Husband, boys and I just returned from a FABULOUS time in New Orleans. We all agreed that it was the best family vacation we've ever had. Since we had never been there before, I was a little concerned if there was anything appropriate for small boys. Now I know there was nothing to worry about! We arrived on Saturday, checked in at the JW Marriott. The bellmen were superb, I wish I could have brought them home with me. We never entered or left the building without their friendly greetings. I felt so welcomed by their southern hospitality.

The visit started with our standard... a carriage tour of the French Quarter. We've found that to be a wonderful introduction to any new city. You get the feel for the layout of the city as well as some wonderful recommendations on famous and not so famous restaurants and sites. This carriage tour didn't let us down. After, we of course had to have some beignets at Cafe DuMonde. Delicious! Not at all what I expected, but a wonderful and relaxing experience. Directly across from Jackson Square, there were a group of performers that put on a terrific break dance/gymnastic show, on a donation basis. The kids loved it so much they wanted to watch it again every time we walked by. Lunch was at Acme Oyster. Not only did I eat my first raw, but so did my 6 year old. My husband found a pearl, which made his day. We then strolled through the French Quarter for the afternoon and had dinner at Deannie's Seafood. It was delicious, but there was no way we could eat all of the food. Huge portions! If you go there, make sure you're hungry.

Sunday we took the ferry(free!) across the Mississippi to go to Mardi Gras World. We all loved the ride, and Mardi Gras World was great. We got to dress up in the old costumes for pictures, then watch an interesting film about the history of it all, then a tour of their facility where you could see many of the famous floats. You were allowed to get your picture in any of them. On the van ride back to the ferry, the driver gave us a great little tour of Algiers - what a quaint place with some beautiful homes. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or the adults! The rest of the day we spent wandering the Riverwalk and the French Market. It was great. After all of the walking, we slept wonderfully that night.

The only disappointment of the trip was breakfast at Hughey's Diner on Monday. For $45, we got 5 cold eggs, 2 pieces of bacon, cold dry grits, and 2 pancakes with OLD strawberries on top. Will not revisit that restaurant.

Thankfully the remainder of the day was back to terrific, took the boys to the Aqaurium where we pet a shark, sea urchin, star fish, and sea cucumber. Watched them feed the otters and the sharks. It's a beautiful facility. After the aquarium, we took the St. Charles streetcar from the starting point to ending point and back. Got to see some more of the beautiful architecture in New Orleans homes. What a treat for the kids to ride something so "old" to them. It was a fun and unique experience.

Tuesday was spent heading home for the most part. I would suggest that you not plan on getting something to eat at the New Orleans airport. I wish we had revisited Acme Oyster before heading there. We were disappointed in the food choices at the airport.

Overall, the trip was outstanding. We were never bored, learned a lot about the city and its culture/heritage, had some wonderful food, and came back with a beautiful hand made ring from a local jeweler. I can't wait to go back to the Big Easy!

Thank you for sharing your trip report. We are considering staying at the JW Marriott in New Orleans, and am interested in your impressions on the location, accommodations and service.

Woody

I am glad to hear your report on Acme Oyster. That place is on my list. Did you notice if they had a variety of different types of oysters? I stopped in an oyster bar in downtown Phila and they had 6-7 different types. Can't remember the different names, but each one had its own, distinct taste.

I know Pensacola normally gets the Apalachicola oysters.

Woody:

We were very pleased with the JW Marriott. It is on Canal Street two blocks from just about everything, the casino, the Riverwalk, Bourbon Street, the Aquarium. The only minor complaint is that they are renovating the entire hotel floor by floor. They happened to be working on the floor above our's while we were there. A couple of times, we could hear sawing and hammering, but it was minimal. The concierge said it is due to be complete by April, so my suggestion if you're travelling before then is to request a floor away from the renovating area. Everything else was quite nice. It was very clean and comfortable. As I mentioned before, the bellmen I LOVED. They were exceptional and made the trip very special. The one thing that was different from any other hotel I've stayed at is that their double beds aren't double beds. They are more like an oversized twin bed, so if you're going to be needing a room with two beds, it's a tight squeeze for two adults in one of those beds. When we return to NO, I will stay at this hotel again.

Budman, Acme Oyster was excellent! They did not offer different types of oysters. The menu is actually fairly short. It's all po-boys or platters. It is VERY casual. By the looks of it, it would definitely be classified as a hole in the wall atmosphere. Don't let that deter you. While we were there, there was everything from businessmen in suits, to ladies dressed to the nines, to people in t-shirts and jeans. It doesn't matter what you wear to enjoy their food. I particularly liked the Peacemaker Po-Boy. It had both fried shrimp and oysters with a tabasco laced mayo. Delicious! Also, don't miss the red beans and rice. It was wonderful.

Hope you both enjoy your trips as much as we loved ours!

stillbrowns, great report! A few questions - how old are your 'small boys'? Presuming they are at least old enough to read, did you have any moments when you had to steer them another way because of risque items? I would like to take my 11 year old, but I'm still not convinced we both won't be embarassed.

wsox:

My boys are 3 and 6. There are things on Bourbon Street that are completely inappropriate, and they are pictures, so reading isn't a necessity. We took them to Bourbon Street during the day, and the only place that we saw these small pictures were toward to bottom of Bourbon. During the day time, the rest of the area was fine. I would still take your son as far as the intersection of Bourbon and Iberville, that way you'll still get the flavor of it without the embarassing points. There is live music playing around the clock, street performers at different times of the day, it's a really neat place that I'm glad I got to see. We did not venture anywhere near Bourbon after 7:30 or so. The only other thing that I could think may be slightly embarassing is lingerie shops scattered about downtown where they have signs for adult items. I didn't find this offensive at all because there was not anything explicit, but if you are easily embarassed, and your son is old enough to read, it could be an opening to the "what are they talking about, mom" questions from your son. This is such a great city, I wouldn't let those things deter you from visiting with your children. It's not overly difficult to shelter them from things they shouldn't be exposed to.

stillbrowns - I came away with the same opinion about kids in NO that you did. During the day pretty much all the tourist areas are fine except for that couple blocks off Bourbon where the Hustler Club is and a couple other similar clubs. I wouldn't take a kid under the age of 16 onto Bourbon later than about 8pm either - too many drunk people, etc. When we were there I was absolutely amazed at the number of people walking down Bourbon later in the evenning with kids in tow. On Decatur some of the tourist shops had some t-shirts with risque sayings on them that might prompt some questions from kids that some parents may not want to answer.

My husband and I just returned from a 5 day trip to New Orleans. We had a great time too. I am glad to hear your report about the Marriot. We stayed at the LaFitte Guest House, which was *OK*, but not as nice as a $200 room should be. Next time I would either stay near the Riverwalk or between Bourbon and Decator Street. We wanted to eat at Acme Oyster Bar, but there was always a long line - there as well as the Gumbo Shop. We did a carriage ride first thing too and loved it! We later took a city tour and had a great time.

I would not take a child onto any of the seedy blocks of Bourbon Street. I could not believe how many children were on Bourbon Street this past Sunday night.