| SJR |
Feb 1st, 1999 10:05 AM |
Took two vacations to New Orleans last year. Any tour book will list off the high end restaurants/hotels (like Brennan's or Paul K's kitchen). We didn't really explore many of those places, but... <BR> <BR>Stayed at a great inn, the Hotel Storyville ( www.hotelstoryville.com) this last trip, a great decision. Good location, easy access to the Quarter without all the noise and drunkenness of Bourbon Street (first trip we stayed right on Bourbon, yuk). The innkeepers were very personable and the place was clean and well-maintained. <BR> <BR>Even though our New Orleans friends teased us, we did many tourist things, including taking the Creole Queen steamboat up to Chalmet Field (Battle of New Orleans site), kind of neat. Took several walking tours--your hotel should have plenty of brochures on hand for this kind of thing. Cemetery tours, voodoo tours, history tours, all kinds of tours. We went with at least three different tour outfits and were pleased with all of them. On Jackson Square are located the Presbytere and the Cabildo, excellent history museums. <BR> <BR>We enjoyed the Quarter Scene Restaurant (QSR), 900 Dumaine, good food but not too pricey. Also found the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen to be reliable (and the bread pudding was some of the best we've found). La Madeleine, a chain bakery, is right on Jackson Square and makes an awesome bowl of soup. <BR> <BR>Anyway, there is a website http://www.menusonline.com/cities/ne.../locmain.shtml that lists New Orleans restaurants (people eat a lot in New Orleans). <BR> <BR>The aquarium, which is about a 5 minute walk from Jackson Square, is really great (they have an albino alligator), and there is an IMAX theatre there. <BR> <BR>It is very easy to avoid the beer and brawl of Bourbon Street if you want to do so. Of course, if you *want* to drink yourself to oblivion, you'd best stop in at Pat O'Brien's for a Hurricane. A single Rum Runner's punch at Margaritaville could put you under the table. And they have a nice television for watching NCAA basketball games. <BR> <BR>Any specific questions, feel free to e-mail. <BR> <BR>S.
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