Tag: Travel

Day 5

Boarded the green street car and headed to the Garden District.

Many homes in the area date between 1832 and 1900. Huge homes – take the grand homes of Niagara-on-the-Lake and multiply them grandeur significantly.

The Garden District area is considered to have some of the best-preserved collections of historic southern mansions in the United States.

The prosperity of the times in 19th century New Orleans is evident in the size and architecture of the homes.

The house used to film “Benjamin Button” with Brad Pitt is in the Garden District. It was after filming this movie that Pitt and Jolie purchased a property in the New Orleans.

Sandra Bullock also calls the Garden District in New Orleans home.

Commander’s Palace Restaurant takes up over half a block and is one of the most sought after restaurants to eat in while in NOLA with needed reservations (especially for lunch and their $0.25 martinis) weeks in advance. (Didn’t eat there)

We wandered back to the BBQ and Blues Festival for some lunch and great music.

After a bit of a rest, we strolled down to the waterfront and headed towards Frenchmen Street. We were too early for the nightly music scene, so we just checked out the neighbourhood.

Saturday + French Quarter = Multiple Weddings.

Any Day + French Quarter = Characters

Deciding on dinner was a challenge; we didn’t want bar food and the really good restaurants were booked. We roamed Bourbon, Royal, and side streets – crowded and loud. We finally decided to head back to the Business area and go to the new restaurant close to our hotel.

Johnny Sanchez, the brainchild of John Besh and Aaron Sanchez, serves “kicked-up” Mexican food. The restaurant is bright, modern, and fun. The place was packed, but we did get seats at the bar.

We ordered margaritas and they were delivered with corn chips and salsa.

Our appetizer was the Empanadas – a delicious blend of a fungus, corn, and cheese.

Next we ordered the Green Salad – mixed greens with spiced pumpkin seeds and a cilantro-lime vinegarette.

Then we ordered tacos (Todd picked the Sweetbread tacos with chorizo, avocado and a tamarind salsa; I chose Pork Belly with a grilled pineapple salsa). Like I mentioned, the place was packed, and our server behind the bar was kept busy from the bar orders coming in, patrons at the bar, and people converging on the bar while waiting for a table. …..still no tacos….. The server gave us a complimentary roasted Brussel sprout salad and resubmitted our order. Todd’s sweetbread tacos arrived shortly after and he waited for mine to come, gave up, and ate his.

Mine never did appear. The server was very apologetic and only charged us for drinks and the Empanadas. This is a new restaurant and they are still adjusting. The fact that the server acknowledged the issues and compensated us is a huge “feather in their cap”.

Day 3

Through “Save Our Cemeteries” organization we toured St. Louis #1 cemetery. The still actively used cemetery was established in the late 1700s.

Our guide, Larry, led us around several tombs, describing the history of the cemetery, how many of the tombs were created, how and why some are maintained while others are not, and some of the more notable tombs and their inhabitants.

People from all walks of life are buried here from rich to poor, white, black, French, Spanish, all mixed in with one another. The only division between burial areas is by religion, Catholic and non-Catholic.

Most tombs are built of brick and coated with a white stucco-like material. The tombs are maintained by surviving family or by a payment to the Archdiocese. The maintenance payment covers the walls of the tomb, but not the “doorway”.

One of the more famous tombs is that of Voodoo queen Marie Laveau who died in 1881. It is currently under restoration as numerous visitors continue to mark the tomb as part of a ritual, then someone tried to correct this by covering it with latex paint, but it was not the correct medium.

Another notable tomb purchased, yet still waiting for its occupant, is a pyramid shaped structure owned by Nicolas Cage. A lot of fans put on lipstick and kiss his tomb !

A short walk from the cemetery took us to the Hermann-Grima house. The historic house museum was opened to the public in 1971.

The huge home, a symbol of New Orleans wealth, was built in the 1831 by Hermann who ended up having to sell it when he lost his fortune.

In 1844 it was acquired by Grima who lived there with his wife, nine children and extended family until the civil war.

In 1922 the property was purchased by the Christian Woman’s Exchange and was used as a rooming house for women. Also included on the property was a consignment and tea shop.

