Category Archives: Louisiana

New Orleans

I know I’ve said this before, but I love New Orleans. It has the best food. I saw this great quote by Tennessee Williams today: There are only four cities in America. New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. Everyplace else is Cleveland. Food wise, definitely true! The saddest thing was we were still stuffed from the barbecue place in Natchez to have a proper dinner after we got here.

We settled in to our hotel on Bourbon Street. The Royal Sonesta is our favorite place to stay. If not here, I’d probably check out The Hotel Monteleone, but definitely in the French Quarter! We then headed out to the Tropical Isle to have drinks and watch a trio that we enjoy-Rhythm & Rain. Some of their lyrics are a little off color, but the combination of the drinks and music works. I don’t think we made it to Felix’s Oyster Bar before 10…one of those nights in the big easy!

For brunch we were off to Mr. B’s Bistro on Royal. Wow! So good! Actually anything Brennan family related is a good bet! Duck spring rolls, a salad and another half dozen oysters with horseradish bernaise followed by bread pudding for dessert. Rick went with eggs Benedict. Food heaven-at least for me! We waddled back to the room and napped. We had to rest up before the next meal!

Later, we wandered around listening to street musicians-it always amazes me how many talented people play on street corners. Afterward we went to another oyster bar for a crawfish boil and oyster po-boys. We called it a night fairly early-we are too old to stay out late two nights in a row!

Before hitting the road on Monday morning, I stepped across the street to the courtyard at Cafe Beignet where there was live jazz at 8 a.m. You’ve got to love this place!

 

 

 

April Fool’s

Today is the second day of our mini road trip. Yesterday we stopped in Fort Stockton again. For old times sake. Two other couples, who are friends of ours, were on the way to Austin, TX, so we all decided to stay at the same hotel and have dinner and hang out. It was a fun way to start the trip!

Tonight we are in Lake Charles, LA. What a long day in the car-so much traffic! Driving through Houston on the first day of the Final Four Basketball Tournament is not a great idea. It was intense. Got in a lot of stomach tightening exercises! Tomorrow we are heading to Natchez, MS….we both read this great, yet somewhat disturbing book called Natchez Burning, and feel like we need to see it. Then we are heading down to New Orleans for a couple of nights to, well, eat and listen to some good live music. Why else does anyone go there? It’s our 4th time there, so we’ve seen and done a lot already-just the important stuff now, thank you very much!

So far we have eaten nothing but total crap, yet I can barely keep my pants up, no clue what’s up with that….. A friend of mine asked me to send pictures and believe it or not, I haven’t taken a single one yet. Tomorrow though, I promise!

I love New Orleans

First off, let me just say this. Priceline. Sweet Jesus, have I been living under a rock? How is it that I never used this website? I am pretty darned good at sniffing out a good travel deal, but this is crazy. I did one of their express deals, where you choose how many stars you want for a pre-determined price, and you find out the name after you pay for it. So, right on Bourbon Street, The Royal Sonesta Hotel, a four star hotel, (and in New Orleans, you really want as many stars as you can afford!) was only $84 a night. Score!

We spent the next few days eating, drinking, listening to some wonderful live music and wandering through the streets of New Orleans. I even managed to get caught in a massive downpour, a good distance from our hotel, which is where I left Rick and my umbrella as well. I seem to have a talent for being in cities all around the world without an umbrella with me when the rain hits. I used to just buy plain black ones, but finally decided to own it and buy touristy ones. They’re just more fun, and a constant reminder of how I keep having to buy umbrellas….

On the road to New Orleans

The drive from Lake Charles to New Orleans was so cool. We stopped in Baton Rouge and went to the Louisiana State Capitol, which, at 34 stories high, is the nation’s tallest state capitol. It is also where Governor Huey P. Long was assassinated in 1935. After Baton Rouge we decided to get off I-10 and head down to a meandering little road that runs along the Mississippi River. An Andrea Boccelli cd was the soundtrack for this adventure. There were plantations here and there and way too many churches for my taste…. We stopped at a plantation named “Houmas House” (where’s the pita?), it is nicknamed “The Sugar Palace”. It was absolutely spectacular! The original owner bought the land, which was originally some 200,000 acres from the Indians for roughly $100 worth of supplies. Surprise! Anyway, after changing hands many times, the size is down to 38 lush acres of gardens.

Life after Texas

After a mad dash to get out of Texas on Friday, we got to Lake Charles, Louisiana. We are spending our last night there tonight. It has been a very nice stay. We found an amazing restaurant called Steamboat Bill’s, eating at both of their locations. They had things we have never heard of….Shrimp and Crawfish Pistolettes, Boudin Balls, Baked Potatoes smothered in Crawfish Efoufee and Popcorn Shrimp…..What? And boiled spicy crab, which the sweet server taught us how to attack.

Anyway, we also took a 4 mile hike through the Bayou and went to a Casino. By 8:00 p.m. on a Saturday night, we were pooped! We are having so much fun! Tomorrow we are heading to New Orleans for a couple of days and then…..actually I have no idea, but we’ll figure that out on Tuesday. Stay tuned!