rolncathy

Oh, and we are driving around WA state, then flying to FL from Portland, OR, and renting a car there for a week in FL followed by a week in and around NO. It is a strange combination trip for a variety of reasons.

beautifulbug1927

my husband and i(from seattle fyi)we in nola in may and took the confederay of cycles tour-about 3 hours, much of the french section of the city(not just the quarter)loads of history, and great guides. biking is easy in nola as it's flat. well worth it! http://confederacyofcruisers.com/ also the botanical gardens-just lovely. if you get a chance head to midcity and eat at jaques-imo's..yummy! http://www.jacquesimoscafe.com/ have a great trip!

Emarie1031

There are so many reasons to love New Orleans. Food, drink, party, history, people, the timeless sense of being where so many have lived and died and persistently live on. We enjoy a good cocktail but like to stretch our dollars, so one of the first things we do is to go to Rouse's - one of the few grocery stores in the Quarter. We buy a bottle of Bombay for about $12.00, limes, tonic, and a styrofoam cooler. We go back to our hotel - we like the Bienville House - and fill the cooler with hotel ice. When it's time to go out we each fill a "go" cup and go out. Most restaurants and bars will let you bring it in with the idea that you will refill you cup before you go. Walk down Bourbon Street. Everyone should at least once. It's not what it used to be, but you can say you've been there. Go to Jean Lafitte's, the Funky Parrot, and any place else that suits your fancy. Sit in the patio of Pat O'Brians and have a hurricane. Go to the piano bar and sing along late in your evening - they will sound so much better - request "House of the Rising Sun" and sing along. Walk around back of the cathedral to see the shadow of the statue of Jesus lit to fill the space of the back of the church. If you like jazz go to Frenchman St. - that's where the good clubs are now.Stand on a balcony, close your eyes and listen, feel the breezes off the Mississippi caress you and connect with the sultry spirit of the city. Go on a ghost tour. It's fun going to Rev. Zombie's House of Voodoo and any good ghost tour - and this one is good - will tell you so much about the history of the city you are in even if you don't believe in the paranormal. It's hard not to in New Orleans. Take the city wide tour during the day to get an overview of the city. It will include the 9th Ward, the amazing houses in the Garden District, a short tour a city of the dead, the shot gun houses off Esplanade. Food - I would recommend the Coffee Pot on North St. Peter's for chicken livers, biscuits; the Clover on Bourbon after a night of partying for chicken fried steak and eggs or burgers; Shrimp roumalade and a Pimm's cup at Napolean House; oysters - Acme for a dozen raw, Landry's for O. Rockefeller, Draco's for grilled - yes, grilled in the half shell with butter ladled generosly over them; mufallatas at Central Grocery as much for the atmosphere of eating communally around the table as for the sandwich which is renown - but Napolean's is amazing,too; Olivier's for the gumbo sampler - file is my favorite; Slim Goodies on Magazine St. for burgers - many choices but I like one with crawfish ettoufe and greens; Port of Call to split a butger and baked potato - try it, you'll like it - the House of Blues for the rib special on Tuesdays (still hope to get to the gospel brunch some Sunday) and go to a show there if you can. And you must go to Cafe DuMonde - go early in the am to hear the mule's feet clomping on the cobblestones. Order the biegnets and cafe a latte but eat them this way - dump the powdered sugar onto the saucer. Spoon a few spoonfulls of cafe into the sugar, stir to make a glaze and tear off chunks of the fluffy fried goodness into it. Saves your clothing and is truely delicious. Do this every time you return to New Orleans and it's like a welcome home.

NeoPatrick

The best thing in New Orleans that is "man made" is the food -- but sometimes it is "woman made" instead.