Walking the streets of the French Quarter is an experience best understood by those who have visited.

Street musicians and vendors set up on multiple corners to entertain and collect cash donations.

The area is bright, loud, and welcoming. We stopped in at Ole Saint (53 beers on tap) for Happy Hour (excellent deal). While sipping, we struck up a conversation with a couple from Australia – exchanged email addresses – we are sure to meet up again.

Day 4

We walked to the Villa Convento to meet up with the Flok group again; this time to board a school bus and travel to Metairie to a “hole-in-the-wall” restaurant called Sugar’s. We were served a buffet of a home-cooked southern-styled dinner (fried chicken, stuffed peppers, gumbo, mac ‘n cheese, peach cobbler, and more).

I had no idea when I booked our New Orleans stay that it coincided with the Blues and BBQ Festival; and it is being held only one block from where we are staying.

Tonight we heard music from Little Freddie King and Ana Popovic. Dinner consisted of a crawfish sausage po’boy (Todd) and a pulled pork and slaw taco (me).

 

Day 1

It seems like a long time since our last “Adventure”….but finally we are off. The flight was uneventful (which is a good thing). We are staying at the Drury Inn, just outside the French Quarter, in the Business District. The recently renovated room includes a decent sized sitting area with mini fridge and microwave, large bathroom area, and a bedroom with a king bed (good sized room for a week’s stay; and the Drury includes a hot breakfast which is adequate and daily complimentary drinks and light food at 5:30 (limited drink selections; so okay if around, but won’t alter our schedule to partake…).

Once the trip to NOLA and surrounding area was booked, I again turned to Trip Advisor for recommendations. While weeding through various posts I came across numerous posts referring to The Flok – a group that annually converges on the city of New Orleans and invites anyone to join in their festivities. They sounded fun and offered some unique opportunities, so we became part of the Flok (BTW- the name Flok came about because the organizer misspelled “folk” in an email). We didn’t arrive in time for the lunch at Café Reconcile (a New Orleans restaurant that supports “at risk” kids by giving them jobs and training them in the food industry), but we supported the over $2300 donation raised through a raffle by Flok members. We did meet some of the group later in the afternoon on the (reserved for the Flok) balcony of The American Sports Saloon.

Day 2

After a restful night’s sleep and a slow start to the day (we are on holidays, you know), we headed down to the waterfront (Mississippi River) to walk along the river front.

The Holocaust Memorial is a visual prayer in memory of the millions of Jews killed from 1933-1945. As you walk around the sculpture the view changes multiple times.

Aboard the Natchez Steam Boat a lone organist plays for the crowds gathered on the walkway, some waiting for the upcoming departure, some just enjoying the sounds.

Jackson Square is named in honour of Andrew Jackson who led the resistance against the British attempt to capture New Orleans in 1812.

You can’t miss St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter.  One of the oldest cathedrals in the United States, it began as a church in 1718, and as a cathedral, was rebuilt and expanded in 1850.

Tidbits – Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral in 1987. Present membership is over 6000.

Walking along the riverfront in the late morning sun calls for a “refreshment” break.

We met up with the Flok at Muriel’s for lunch. We started with drinks and appetizers on the balcony (again reserved for the Flok).

Over 50 of us then moved to the Séance Room for lunch where drinks continued to flow, old friendships were rekindled, and new friendships forged.

Todd began with Seafood Gumbo and I (stepping out of my comfort zone) had the Turtle soup. I have to admit, it was quite tasty.

For our Mains, Todd chose the Stuffed Mirliton (a shrimp and Andouille stuffed pepper with roasted Creole tomato sauce), and I opted for the Grilled Pork Loin with red beans, rice, and corn bread. Both of us truly enjoyed our choices.

We met up with the Flok in the early evening and cabbed it to Rock ‘n Bowl. Rock ‘n Bowl is a unique combination of a bowling alley and music venue.

As we bowled, the band played, people danced, and the fun continued.

Todd “rocked” at the bowling alley, doubling and tripling my score (where were those gutter protectors??).