Just back from New Orleans--any questions?
 

My husband and I just returned from a trip to New Orleans--I was there for a business conference and he joined me midweek. At first I was at the Riverside Hilton, which is a very nice, very large hotel. Once the conference was done I switched to a smaller hotel (St. Ann Marie Antoinette on Conti near Bourbon) in the French Quarter. Even though the Hilton is close to the quarter, I'm glad we made the switch. It was nice being so close to the heart of everything, and the hotel was much more personal than the Hilton. They had a nice courtyard--if you go there, request a room that faces it and not the street. <BR> <BR>We toured three restored houses in the french quarter, took a walking tour of the garden district (my next home will be there!), and ate at many great restaurants. We also took a swamp tour and toured plantation houses outside of town. There is a lot to do, to be sure! <BR> <BR>The restaurants we went to were The Pelican Club (just okay, and our waiter was snotty), Gautreau's in the upper garden district (tucked away in a residential area) which was excellent (and the chef couldn't have been over 30! I was amazed.); Nola which was worth the hassle of having to make a reservation a month in advance. There the service was so efficient--the staff was just waiting for you to need something. There suggested menu of the day really is worth a try. Finally we went to Mr. B's Bistro which was also very good. I think it would be hard to have a bad meal in NO. <BR> <BR>For casual food, the best place we found was the Creole Kitchen, on the corner of St. Louis and Bourbon. It's upstairs, so you have to look for the door, but their crawfish were the best we found. Their Creole cooler is a killer too--be careful with that one! <BR> <BR>Feel free to ask me any questions.

Can you give more details re: Gautreau's? Food/price/dress/atmosphere? Always looking for a new restaurant down there. Thanks.

Gautreau's is an upscale restaurant, but it wasn't too dressy when we were there on a Thursday night. Dockers and a nice shirt seemed to be fine for men. The food was nuveau cuisine, or whatever you would call food that has a paragraph description of each item. I had the crab cake appetizer, with a scallop entree. Everything was really, really well prepared and tasted perfect. Total for two came to $130.00, which included a bottle of wine (David Bruce Pinot Noir, from the Santa Cruz Mountains--I have to support my local economy even when I travel, you knwo!) two appetizers, two salads and two deserts. Yum!

Hello, we are planning to go NO this summer and would like to visit a plantation and make a swamp tour. Which one did you take and how was it? Would you make any suggestions?

We took the Honey Island swamp tour, which was good. They will tell you the tour leaves at a certain time, but to be at the dock a half hour earlier, and they aren't kidding! Our tour theoretically left at 9:00, and we were supposed to be there by 8:30. We got a bit lost getting out of downtown, and arrived at 8:45 only to find our boat had already departed! Luckily they came by the dock a half hour later and picked us up, so we still got most of the tour. It was good, and relatively non-commercial (they talked about the local flora and fauna, not big foot sightings). They feed the alligators marshmallows, so they swim out to meet the boat. I wouldn't have thought that alligators would like marshmallows, but there you have it. <BR> <BR>The plantation homes are all located off of River Road east of town. We had a car so we just hit the closest three (Destrehan, San Francisco and Laura). The tour at Destrehan wasn't very good, but San Francisco and Laura were. Some of the houses further along the road looked grander in scale, so if you have a whole day you might travel further. They also offer bus tours, but with the prices they charge I think you are better off renting a car just for the day and heading off on your own. You absolutely do not want a car for the rest of your stay there, though. You have to park it at around $16.00 a day, and you won't need it at all within the city.

Thanks Monica, <BR>Honest Island was our first choice and what you say confirms our choice. Thank you for the tip about the arrival time. <BR> <BR>Daniel