we headed to Frenchman street which did not disappoint. It was full of art work and murals on the sides of buildings giving the area a lively, upbeat vibe. The bars all had live music and food, so we decided to do our own little food tour. The food was amazing, the music too. Each bar was filled with the sounds of the live bands and the smells of traditional New Orleans food. We had jambalaya, Mac and cheese, oysters, and even tacos at Favela Chic Nola, which also had the best band of the night. The singer not only sang well, but he kept us entertained with his humor and tap dancing skills. It was definitely a great experience!

We wrapped up our night back on Bourbon Street where we bar hopped, enjoyed quite a few drinks, and even decided to try mechanical bull riding at the Boot Scootin Rodeo bar. Not gonna lie, I was nervous but it was a bucket list item for Matt so we had to do it. It was so much fun. I did NOT last long on any of the three tries I had, but Matt was a natural and able to stay on for almost a minute until they turned up the heat and got him off the bull. This bar not only had great country music and mechanical bull riding, but they also had a balcony that we stood on for a while and people watched the many visitors of Bourbon Street. Some of the other bar patrons threw beads down, which was entertaining to say the least… especially when Micheal Myers stopped, flashed us, and very seriously caught his beads before turning and walking away. We stumbled back to our hotel in the wee hours of the night, both happy and feeling perfectly safe walking the streets of New Orleans late at night.

Day 4 was our final day as well as Halloween. Matt had looked into some of the Mardi Gras stuff and found Mardi Gras World which seemed really interesting. For the first time on the trip, we took the trolley which was exactly as you’d think it was … like a bus but cuter and very easy to navigate. We purchased tickets online for a couple of bucks and hopped right on, then ventured to the Lower Garden District. We both loved this experience. When you walk in, there’s a gift shop where you wait until the tour starts. It begins with a video on Mardi Gras which was extremely informational and interesting. I learned a lot about why they celebrate and it had a whole lot more to do with culture than drinking and partying. After the video, we were able to try king cake, then led to the warehouse. There was a guide, but we were allowed to wander on our own as well so we did a bit of both. The guide offered a lot of interesting facts about how the floats are made, operated, and why. I had never really been interested in the holiday, but after the tour, Matt and I both agreed we’d be coming back for the event soon. The floats are phenomenal, the way they’re designed and created is magical. These artist are simply amazing at what they do.

After the tour, they offered a free bus ride back to Canal Street, which we took. It dropped us off right in front of the Creole House Restaurant (on the corner of Canal and Decatur St.). We checked out the menu and decided to give it a try. The Oysters were AMAZING, as was the rest of the food. We tried the gumbo and a poboy, but the oysters?! Some of the best I’ve ever had and unfortunately, have made me not want them from anywhere else since. New Orleans, in general, seems to have figured out how to make all the oysters, all good.

After lunch, we had to check out of our hotel because we wanted a true New Orleans hotel experience and splurged a little to stay in a hotel in the French Quarter. Hotel Royal was a beautiful hotel. The room was large with black wood floors, antique furntiture, and exposed beams on the ceiling. Getting to the room was a serious of twisted and oddly placed stairs that felt like something out of Labyrinth or M.C. Escher’s “Relativity” painting. All the stairs made their way around a cozy, private courtyard in the center that was both scary and magical. We absolutely loved it. My only regret is not being there longer and enjoying the hotel. I mean, it was Halloween night after all. Matt and I changed into our vampire costumes and hit the French Quarter. We made a quick stop at the Hotel Monteleone (which they say is haunted) to check out the carousel bar. It was crowded and honestly not worth waiting to sit at a bar that rotated at a speed that didn’t even feel like it was moving, for a $20 drink. So, we snapped a couple of pictures and went on or way. I’d highly recommend you do the same. There’s so many other places worth that time.

We spent the rest of our night bar hoping, drinking, eating at the “best burger place” in New Orleans (which was yummy), and meeting new people. It was magical and fun and everything I’d hoped it would be, plus more. Matt and I had the best time together, creating new memories, and falling in love with a city that will always hold a special place in our hearts. We definitely plan to go back because, as I said before, we barley scraped the surface of what this beautiful, grimy city had to offer.