EnglishOne

Have completed the following itinerary with your help. Would you like to critique it? any comments or suggestions gratefully received. Please be gentle with me ;O) We don't like to be 'on the march' every day, so have built in some chillout (pool etc) days too. We are music fans - thats why we are going to these two cities and have included music related venues in it.

Memphis

day one - arrive hotel evening, unpack etc. catch up on sleep.

day two - chill out day (pool etc)

day three - Graceland all day! Platinum tour. A must for me as I am an Elvis fan (not obsessive though!)

day four - Visit Sun Studios, Civil Rights Museum, the Rock and Soul Museum. Fit in Peabody ducks at 11 or 5pm

Beale St. in evening.

day five - maybe visit the zoo? open to suggestions here.

day six - chillout day and have tickets for the Memphis Redbirds baseball game in the evening to soak up the atmosphere of it all.

day seven - Have tickets for the Memphis Music Festival - 1pm onwards - this is a plus as we didnt even know it was on this week.

day eight - flight to NOLA - get there late pm. Unpack and stroll around Bourbon St.

New Orleans

day nine - Super City Tour (Grayline)
Free afternoon. Bourbon St in evening. Most evenings will prob. be Bourbon St - any alternatives?

day ten - Riverboat ride on JJ Audubon, Audubon Zoo, Aquarium of the Americas (passport tickets from Grayline or Steamboat Natchez to include all the above)
CAN THIS ALL BE DONE IN A DAY

day eleven - chillout day

day twelve - Plantation tour with Isabelle tours/ Pool afternoon

day thirteen - Charles Ave streetcar ride around the Garden District, Cemetery tour around Lafayette Cemetery with Save our Cemeteries. Commanders Place for Lunch and walk to Ann Rice House. Maybe the zoo if can't fit it in on day ten?

day fourteen - Honey Island Swamp Tour/ pool

day fifteen - home (grrrr!!)

Do you have any specific music venues on Bourbon St - Esp. for the Blues? or Soul

Many many thanks for your time.

ARKANSASNURSE

On Bourbon St. Pete Fountain's and in NO visit the Voo Doo museum. In Memphis recommend Rum Boogy Cafe, and around the corner, Prince Mongo's PLanet, unless they finally closed him down, just look for the pink hearse! Both in Beale St. area.

J_Correa

The New Orleans itinerery sounds good.

For alternatives to Bourbon Street at night, check out Frenchman St which is a couple blocks on the downriver side of Esplanade - you can walk there from the Quarter. There are a couple blocks on Frenchman with some small clubs. Also, there are bars and clubs all around the FQ, not just on Bourbon. The Funky Butt is good, it's up on Rampart which starts to get into a shady part of town, so you might want to take a cab unless you are with a big group. Decatur has several bars. Preservation Hall is a great place to hear good music - they don't serve food or drink, but it's definitely worth a stop in there. We didn't make it to the Mid-City Lanes, but I hear they have good cajun and zydeco music in the evennings.

Your day 10 does seem pretty full, but it's do able, I think. I guess it just depends on how long you stay at the zoo and the aquarium and how early you get going in the morning.

There are some interesting museums in the FQ that you might check out on your chill out day. We really enjoyed the 1850 house in the Pontalba Buildings that overlook Jackson Square. It's furnished as a townhouse in the 1850s would have been - very interesting.

Also, make sure you stroll through the Quarter in the morning before things get going - maybe around 8:30 or 9. The shop owners are getting ready for the day, the sidewalks have been hosed down, people have watered their hanging baskets and the water is dripping from the balconies above. Not many people are out. It's kind of magical.

Oh, and don't forget to stop in at Cafe Du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets. We usually ended up there about midnight most nights we were in town. We stuffed ourselves at dinner, but then after several hours of wandering around, we would be a little hungry again. Beignets were perfect.

bennie

Don't forget to check out Royal St in NO - lots of anique shops.

French Quarter Market (may have this name wrong) is also worth a stroll through. Its a flea market that sells lots of junky stuff but the beads and masks are cheaper there than elsewhere. Also has stores with a zillion varieties of hot sauce. Lots with funny labels and you can buy alligator on a stick. I'm still not sure what it is but its good to know you can buy it there.

Have a great trip.

AnneO

You can definitely do the Aquarium/Zoo cruise package in one day. It's only about a 20-30 minute boat ride. 2 hours or so for the Aquarium, then several hours for the zoo (and be sure to take time to walk around Audubon Park too!).

I don't see the D-Day museum on your list...I'd add that. It is downtown, so will be very easy to get to.

End of April is Jazz Fest, so there will be TONS of music. Check your dates...if you will be here then, and you really like music, you'll like Jazz Fest. It gets too crowded now for my taste (I remember my college days...mostly locals....$5 ticket and bring your own cooler...right before finals!!)

Enjoy your trip to our great city!

Anne

EnglishOne

Thanks for your replies! Pete Fountains and Prince Mongo's sound like fun. Will include Frenchman St for evening activities. The 1850's house sounds interesting, and the markets.

Cafe du Monde is already on the list of yummy places to go. Will look into the D Day Museum and Jazz fest.

Great ideas to keep me going....

J_Correa

Definitely go to the French Market to buy souveniers. They sell the same stuff that's in the souvenier shops on Bourbon, Decatur and other places in the Quarter, just a lot cheaper.

JeanH

I'd recommend the Funky Pirate on Bourbon when Big Al Carson is playing. Not a huge place, and not as loud as some. Big Al comes by his name honestly, and has a really fun blues act. He's so overweight that I worry he's going to have a heart attack and be gone before I get back to New Orleans.

mclaurie

Don't know if you're into art but the Brooks Museum in Memphis has some wonderful works http://www.brooksmuseum.org/Brooks.asp?pid=art&sid=perm

In NO I like Magazine St. for shopping & antiques (less pricey than FQ)

sakath

great choice on going to a minor league game, you'll enjoy yourself there. Have beers, eat a dirty water dog and talk with all the folks around you. Baseball, contrary to what people will tell you, is NOT dull.

And a BIG second to Big Al at the Funky Pirate on Bourbon st. Make your presence known and get into the show, he may let you walk the jar around and shake down the bar for tips. Just don't drink those horrific hand grenades they serve, unless you like trash can punch and/or are very, very good at pacing yourself..

SusanCS

Pete Fountain hasn't been on Bourbon Steet in years...maybe in a decade! His current club is in the Hilton Riverside. It's a wonderful show, but he's not always in town.

Dan

Pete's club at the Hilton just closed for good. He's 'retired' as of now, or until he finds a new gig!

ARKANSASNURSE

I didn't know Pete's was closed. It was an open bar on a corner, went in high school in 1970 something. Prince Mongo's in Memphis may be also closed, that was in the 1980 something when I lived in Memphis for school. Rum Boogie is STILL hoppin'.

Leslee

Prince Mongo's is closed - I think they were shut down for selling liquor to underage kids - could have been drugs too (not sure). Gibson Lounge, Alfreds and/or Club 152 are fun "nights out". Enjoy the music fest - it's crowded but ought to be fun.