Looking forward to the rest of your report. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities, so I live vicariously through everyone who gets to go

I loved the visual of your family walking down Bourbon. I can just picture a 19 year old there with his mom.

Keep it coming!

Day 2, March 14. We had 10:30 am reservations at Mr. B's so everyone got to sleep in a bit. Brunch was great. I had the BBQ'd shrimp. It was messy as I'd been told and tasty, but I don't think I would ever order it again. D had the pecan crusted catfish and she was the one who raved about her entree the most. The live jazz trio started paying at 11 am.

After brunch we walked down to the aquarium - D14 loves all things animals. It was pretty crowded and I guess it's a good aquarium, although that's not really my thing. As we were leaving, Son mentioned that he really wanted to see one of the IMax movies and so I made a mental note to try to fit it in later.

The plan was to go back to the hotel, grab the car, and head to the New Orleans Museum of Art to catch the big Disney exhibit on its last day. After a few minutes, the valet called and asked us to come down. It seems that shortly after we left our car with them (almost 24 hours earlier) a tire went flat. They told the hotel front desk, and the front desk allegedly called us but didn't leave a message. (Everyone acted as if it was our fault for not being in our hotel room in New Orleans on a Saturday night.) Anyway, I'm sure you can see where this story is going. By the time the tire was changed and we got to the musuem, the line was out the door, they said the last admittance was 4 pm and we'd never get in.

Disappointed, we drove to the cemetary a few blocks away. We were nervous because it supposedly closed at 4 pm. We walked around quickly but didn't want to be locked in, so it was a short visit.

Then, of course, the family turned to Mom the Trip Planner, who is expected to have not only Plan A, but Plan B and Plan C in her back pocket. Of course, I did. We drove to the Garden District and had a nice walking tour of the neighborhood (from the Fodors book.) It was a beautiful day to be outside and the homes were really lovely.

Dinner was at Arnoud's Remolaude, which is Arnoud's more affordable sibling. The recommendation came not from this board but from the Fodors book. It was terrible - avoid it! Actually, the shrimp bisque was good. One D had pizza which everyone but me tried and pronounced inedible. I had the crawfish cakes which had to have been purchased frozen from some restaurant supply company. H had the stuffed crab which also had to have been purchased premade. You know your meal is going to be disppointing when your plate arrives and it's 2/3 full of COLD french fries.

After that, we had to redeem the evening by returning to Cafe du Monde. We sat at a table and wondered what "method" the harried waiters used to figure out who had been waited on and who hadn't. After waiting about 45 minutes without our order being taken, we determined there was no method. Lots of people came and went while we sat there. We finally talked to one of the waiters and eventually got our food. But of course, hot beignets heal all ills, so we left happy. (Note: the place starts to clear out and be sane at about 11 pm.)

Lots of weddings!

I had the barbecued shrimp in NO once as well. I, too, agree that it was tasty, but I don't think I would order it again. I'm a big fan of the muffaletta though!

It sounds like you had a great trip.

Day 3, Monday, March 15. I get the idea that the fine residents of New Orleans want the tourists to leave on Sunday because virtually nothing is open on Mondays. We went to the WWII Museum, saw the first showing of the day of the IMax movie...quite crowded. The museum was interesting and well done. We stayed until after 2 pm - by then, the kids were museumed-out and we all were hungry.

We stopped at Mother's for lunch. It was only about 1/2 block from our hotel so we thought we'd do take out. We waited and waited and waited for our food. When we asked, we were told that the delay was cooking the chicken for the grilled chicken sandwich that one D ordered - they said (not when she ordered it, but when we asked later) that a chicken breast took half hour to cook. Mind you, that chicken breast was 1/4 inch thick, which takes about 4 minutes at home, but whatever. The guys had the ham and roast beef special and said it was good, I had the oyster po-boy and it was good; the girls hated their chicken and turkey sandwiches.

We had planned to go to the Mardi-Gras museum at the Presbytere but it was closed on Mondays so we decided to take the ferry to Algiers. We got there and the ferry was out, so we took the ferry over to the other place the ferry goes...just stayed on for the round trip. Pretty unattractive riverfront going upstream.

After that, the girls wanted to shop and the guys didn't, so we split up for a couple of hours. We went to a store called Wish on the road south of Decatur and pretty much bought out the store. The guys got a burger at Krystals and hung out in Jackson Square.

Dinner was at Pascal's Manale. Each girl had some kind of pasta with seafood which they each loved. I had the oyster loaf which they really should just sell as an appetizer and not an entree - too much rich sameness to have that be your meal.

Day 4, March 16. This morning we had reservations for the New Orleans School of Cooking. The room has about 8 tables for 8; you sit there and drink tea or water and watch the cook cook - she talks about the food, the difference between cajun and creole food, then you eat it. I think Son got a bit bored with the cooking part, but I found it entertaining and we all enjoyed the food.

