1st trip to NO-need ideas!
Oct 26th, 2006, 11:49 AM
#21
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I have been to NOLA several times. If you aren't on too tight of a budget, take a limo/town car from the airport. The booth is at the baggage claim. It is only $10 more than a taxi and they carry your luggage. You will be in a clean car and they will deliver you directly to your hotel. United Cab is the best once you are in the city. This cemetary tour donates to Friends of the Cemetary Restoration and many of the guides are part of the organization. Not as commercialized. http://www.tourneworleans.com/cemetery_set.html. Honey Island Swamp tours is run by an ecologist. They take you in deep into the bayou (not on noisy airboats). Will pick you up at the hotel. Takes half a day. Whttp://www.honeyislandswamp.com/ I am a single, female and walking in the French Quarter at night hasn't been an issue but just the French Quarter. Cafe du Monde is worth the effort. Beignets are better than Cafe Beignet and so is the site seeing. Palace Cafe on Canal St has white chocolate bread pudding to die for (I wasn't a white chocolate fan). Central Grocery on Decatur for a muffaletta. Try a praline from Laura's in the French Market. Coffee Pot on St. Peters has great breakfast. Pat O'Briens is a bit cheesy but has the original, dueling pianos bar. Late afternoon can be enjoyable. Their hurricanes are lethal however. The aquariam is at the foot of Canal and enjoyable. There is a short ferry ride across the Mississippi to Algiers. Takes 15 minutes. Many antique shops on Royal and Chartres. If you like jazz, Snug Harbor http://www.snugjazz.com/ is adjacent to the FQ in the Marigny. Ellis Marsalis (father of Wynton and Brandford) and Charmaine Neville (cousin to the Neville Bros.) are regulars.
Oct 26th, 2006, 03:43 PM
#22
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I'm so happy to hear that the Funky Pirate and Big Al are still going strong! I second that recommendation.
I'd save a trip to the plantations for another time. With your limited time, I would enjoy the French Quarter and all it has to offer. And the homes and cemetary in the Garden District.
Have fun......I can't wait to go back to NO sometime in the future!
I'd save a trip to the plantations for another time. With your limited time, I would enjoy the French Quarter and all it has to offer. And the homes and cemetary in the Garden District.
Have fun......I can't wait to go back to NO sometime in the future!
Nov 6th, 2006, 12:09 PM
#23
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I'm baaaack!!
Thanks for all the input. What a great town. It's too bad it got dark by 5:30 because I didn't feel very comfortable being out alone after dark but by day I had a great time! Ok, so here's my mini-report...
Thanks for all the input. What a great town. It's too bad it got dark by 5:30 because I didn't feel very comfortable being out alone after dark but by day I had a great time! Ok, so here's my mini-report...
Nov 8th, 2006, 12:56 PM
#25
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Sorry, I got sidetracked! Work always gets in the way of fun!
Celebrate!!
I took the Airport Shuttle to my hotel-Holiday Inn French Quarter-for $13. The hotel was nice enough, nothing special but clean and safe. It was on Royal just off Canal, so a good location and lots of things in walking distance. The Canal and Riverfront Streetcars are running, St. Charles is due to be back up next year but I didn’t end up riding either of them. A resident told me they were still very understaffed and so it took a long time for them to come around since they didn’t have the staff to run more cars. And everything I wanted to do was easily in walking distance, so I walked.
And what did I do?
I visited the D Day museum and was very impressed. It was an amazing place and I wish I would have had a whole day to spend there so I could watch the films and listen to all the first-hand accounts. I also took 2 walking tours: the Friends of the Cabildo French Quarter History tour (excellent) and the Historic New Orelans Cemetary/Voodoo tour (just as excellent). Both guides were so knowledgeable and entertaining. Highly recommended. I would have liked to take more tours but as I was there for work I didn’t have as much time as I would have on a regular vacation.
I also went to the Aquarium of the Americas (love the white alligator and the otters) and saw the IMAX movie ‘Hurricane on the Bayou’. And then there’s the shopping! The French Market had the cheapest beads (1.99) which I only learned after having spend 3.99 at a store on Canal St. The French Market had some nice jewelry where you can get good prices if you haggle. I thought Royal St had some great antique and jewelry shops. Not that I could afford to buy that 19th century armoire but it was sure fun to look at!
I went through St. Louis Cathedral on a little tour from a volunteer there. He was really nice and gave a great tour of the church. I didn’t have time to make it through the Cabildo or the Presbytery, so that will have to wait until next time.
And what did I eat?
Beignets! Oh I can’t say enough! I thought they tasted kind of like funnel cakes if you’ve ever had one of those. I really had to make sure I had some protein before eating an order of those because all that powdered sugar is enough to send you into a diabetic coma! And I liked the coffee with chicory. I did bring home a couple tins of it for my MIL and coworkers. It’s not the same but if you close your eyes you can almost hear the jazz…
I also had jambalaya and gumbo, though I’d had those before. I like gumbo really thick, like a stew. It was good at the Bourbon House but what they served that I really loved was the spinach salad. Warm dressing, glazed pecans, feta (I think) crumbled on top---so good! I’m not a big seafood person, so please excuse me for not going to the Acme Oyster House. Though I did go to the Red Fish Grill and the salmon was excellent.
