One more place marked off my bucket list! New Orleans, I finally made it. Carol and I flew in from Seattle and Ruth from Minneapolis, and we met up at the NO airport shortly after on Saturday, October 13th. We got our car and were on our way by 4pm or so. We rented an Airbnb in the Bywater district which was about 30 minutes or so from the airport. On the way we stopped at a local grocery store for a few things to have on hand at the house. |
| Our house at 629 Louisa Street |
I loved our place. It was a “shotgun” style house which means it was long and narrow. It was actually a duplex of which we were renting one side. We entered into the living room which was small but nicely furnished with a chair and sofa and a few tables. From the living room we entered two tall French doors into the first bedroom, then from there into the 2ndbedroom. Through the 2ndbedroom was a small hall with the bathroom and coat/linen closet, then another door into the 3rdbedroom. The final room beyond the third bedroom was the kitchen. There was no formal dining area, however the kitchen had a small table. Our host had said that one of the rooms was converted to a bedroom but not sure which one. It worked very well for the 3 of us. The beds were comfortable so I didn’t have any trouble sleeping each night.
That evening we went to a neighborhood restaurant called Bywater American Bistro. It was less than a mile from our house in an old rice factory building. The food was amazing and was inspired by local culture and cuisine. Great atmosphere and service also.
We were all tired from a long day of travel so after dinner we went back to the house and I think we were all in bed asleep by 9pm!
Sunday morning we went on a 2.5 hour City Tour which was informative and gave us ideas of places we wanted to be sure to check out later. So much history in this town! We drove through the French Quarter and the Garden District, saw the St Louis #3 Cemetery and saw some of the areas that were most affected by hurricane Katrina in 2005. We stopped for a little while at City Park and walked through the sculpture garden.
After our tour we walked over to Petite Amelie in the French Quarter for lunch. They have great soups, salads and sandwiches. We walked around the French Quarter for a while before heading back to our car which was parked on Canal Street where we started our bus tour. Once back in the car we drove back to the Garden District to look at the stately homes and Skeleton House which we had passed on the bus tour. We ended our day by walking over to Pizza Delicious which was immediately behind us on the next street. It was a busy place but we were able to get a table and have a great pizza and salad for dinner. I love how our neighborhood has a lot of little stores, bakeries, restaurants, etc. tucked in with all the beautifully painted houses.
Monday we had breakfast in our house then stopped at the Bywater Bakery for coffee to go. It was just a few blocks from our house. Their espresso machine was down but they were serving cafe au lait which is basically milk and coffee rather than an espresso shot and steamed milk. I have been making my coffee at home by using ½ hot milk and ½ coffee and flavoring so this was a good way to go.
We planned to spend our day visiting two of the many Plantations in New Orleans. We started with Laura Plantation which was a sugarcane plantation with a sugar mill on the property. We learned about the slaves that lived and worked on the Plantation and all about the family that owned the land (and the slaves). The grounds were beautiful and it was interesting hearing the history of the property. Next we headed to Oak Alley Plantation which was just a few miles away.
We ate lunch at Oak Alley and I got the Gumbo (which was delicious!) and small salad. Ruth and Carol both had Po’ Boy sandwiches. Then we toured the big house and once again learned about how the plantation was run and how the slaves were treated both when they were owned and after they were freed in 1865. Many stayed on to work the plantation and they had no education or means to make it on their own. Although they were free, they were paid so little that they had to borrow from the landowners which left them indebted to them with no way to leave.
We stayed in that night and had leftovers from a couple of the places we had been.
Tuesday we got up and took Uber to the French Quarter. We stopped for coffee at Café du Monde for coffee and beignets. A beignets is like a fritter or donut, basically fried dough but then coated with powdered sugar. Sweet, messy but yummy! For some reason they didn’t have flavored coffee so I went about a block away and got my café au lait from Café Beignet which of course was also selling beignets. On Sunday during our bus tour we had seen a long line of people waiting for hot, fresh beignets at Café du Monde so we were glad we could walk right up and get them quickly.
We headed to Jackson Square for a walking tour of the French Quarter area. We selected Free Tours by Foot which is a company that is operated in several cities. The tours are free and you pay your tour guide what you believe the value is for what was provided. Sean was informative as he walked us around and talked about several places in the French Quarter including Jackson Square, Bourbon Street, St Louis Cathedral, the museums, and several businesses. He gave us tips on places to eat, have coffee and listen to music in the area. We each gave him $15 which was comparable to the other walking tours in the area.
After our walking tour Uber’d over to Willa Jeans for lunch. We had wonderful warm artichoke dip and I had a pimento grilled cheese sandwich which came with tomato soup. It was a great place for lunch, with large portions. We took our leftovers but later we determined we were out too long in the hot weather to safely eat them so they got tossed.
