One year ago today, my boyfriend (he likes to remain anonymous on the web, so for the sake of this and future posts, I’ll refer to him as BF), and I boarded a flight out of Los Angeles International (LAX) Airport and headed to the Big Easy.
I should have written about this vacation a million times in a million different ways, but maybe the anniversary of the trip is a good time. New Orleans is a city after my heart, it always has been, even before my first trip back in 2012. As a teen I was OBSESSED with Anne Rice’s books that took place there. The city itself was as much of a character in her books as were the Mayfairs and the vampires.
Anyway, with BF being a former chef and has a foodie’s soul, I knew I had to share this place with him, and 6 years was far too long for me to stay away.
When we landed it was the weekend of a major college football game and the city was bustling, we dropped off our bags at this adorable cubby (a cubby is something like a studio apartment, but is attached to the main house) we rented in the Marigny district, and took off for a stroll down Frenchmen St. The street was bursting to the seams, with football fans, people looking for a party, musicians, street vendors, locals, and tourists alike. For as busy as it was, it seemed like everyone was friends. We were starving so we popped into a restaurant called Dat Dog, this was the first trip of many. They had every type of hot dog imaginable (plus a few that I would have never considered). Finally the long day of travel caught up to us and we went back to the cubby for the night.
The next day we got up and explored the French Quarter a bit and then went on our first tour. We booked most of our excursions through Gray Line Tours, and the New Orleans Original Cocktail Walking Tour was our first and favorite of the trip. This particular walking trip wasn’t so much of a pub crawl as it was a historical stroll through the French Quarter where we learned about the history of the cocktail (mixed drinks were invented in New Orleans) and we got to walk through several of the city’s landmark restaurants, many have been in business for generations. We did have the opportunity to sample several spirits at different places, and I found and fell in love with the Pimm’s Cup.
We ate at several amazing restaurants and found some super cool breweries (our favorites were Brieux Carre and Urban South) We went on a walking tour of the Garden District, and saw some celebrities’ homes. We toured St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and saw Marie Laveavu’s tomb, along with the one waiting for Nicolas Cage. We went on a tour of the Destrehan Plantation and got to check out the creatures in a nearby swamp. I got to hold a tiny alligator and a snake, BF was a little creeped out by my love of reptiles. We explored the World War II museum, it was absolutely fascinating. It would be easy to spend the day there, if you get a chance to go, make sure you watch the movie, it is a completely interactive experience. There are props and rumble seats, it even snows indoors! We took a jazz cruise on the Mississippi on the Natchez steamboat. I would pass on the dinner, the food was only mediocre by New Orleans standards, but the evening ride on the river was beautiful. We had dinner at the Commander’s Palace, if this is part of your NOLA adventure plans, make sure you make reservations and take a look at their website, there is a dress code. The food was so good, I can see why it’s been famous for over a hundred years. Another favorite dinner spot is Jacques Imo’s, I went there with my family on my first trip there, and absolutely had to go back with BF.
I’m sure there is so much that I’m leaving out, it was a fantastic week, and now after reminiscing I’m wishing I had another trip to the Big Easy planned, there’s still so much to do and see that I haven’t experienced yet.
Adventures of a Girl Named Lauren 