Not to play favorites, I tried Café Beignet but I didn’t like it as much as the Café Du Monde. I’m sure it varies with both, but the beignets at Café Beignet (Royal St. store) were over fried and kind of leathery. Oh-I did get my first muffeletta at River’s Edge across from Café Du Monde. Central Grocery was sold out when I got there late in the afternoon but River’s Edge was still really good.
I had a good time and I’m glad I was able to see New Orleans. I’m not a bar person, I never was, and the French Quarter late at night just wasn’t my cup of tea but there are many other great things about the city that I did like. If I had been with a group, I might have gone out more at night or at least got some daiquiris to go! I definitely wouldn’t want to be around for Mardi Gras. It’s a shame that people see the area as just a place to get drunk and act stupid. There’s so much more to it.
Celebrate!!
I took the Airport Shuttle to my hotel-Holiday Inn French Quarter-for $13. The hotel was nice enough, nothing special but clean and safe. It was on Royal just off Canal, so a good location and lots of things in walking distance. The Canal and Riverfront Streetcars are running, St. Charles is due to be back up next year but I didn’t end up riding either of them. A resident told me they were still very understaffed and so it took a long time for them to come around since they didn’t have the staff to run more cars. And everything I wanted to do was easily in walking distance, so I walked.
And what did I do?
I visited the D Day museum and was very impressed. It was an amazing place and I wish I would have had a whole day to spend there so I could watch the films and listen to all the first-hand accounts. I also took 2 walking tours: the Friends of the Cabildo French Quarter History tour (excellent) and the Historic New Orelans Cemetary/Voodoo tour (just as excellent). Both guides were so knowledgeable and entertaining. Highly recommended. I would have liked to take more tours but as I was there for work I didn’t have as much time as I would have on a regular vacation.
I also went to the Aquarium of the Americas (love the white alligator and the otters) and saw the IMAX movie ‘Hurricane on the Bayou’. And then there’s the shopping! The French Market had the cheapest beads (1.99) which I only learned after having spend 3.99 at a store on Canal St. The French Market had some nice jewelry where you can get good prices if you haggle. I thought Royal St had some great antique and jewelry shops. Not that I could afford to buy that 19th century armoire but it was sure fun to look at!
I went through St. Louis Cathedral on a little tour from a volunteer there. He was really nice and gave a great tour of the church. I didn’t have time to make it through the Cabildo or the Presbytery, so that will have to wait until next time.
And what did I eat?
Beignets! Oh I can’t say enough! I thought they tasted kind of like funnel cakes if you’ve ever had one of those. I really had to make sure I had some protein before eating an order of those because all that powdered sugar is enough to send you into a diabetic coma! And I liked the coffee with chicory. I did bring home a couple tins of it for my MIL and coworkers. It’s not the same but if you close your eyes you can almost hear the jazz…
I also had jambalaya and gumbo, though I’d had those before. I like gumbo really thick, like a stew. It was good at the Bourbon House but what they served that I really loved was the spinach salad. Warm dressing, glazed pecans, feta (I think) crumbled on top---so good! I’m not a big seafood person, so please excuse me for not going to the Acme Oyster House. Though I did go to the Red Fish Grill and the salmon was excellent.
Not to play favorites, I tried Café Beignet but I didn’t like it as much as the Café Du Monde. I’m sure it varies with both, but the beignets at Café Beignet (Royal St. store) were over fried and kind of leathery. Oh-I did get my first muffeletta at River’s Edge across from Café Du Monde. Central Grocery was sold out when I got there late in the afternoon but River’s Edge was still really good.
I had a good time and I’m glad I was able to see New Orleans. I’m not a bar person, I never was, and the French Quarter late at night just wasn’t my cup of tea but there are many other great things about the city that I did like. If I had been with a group, I might have gone out more at night or at least got some daiquiris to go! I definitely wouldn’t want to be around for Mardi Gras. It’s a shame that people see the area as just a place to get drunk and act stupid. There’s so much more to it.
Nov 15th, 2006, 06:15 AM
#26
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chemgirl, I'm glad you enjoyed visiting New Orleans.
You'll probably be pleased to know that the D-Day museum is going to be expanded greatly. They will be developing almost an entire block and turning the museum into the National World War II Museum. So, if you come back in a few years, you'll be able to see much more at that museum. It will really be more like a museum-complex when they are done.
So come on back!
You'll probably be pleased to know that the D-Day museum is going to be expanded greatly. They will be developing almost an entire block and turning the museum into the National World War II Museum. So, if you come back in a few years, you'll be able to see much more at that museum. It will really be more like a museum-complex when they are done.
So come on back!