After lunch we Uber’d back to Canal Street and hopped on the St Charles Streetcar and rode it to the end of the line and back. For a $3 day pass and an hour or so of resting we got to see a lot of the city that we may not have seen otherwise.
After Ubering back to the house, taking a break for a while we drove to Elizabeth’s for dinner. It was less than a mile walk but we were all tired and had walked quite a bit in the last few days. Elizabeth’s was not busy at all, and was quite dark inside. Ruth and I both had hamburgers with small salads (great!) and Carol tried the catfish which she said was very good.
Wednesday morning we stopped at Satsumas Café which was about two blocks from the house. It’s a little neighborhood coffee house/café. I had a piece of quiche which was warm and fresh and Ruth and Carol both had pastries. We left there and headed to Westwego to go on a swamp tour offered by Ultimate Swamp Adventures. That was a fun experience! We got to see lots of alligators (I actually held one!) and learned a lot about the Louisiana bayou. Our guide was entertaining and had a deep Cajun accent. One of his co-workers was featured on the show Swamp People, which I hadn’t seen but will need to check out.
After our tour we headed back to the French Quarter and walked over to 9 Rose's Cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant, for lunch. We shared the egg rolls and I had a great chicken Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich), Ruth had a Vermicelli bowl and Carol had Steamed Bun Sliders. We ate outside on the patio and really enjoyed it.
After lunch we went to the Presbytere Museum located in Jackson Square. The upper floor was all about Marti Gras and the lower floor was about Hurricane Katrina. Very informative on both floors.
Before we went to dinner we went across the street to The County Club. It was a beautiful building and we really didn’t know much about it. We had only seen a few people now and then go into it. We were told there was a pool and that we could get drinks, so although we weren’t going to swim we wanted to check it out. They actually had a full service restaurant and a bar, as well as a large pool in the back. We took a quick tour then sat in the bar and had a drink. The décor was a little different but the drinks were good. We didn’t end up having a meal as we had other plans.
That evening we had dinner at Shaya, an Israeli restaurant that Carol had read about. I shared several things including ghanoush, tabbouleh, assortment of hummus’s, roasted cauliflower, salad and glazed lamb shank. Not my typical food but it was all good and fun to try something different.
After dinner we went back to the French Quarter and went to Fritzel’s on Bourbon Street to listen to some jazz music. We hadn’t looked at the times for the music so when we got there the band was not playing for another 20 minutes or so. That worked out great because we got a great place to sit and by the time they started the place was standing room only. We only stayed for the first set but they were good and we all enjoyed it.
Thursday, our last full day in NOLA. The time has gone fast. We started out the day walking to the Bywater Bakery for coffee, then went across the main street by our house to check out Crescent Park which was along the Mississippi River. From the street you cannot see the river due to the levee, but once up over the levee there was a great view of the New Orleans skyline and the Mississippi River.
We took Uber to the Voodoo Lounge where we were to meet to take a walking tour of St Louis Cemetery #1 which is only open for tours or visiting family members. We learned a lot about the history of burials and why the tombs are all above ground, which was due to the water table and how the caskets and the deceased would start to float.. gruesome! Our tour guide explained how whole families for generations would use the above ground tombs. There is a real science to the burials including the type of casket that is used (pine because it breaks down over time), the fact that the deceased person is not embalmed, and the period of time that has to pass before the tomb can be opened for the next family member (1 year). After that time, if needed the tomb is opened and the remains are pushed to the back of the tomb where they fall to the ground, making room for the latest deceased family member. Most of the tombs had at least 3 separate openings, or more. If a family member passed away before the time period had passed to be able to open the tomb then they could “rent” space in another area of the cemetery. It was all very interesting. Nicolas Cage had a tomb built for him in this cemetery in the shape of a pyramid for $300,000. 
From the cemetery we Uber’d back to the French Quarter and had a quick lunch at Café Beignet then went on the Riverboat Natchez tour. As we made our way along the Mississippi River the tour was narrated with the history of the area, then on the way back there was a jazz band playing. The weather was hot and it was hard to find a place to sit that was not in the direct sun, but otherwise we enjoyed the two hour tour.
That evening we were all tired so we ate what was left of our food and ordered a couple salads and rolls from Pizza Delicious.
Friday morning we packed our bags and left the home for the last time. . We had enough time to go to the Backstreet Cultural Museum which was in the Treme neighborhood and was all about the African American culture including the jazz funerals and the second line parades sponsored by the Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs.
Then it was time to head to the airport. Ruth and I were flying home and Carol was meeting Mike to spend another week in the south. I had a salad for lunch at the airport then took the first leg of my journey to Chicago. My 1.5 layover stretched into 4 hours so I finally got home close to 11pm which made for a long day.
Once again, a great sisters trip and I can’t wait for the next one.