From there we went to the Audubon Zoo. I kept my eye on my watch because there was a 5 pm showing of the IMax movie that Son wanted to see at the aquarium. We had several hours at the zoo. We left at 4 pm, but D14 wanted to stay until the 5 pm closing time. It took a long time to drive those few miles to the aquarium. We arrived breathlessley at the ticket line at 4:45 and were told that the 5 pm show was sold out. Son was so disappointed. Everything else was closed by then, so we went back to the room to rest.

I thought if we ate a late dinner (e.g. 8:30 or 9 pm) things would be less crowded. We went to our first choice - Yo Mamas - and found out that they do not admit people under 21. We went to our second choice - Acme Oyster Company - and even at that late hour the wait was in excess of 45 minutes. So we went to our third choice - Cafe Maspero. Pros: We thought the food was very good. H and I shared a fried seafood platter and there was more than enough for two of us. Cons: VERY rude waitress...the closest I've come to having food thrown on the table. Also, someone spotted a mouse. Another pro: We were pretty close to Cafe Du Monde, so even though we got wet in the rain, we had our last beinget fix. This time it was late enough that we were waited on right away and got our food quickly.

Day 5, March 17. Today is our day to tour plantations, but before that we stopped at the rental car place at the airport (thank goodness it was on the way) to turn in that car and get a new one so we didn't have to drive on the little spare.

Our first stop was Laura Plantation. I learned a lot on that tour - how that particular plantation was their "office", like living above the store, not a grand place for entertaning or showing off wealth. I appreciated the honesty of the tour - describing the good and the bad and the really bad.

After that tour we stopped for a quick lunch at B&C Seafood. We really enjoyed everything we ate. They had a few items on the menu that the restaurants in NOLA didn't (e.g. fried green tomatoes, frog legs.) We actually enjoyed their bread pudding more than the bread pudding at Mr. B's.

After lunch we toured Oak Alley, which is what everyone thinks a plantation should look like. We drove home on the other side of the river, and drove by (but didn't tour) another plantation.

To the airport, then home.

Thoughts on New Orleans: It makes me sad that whatever way of life there used to be in the French Quarter no longer exists. It's such a Catch 22 - cities want tourist dollars, but all the tourists disrupt what was so cool there in the first place. Do residents ever spend the time/effort to eat at Cafe Du Monde or Acme Oyster Company?

As we were taking our walking tour of the Garden District, I felt sorry for folks whose homes made the guide book. The normal homeowners must think "please don't put my house on our tour; please don't put my house in your book." I'd hate to live with folks gawking from the sidewalk all the time.

Terrific food, pretty city, fairly abrupt restaurant service everywhere, too many tourists.

Thanks for the detailed report Missypie! I know what it's like to be "mom the tour guide" with plans a, b, c... It sounds like you did well.

Nice report. Saving this because New Orleans is on my list for a trip soon. I know what its like too, being the mom tour guide with all the answers. Yeah right

I'm not sure if you ever visited NOLA per-K, but the tourism there is still down significantly to what it was. So, if you think it is busy now, it used to be much busier. I've been there 3X since, & it in no way approaches Pre-K crowds. I go to Acme every time I visit(& walk right in & sit at the bar). It also helps @ Cafe Maspero if you chat up the oft-tattoed, slightly beligerent & overly pierced wait staff but I usually sit at the bar there as well (probably not a good idea w/kids as they may have their vocabulary expanded in ways that you would not approve). Glad you enjoyed it & nice report.

Our waitress at Cafe Maspero seemed like a mom who had been working a 10 hour shift. It was after 9 pm when we arrived, so she probably had been working that long. We tried to be very sweet and polite but she really did just toss things on the table with no words or eye contact.

I visited NOLA a couple of times pre-K, but never during Spring Break week. Most of Texas is on spring break that week and who knows who else.

Great report - thanks so much! We're heading to NO in a couple of weeks with our 22/20/17 year olds and this was a lot of help.

Sounds great so far, cant wait to hear more. We are planning a trip in April with an 18 yr. old and a 15 yr. old. Looking for inexpensive things to do and places to eat!

I love NOLA (was born there but left as a baby) and have been many times. I was actually there the week before you for Mardi Gras with DD, DH and Mom.

I've been several times when my kids were quite young and then as teenagers and always had a very good time. Although I can relate to the 19 yr old on Bourbon St. - been there, done that.

We really enjoy Blake Kern's Mardi Gras world. You can take the free Algiers ferry and a van will pick you up at the dock and take you to their warehouse. The tour is very informative and it's not something you can do anywhere else. We've been twice.

With kids, the Aquarium and Zoo are at the top of the list. But another idea is to take the street car from the FQ to Audubon Park and a river boat back or vice versa. The boat isn't cheap, but it's something a lot of people have never done.

With teenagers, I highly recommend a cemetery/voodoo tour. The one we did originated at Cafe Beignet and it was extremely interesting. It goes into St. Louis Cemetery #1 and a voodoo house or something. I learned a lot about all the history of the city, etc.

<<Do residents ever spend the time/effort to eat at Cafe Du Monde or Acme Oyster Company?>>

As former residents, frequent visitors (since my family is still there)-

Cafe Du Monde - yes, every time we're in the FQ with the boys.

Acme - no way! DH and boys prefer Felixs...just across the street, better food, no lines!