Part 7

Thursday the 16th: Had a late regular, greasy breakfast at Déjà Vu. Nice place, would have liked to have the chance to go eat there for another meal but.... again, not enough time.

Today was Audubon day. I had planned on doing the zoo, aquarium and Imax Theatre, but when I saw from my trip to the Garden District the day b4 how far out the zoo was, and I didn%26#39;t feel like having a rushed day (was feeling kinda tired), decided to skip the zoo (on the agenda for next time). So bought the combo ticket for the aquarium and Hurricane on the Bayou. I got there at 11am, and the movie was at 1pm. Thought perfect, gives me 2hrs to see the aquarium. It was very nice, but small. I was done in an hour. The white alligator was sharp to see though. I had to ask the people around me if he was real as he didn%26#39;t move at all!!

So since I had an hour to kill b4 the movie, I bought a ticket to see the 3D movie about ocean life. Was ok. Hurricane on the bayou on the other hand was very very good. I cried through 1/2 of it. Fortunately, I wasn%26#39;t the only one sniffling in the theatre. :) How ironic they started working on that project 3 months b4 Katrina. Kinda creepy if you ask me. Somebody somewhere%26#39;s was making a point.

My stomach was feeling a bit queasy when I got out of the theatre. Thought that 2 movies in a row on that big screen was maybe too much, especially with one of them being a 3D movie. Decided I needed some grub, so off to Coops again I went for more chicken (Coops is the only place I ate twice). I was browsing, taking my time walking back towards my hotel from Coops when I started to feel really queasy. Picked up the pace to get to my hotel, just made it in time b4 I got sick (I can%26#39;t see it being the food at Coops, wouldn%26#39;t have hit me that fast).

I wont%26#39; go into the gory details, but by 7pm, I was shivering in bed freezing, but I was boiling hot to the touch. Then I started having to go to the bathroom quite often (if you get my drift). I barely slept that night from the shivering, which turned into sweating to death in the middle of the night, and the trips to the facilities.

Friday, the 17th: 1st thing in the morning, I made my way to Rouse%26#39;s for something for my stomach and pick up more water as I was out. I can%26#39;t remember the last time I felt that bad. Thankfully the FQF parade went down St Ann, just under my balcony so I was able to at least see that. I didn%26#39;t leave my room again until suppetime. By then, the Pepto Bismol had started to work a bit, and I really didn%26#39;t want to miss Bruce Daigrepont who was playing at the Cajun stage, so I went for a little while. Didn%26#39;t enjoy myself though of course. Was a long walk back to the hotel. Picked up a plain ham sandwich on the way back as I was starved. Spent the rest of the evening in bed again. Thank God for remotes!!! :)

Saturday, the 16th. By then the frequency of the trips to the facilites had gone down quite a bit, but I still felt awful, quite the stomach pains actually. Tried to go out for a bit in the morning, made one turn around Jackson Square, went back to bed. Around 2pmish, I went to Clover Grill. Thought eggs and toast might help as I was reaaally hungry, was only able to eat 1/2, back to bed. I sooooooooooo wanted to go to the meet %26amp; greet, you really have no idea. I felt so bad and guilty about missing it, I still do. I really wanted to meet everybody! I%26#39;m trying not to think about it too much cause it just makes me so mad. What a time to pick up a bug or whatever it was. It couldn%26#39;t wait until I got home??

The rest of the day was again spent in bed.

Part 7

I%26#39;ve had what I thought was food poisoning from Deja Vu so I really hated reading this part of your trip report. So sorry that happened. Miserable feeling, I know!

Part 7

I%26#39;m so sorry to hear about your food poisoning. Actually, I had a friend in town that same week, and she got a bad case of food poisoning the last day of the trip. At least you were able to enjoy the city for a little while, before you got sick.

Just gives you an excuse to come back! ;)

Do you all think that%26#39;s what it was, some sort of food poisining?? I guess it must be, a regular flu bug or whatever wouldn%26#39;t be that fast, that extreme. Just my luck!!!

Based on your symptoms, I would guess food poisoning. Symptoms can start hours up to a full day after ingestion, varying based on the contaminant (who knows what it was?!). They can also include chills, fever, abdominal/stomach cramps, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea. Usually clears up in a few days.

It%26#39;s impossible to diagnose from afar but it sure sounds like food poisoning. Quick, painful, lots of trips to the bathroom and that awful flushing/hot skin. Blech!

There are a very small number of places I will no longer eat in the Quarter due to my perceived issues with kitchen cleanliness, including Angeli, Fiorella%26#39;s and Deja Vu. Not to say they aren%26#39;t clean, mind you, but I can only go with what I perceive after previous visits! (In fact, all 3 had pretty grungy employees in addition to questionable kitchens/food prep areas.) I shoult note that these places must pass the state/city food safety inspections each year and I assume they have done so.

ah cajunwave,you%26#39;re so politically correct. :)

OMG - I totally forgot about the TA meet and greet at Lafittes - darn! I really intended to go but got sidetracked too! Thankfully for different reasons! BTW - I never did see a TA hat or pin, or anything else - what did they send?

What ';sounds'; like food poisoning is sometimes just a body that is not used to several days of drinking and eating unusual food to your stomach. Not to mention dancing to great music in the hot sun. I travel often and start taking Axid,Zantac, etc. before I go on a trip, 2 a day during the trip and for a couple of days when I return. A greasy breakfast could have been enough to set it off, and trying to eat anything during this time,i.e. ham sandwich and eggs does not help! New Orleans food is spicy, greasy at times, can be hot, unusual, etc, and a hurricane can help the problem along! Glad you had a great time otherwise and hope that you will return soon with some stomach meds just to be safe.

I eat at DejaVu often.

I will tell you that I took a high school group to IMAX in Boston and we had to send a couple of kids out who were getting super nauseous. The sounds and the sights are so incredibly large scale that it can be very disturbing. (Plus, we were watching a video that was a fly-over - I forget what but I think Leonard Nimoy narrated it - and it added to the whole stomach-turning experience).

There has been a flu virus going around also. Its too bad you missed the meet and greet..it was the only one we%26#39;ve been able to make.