Guys, real talk, we really liked New Orleans.
We were there for four days and they were jam packed with exploring (and lots of walking ;) good thing I was wearing my trusty shoes from Target and my minnetonkas)
We went with some of Mike's college friends and their significant others and rented an Airbnb house, which worked out very well. We were definitely outside of the city (pros and cons) and it was less expensive than a hotel. It had a pool and a fire pit. It was maybe not in the best area of New Orleans although we didn't have any problems.
I'll just tackle this with some of the places we visited and some of my thoughts.
Shaya - this was essentially our first stop and we had lunch and it was amazing. We sat on the patio and ate the best pita bread I've ever tasted. We ordered a bunch of small plates (side note: half the group was vegetarians so all our stops were veggie friendly) and the tabouleh and lutenitsa were my favorites. Oh, and, the cauliflower on the hummus!
And, honestly, it was very reasonably priced.
Oak Street - we randomly came across this street our first day because it was the closest really anything to our airbnb house. We found coffee shops, brunch, music and a famous restaurant. Note: we did not all visit all of those places. We definitely seemed to be with the locals on this street. It was so laid back and enjoyable. The brunch place had a three piece band (violin, piano, tuba) playing while we ate. NBD
Magazine Street - Shaya is on Magazine Street and we heard of the street for it's shopping and long story short, we ended up walking downtown from here. (We walked 11 miles that day.) We walked through so many different, distinctive areas that I loved the experience.
Free Tours - This organization is all over. We ended up taking the food tour and ghost tour. They were interesting. I mean, you can't go to New Orleans (or the south in general?) without going on a ghost tour. The idea is you name your own price with your tips.
Cafe du Monde - this is just a must if you go to New Orleans. It just is. Beignets and chicory coffee for me.
Bourbon Street - we walked down Bourbon Street several times. My favorite time, Mike & I split at slushie and we went to a gallery on a bar and looked down on Bourbon Street and watched people walk by. This was about 3:00 on Saturday.
Frenchman Street - everyone told us this is where the "locals" go. I do believe locals opt for Frenchman Street over Bourbon Street and there were also a lot of tourists there. Thursday afternoon we went to the Spotted Cat, which we really enjoyed. This street seems a bit more focused on live music!!
Mardi Gras World - this was probably the biggest let down of the trip. The tour guide was rather bland and it was a lot of money for not a lot of anything. I wouldn't recommend heading over there.
Metairie Cemetery - cemeteries in New Orleans are super interesting.
Pirates Alley Cafe and Absinthe House - I mention this place because we actually ended up here a couple times and the bartender was so nice (and good). Mike tried Absinthe for the first time and it's right next to St. Louis Cathedral.
Wedding Procession - this was one of my favorite parts of the trip, seeing a couple wedding processions! The entire wedding walks through the streets with a band leading the way.
The River - some of you may not know I grew up on the Mississippi River. We had the Flood of '93 (yes, it's capitalized). It was fun to see it at such a different spot. We only hung out there for a bit and there was an amazing band playing behind us!
Audubon Park - we made our way here Friday and walked around the little lake. It was very relaxing and beautiful. There was a swan!
Street Cars - We were a bit of a walk from the street car and we took them all the time. They were slow. And they were charming!
I wish we could have spent more time on the river (because I'm a sucker for water) and visited the World War II museum.
We were there for four days and they were jam packed with exploring (and lots of walking ;) good thing I was wearing my trusty shoes from Target and my minnetonkas)
We went with some of Mike's college friends and their significant others and rented an Airbnb house, which worked out very well. We were definitely outside of the city (pros and cons) and it was less expensive than a hotel. It had a pool and a fire pit. It was maybe not in the best area of New Orleans although we didn't have any problems.
I'll just tackle this with some of the places we visited and some of my thoughts.
Shaya - this was essentially our first stop and we had lunch and it was amazing. We sat on the patio and ate the best pita bread I've ever tasted. We ordered a bunch of small plates (side note: half the group was vegetarians so all our stops were veggie friendly) and the tabouleh and lutenitsa were my favorites. Oh, and, the cauliflower on the hummus!
And, honestly, it was very reasonably priced.
Oak Street - we randomly came across this street our first day because it was the closest really anything to our airbnb house. We found coffee shops, brunch, music and a famous restaurant. Note: we did not all visit all of those places. We definitely seemed to be with the locals on this street. It was so laid back and enjoyable. The brunch place had a three piece band (violin, piano, tuba) playing while we ate. NBD
Magazine Street - Shaya is on Magazine Street and we heard of the street for it's shopping and long story short, we ended up walking downtown from here. (We walked 11 miles that day.) We walked through so many different, distinctive areas that I loved the experience.
Free Tours - This organization is all over. We ended up taking the food tour and ghost tour. They were interesting. I mean, you can't go to New Orleans (or the south in general?) without going on a ghost tour. The idea is you name your own price with your tips.
Cafe du Monde - this is just a must if you go to New Orleans. It just is. Beignets and chicory coffee for me.
Bourbon Street - we walked down Bourbon Street several times. My favorite time, Mike & I split at slushie and we went to a gallery on a bar and looked down on Bourbon Street and watched people walk by. This was about 3:00 on Saturday.
Frenchman Street - everyone told us this is where the "locals" go. I do believe locals opt for Frenchman Street over Bourbon Street and there were also a lot of tourists there. Thursday afternoon we went to the Spotted Cat, which we really enjoyed. This street seems a bit more focused on live music!!
Mardi Gras World - this was probably the biggest let down of the trip. The tour guide was rather bland and it was a lot of money for not a lot of anything. I wouldn't recommend heading over there.
Metairie Cemetery - cemeteries in New Orleans are super interesting.
Pirates Alley Cafe and Absinthe House - I mention this place because we actually ended up here a couple times and the bartender was so nice (and good). Mike tried Absinthe for the first time and it's right next to St. Louis Cathedral.
Wedding Procession - this was one of my favorite parts of the trip, seeing a couple wedding processions! The entire wedding walks through the streets with a band leading the way.
The River - some of you may not know I grew up on the Mississippi River. We had the Flood of '93 (yes, it's capitalized). It was fun to see it at such a different spot. We only hung out there for a bit and there was an amazing band playing behind us!
Audubon Park - we made our way here Friday and walked around the little lake. It was very relaxing and beautiful. There was a swan!
Street Cars - We were a bit of a walk from the street car and we took them all the time. They were slow. And they were charming!
I wish we could have spent more time on the river (because I'm a sucker for water) and visited the World War II museum.
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