New Orleans was more fun then I expected, but I think most of it had to do with the company I was keeping. Josie's mom and her Aunts were a riot. We kept each other laughing the entire trip. Josie and I took a latish flight to NO and got there just in time to take a shuttle to the Hotel St. Pierre to check in and hit the sack.
The next morning we got up at what seemed like the crack of dawn to us, but was really just eight in the morning there. We ate beignet's at the famous Cafe du Monde with hot chocolate on the side. (For those who were unaware like myself, beignet is a fancy french word that means square donut.)They were delicious, however, and I ate three and a half.
The next thing we did was walk around the French Quarter into all the little shops that are crammed into the 8 blocks by 12 blocks that make up this part of NO. The only thing I ended up buying was a little Alligator head and that is because I dropped it on the ground and chipped one of its teeth.
After we finished window shopping we decided to give ourselves a tour of the Garden District which is also famous in NO. Anyway, we took the trolley there and walked around for hours looking at all the mansions and old cemetery's and all the pretty iron works that seemed to adorn every house somewhere.
Of course, after we were done we got hungry and decided to walk what we thought were a few short blocks to Emeril's Delmonico's. BAM! It was a lot farther then we anticipated and we were dog tired when we finally made after about 15 blocks. They weren't quite open when we got there, but were nice enough to accommodate us until a table was prepared. We also did not have reservations (who knew?) but they were still polite enough to let us eat there. I must say that the restaurant was not as pricey as I thought it might be and the food was some of the best I've had.
I ordered the Mahi-mahi on a tomato and cucumber salad that was delicious. The portion was just right... no leftovers and I didn't feel stuffed. The waiters were great. I don't know how they put up with us because I am sure we were a lot more rowdy than they were used to. After we finished we decided to go ahead and walk the rest of the way back to the French Quarter and hit the hay.
No rest for me though, as I still had homework that I could not take a vacation from. After completing said work we went to bed at the wee hours of about 9 o'clock. That is late for someone who is normally in bed at 8 Pacific time. I was exhausted.
The next day we took a shuttle to the Oak Alley Plantation, which was just beautiful. One little weird fact I did not know but found interesting is that the people back in the plantation days were short. The average height of men was about 5 feet 4 inches and women were about 5 feet. I would have fit right in.
I thought the plantation would be a lot bigger then it was. The ceilings were incredibly high (10ft) but the rooms were very small. The house was neat though and I recommend it to anyone who goes. They don't allow you to take pictures in the house, but they have books that show the entire house.
After the tour we got to drink a Mint Julep (virgin)that was made the way they used to make it back in the day. It was deliciously sweet and minty/lemony. I understand why they drank them on hot days, they really hit the spot.
When we got back we took a horse (mule) drawn carriage tour around the French Quarter and got a little bit of a history lesson.
We saw the house that Brangelina bought and the one Nicholas Cage purchased too. Interesting side note is that Nicholas Cages house is supposed to be haunted by the spirits of tortured slaves. Pretty interesting if you look up the story for anyone who is interested.
Nicholas Cage's haunted house. The top window second from the left was boarded up after a slave committed suicide by jumping out the window.After the tour it was lunch and then more shopping at the Riverwalk. Interesting story there. Apparently there was some type of relief hand out being done by the Riverwalk and they had armed military out for crowd control, which there was none, but we were walking to the entrance and this guy with a big gun tells me to take a right and be prepared to show ID. Turns out he thought we were coming for the relief. Josie's Aunt's asked me why we were going the way we were going and I told them it was because the man with the gun told me to and I was not about to argue. We got it straightened out when I got the nerve to ask the guy with the gun which way to the Riverwalk.
We went out at night just to see what it was like and even took a walk down Bourbon street.
Let me just say that clubbing and drinking really have to be your scene for you to enjoy this part of NO. We were done with Bourbon street in about 2 minutes then it was back to the hotel for some sleep. I know, we're old and can't hang out so late at night.
The next day we walked some more and just took in the sites until i had to catch a shuttle back to the airport for my flight. One thing I have to say about New Orleans is that it doesn't take very long to take in the tourist attractions. I think I saw all there was to see in just the couple of days I was there. Fun, but much like Las Vegas, it doesn't take long to be tired of it and want to go home.
I missed my kids and my husband and I barely even got to see my mom. It was a little nice to have some time away though. Who knows when I'll be able to do that again. Oh yah, next month when I go to Dallas for mandatory training. Blech.
