Well, we%26#39;re back and, as predicted, my bff%26#39;s and I had a great time at Jazz Fest. This isn%26#39;t your typical trip report in that I%26#39;m mostly remembering the silly stuff we did as a group more than covering the places we were. It%26#39;s been five days since getting home and my head%26#39;s still a little fuzzy, so excuse that!
We were eight women traveling from Ohio. We had been talking about going to JF since Katrina and actually booked the trip six months ago, giving us plenty of time to build ourselves up for the fun we knew we would have. (Thanks to all of you!) One of us used to live in NOLA, so this trip is long over due. This is our eighth girls trip and on every one we laugh until we cry. We are from 35 - 55 years old. Big partyers, no drama, no stupid crap, no drunk left behind.
Because of the time change, we landed around 9:30 a.m. Our initial reaction to the city (once we got to downtown. The ride from the airport reminded me of any town in Florida) was ';This is a beautiful city';. I was unprepared for the beauty of it. We stayed at the Astor Crowne Plaza at the corner of Canal and Bourbon. There are a lot of reviews of this hotel on this website, but I will briefly give you my impressions. It was 10:30 am when we walked in and were immediately greeted by the bell captain John, who introduced himself, became immediately engaged with us and showed us a picture or his six year old, ';Big John';. A truly beautiful person. We expected to check our bags with him and were surprised when our rooms were available.
Our rooms were spacious, clean, quiet,(10th floor) and the price had actually gone down from when we booked it. Remember to book through the hotel and the flexible room rate, so that if it goes down you get a cheaper rate, if you check the website and ask. We actually switched from a suite when the price of a regular room went from $249 to $161. The $450 suite rate didn%26#39;t change. Location here is the best if you%26#39;re there to party on Bourbon St.
One thing we learned quickly about NOLA is that the drinks are a little stronger there. We found the daquiri bar Jesters, about a block away really quickly after checking in. They give you free shots if you get a drink, and there was a sweet bartender there who remembered us immediately after our first trip and throughout our probably 12 stops at THAT bar. They put 191 in some of the drinks, so it doesn%26#39;t take long to get real happy.
O.K., so we%26#39;re not pacing ourselves at this really early point. We%26#39;re in NEW F______ Orleans! Yee Haw!
Rookie Mistake. By noon a guy had flagged us down in front of the Bourbon St. blues co. and had us onstage singing, shaking our butts, and generally making it quite the show already. In our defense, he was really cute, and good at his job (making forty somes feel like twenty somes) This ended up being ';our bar'; for the weekend. If you were there last weekend, I%26#39;m pretty sure you remember at least one of us. We found out that in the evening, this is a good spot to hang out on the balcony upstairs.
This was the scene our entire first day. In fact we didn%26#39;t even make it all the way down Bourbon St. as we were having so much fun. We did have dinner in a beautiful courtyard somewhere. Crawfish cakes, best I recall, though the food wasn%26#39;t the best as I recall. Definately, the first day wasn%26#39;t about the food!
We managed to stay up and out till after 12:30. I know this early by NolA standards, but would prove to be the latest we were out, after having spent our reserve alcohol funds and energy the first day there.
The weather was warm and mostly sunny. So were we. I think I%26#39;ll break this review up as it%26#39;s getting long.
Girls trip Apr. 30th - May 3rd
Thanks for your report! Looks like you had a blast! Looking forward to reading the rest!
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