New Orleans

There are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better.
– Bob Dylan

Best Time to visit

• The week before Fat Tuesday (any Tuesday between Feb. 3 and March 9, but usually falls Late February, early March) – avoid the actual Fat Tuesday because it really gets crazy. The week before is great with not THAT much crowd.
• During Jazz Fest (last weekend of April and first weekend of May)

Not the best Time to visit

• June 1 through November 30 due to Hurricane season

Notes

• NOLA glossary : http://www.experienceneworleans.com/glossary.html

Must Do

• French Quarter
• Jackson Square, St Louis Cathedral
• Visit Cemetery
• Cajun Food
• Ride the streetcars

To-Dos for next time

• Swamp (airboat) tour
• Tour another plantation
• Eat / Drink At
  • Preservation Hall (726 Saint Peter Street, New Orleans, LA)
  • Central Grocery (923 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA)
  • Muriel’s Jackson Square (801 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA)
  • Commander’s Palace (1403 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, LA)
  • Café Du Monde (800 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA)
  • Palace Café (605 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130)
  • Incredible restaurant of the week: Root, a few long spirals from the Convention Center. On Saturday night, I had one of the best meals I’ve had in a while, and one of the strangest-sounding: Cohiba Smoked Scallops, served in a cigar box. True. Cohiba’s a famous cigar, and the scallops are grilled, then infused with cigar smoke. Sounded totally absurd, but they came highly recommended, and I tried them, and I was not disappointed. Not only were the scallops tender, but also the smoke provided added value. For dessert, there were cocoa puffs, in minted milk, with mint chip ice cream.

Itinerary

Day 0

• Arrive. The airport runs a shuttle to most hotels in “Downtown”. In New Orleans, the area adjacent to the French Quarter is often referred to as “downtown”, but it can also refer to a different area of New Orleans.
  The fare is a flat $20 (pre-paid at the airport). You can find the shuttle’s (manned) booth in the baggage claim area (carousel # 6)
• Dinner at Alibi (811 Iberville Street, New Orleans, LA). Nothing fancy. It’s a small, loud neighborhood place where bartenders, bouncers, strippers and the like go to drink and eat.

Day 1

• Visit, stroll St Louis Cemetery #1
• Stroll French Quarter – architecture, people, alcohol, food, VooDoo, street performers
• Lunch at K Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen (416 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA) (Fried Oysters Po’ Boy
• St Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, Café Du Monde, street artists
• Ride the Riverfront Line Streetcar
• Tour Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World (1380 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA) – $20 for a walking tour of the warehouse – artists here work on the parade floats all year long.
• Harrah’s Casino – gamble, drink, eat
• Dinner at Mr B’s Bistro (201 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA) (Mr. B’S Barbequed Shrimp)

Day 2

• Plantation Tour (Oak Alley Plantation) (http://tourneworleans.com/ $50/ea). Although the tour was alright (minivan, 9 + guide), I have nothing good to say about the tour guide (Randy). He spent more than an hour trying to explain that slavery and indentured servitude was not all bad for the slaves.
• Lunch at Atchafalaya Restaurant in the Garden District (901 Louisiana Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115) (Atchafalaya Special Omelet)
• Ride the St Charles Ave Streetcar (French Quarter to Garden District to French Quarter)
• Antiques shopping on Royal Street
• Dinner at Praline Connection (542 Frenchmen Street, New Orleans, LA) (Stuffed Crab Plate)
• Jazz on Frenchmen Street

Day 3

• Breakfast at Brennan’s Restaurant (417 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130) (Eggs Bayou Lafourche)
• Take a bicycle tour / Stroll Marigny, Bywater
• Ferry – Take the free Algiers Ferry to see views of the Mississippi river and the city. There isn’t much to do on the other side, so you might as well just stay on the Ferry and return to New Orleans
• Fly back home.

New Orleans

Pictures taken with a Nikon D3100 and kit lens