Trip Report Day 1 and 2 Very detailed

Day 1 - We finally made it to MSY- there were 5 of us. I remember last time it cost around $35 for a cab ride - this time it was $12 per person. Plus tip- forget it, we went to Enterprise and rented a car for for $44. We needed to rent a car for the next day anyway!

Since our plane was late, we went straight to dinner at One. Not impressed! MBH liked his, I think he%26#39;s crazy, he had the puppy drum fish- it was so fishy tasting- just awful! I had the ahi salad- that was good. Son one had the spaghetti with calamari. I didn%26#39;t try it, he said it was just ok. Son two had the slow cooked rib and loved it! Son three also had the rib and hated it-sat with a sulking face - so while the others were finishing their meal, I took S#3 around the corner to the Camilla Grill - smiles abound! Love that place- I tried the gumbo- it was good!

Checked into the Renaissance Arts Hotel on Tchoupitoulas- great hotel! Nice rooftop pool and hot tub, generous sized work out room. King suite was roomy and comfortable. Two bathrooms :) Nice happy hour from 5-7 with 12 oysters for $7. Good deal! Hotel was about 4 blocks from the French Quarter - an easy SAFE walk! My kids loved the antique guitar store next door. We liked Lucy%26#39;s Surfer Bar across the street.

Walked over to Bourbon Street - glad it was a Thursday! Even then it was riskay for the kids - so we didn%26#39;t ever repeat that route!

We took the kids to Cafe du Monde, no waiting- got a seat right away. Then back to the hotel for some sleep before our Airboat tour! Took the young ones to the pool/hot tub/workout room.

Day 2

Woke up, got the car and took some wrong turns to start on our way to Lafitte. Called Cajun Style to let them know where we were, they said they needed to move us over to the noon tour. About that time, I noticed Pho Tau Bay off the freeway in Gretna, and remembered Emeril saying how good it was. Being a fan of Pho (seriously, just check my facebook :) I pulled over for some Vietnamese Breakfast. It was really good, I highly agree with Emeril! I had the shrimp pho and wished I%26#39;d ordered the bigger bowl. I talked for a while to the owner, he said that Steven Seagal is also a regular. Five stars!!!

11:30 made it to Cajun Style to learn it is no longer Cajun Style, Airboat Adventures bought them out - but they honored the discount we had with Cajun Style- that was nice. They have an albino alligator inside -that was interesting - I hear she%26#39;s a mean one. The shop also had a racoon and and lots of baby alligators. If they find an abandoned baby, they will bring it back to the shop, nurse it and then release when it%26#39;s big enough. Captain Cory took us for a great ride through the swamp/bayou. We saw cranes, egrets, huge turtles, lots of gators, Spanish Moss, Cyprus Stumps :) and other birds and flowers that no one knew the name of. One alligator had babies with her on a nest. That was cool to see. Then in the marsh, Cap%26#39;t Cory ';knew'; a gator since it was a baby- he called him Scooby. We pulled up and waited for Scooby to visit us- he didn%26#39;t disappoint. After having some marshmallows (swamp crack they jokingly call it) Cap%26#39;t Cory got out on the floton and did some tricks with Scooby. Scooby likes chicken!

We tried to find an old gator called Hercules - but he didn%26#39;t show up. This was the 3rd and best swamp tour I have been on! Five Stars!

Lunch at Sal%26#39;s - this was recommended by the airboat people - we wanted a good crawdad boil, or crawfish as they say in LA. This place was great! I think they were $3.75 per pound. We also had some shrimp. S#3 ate fried catfish - it was also very good. This is a local%26#39;s place where everyone knows each other. I wish I had room for some of their desserts - they looked so good! They have sort of a take-out counter. Great food, five more stars :)

Dropped off the car at Enterprise, they gave us a ride to the Riverwalk.

Headed to the French Quarter Fest for some music. Lots of food and drink stations, I didn%26#39;t see any major lines and wondered if maybe that was because it was the 1st day. Had some fun and then headed to dinner.

Star Steak and Lobster for dinner. The lobster was small, but only cost $31. It was perfectly cooked. We also tried the Redfish Amer and Filet and Blackened Ribeye Chelsea. Everything was very good, I%26#39;d go back. Four stars.

S#2 really likes banana foster - so we went to Brennans - even though it was late! The doors were open, howeve they closed at 9 pm. I guess they saw the sad face on the kids - we told them we just wanted bananas foster. So he said to give him a few minutes. About 5 minutes later he came back and took us in. What a show! And a special treat - I have a great photo of the flame going up - will post later. We ordered two. It was the best dessert of the trip! Five stars!

Off for a walk around Jackson Square where an old guy had wine glasses set up with different levels of water. He was amazing, played several tunes. Had a difficult time keeping the young sons from tipping him all their money :) He let them ';play'; a glass.

Back to the hotel too late for the kids to go swimming, Fell right to sleep!

Trip Report Day 1 and 2 Very detailed

Thanks for your report! Very few non-locals get to try our awesome Vietnamese cuisine, so I%26#39;m glad you found Pho Tau Bay! Next time, you%26#39;re gonna have to try Tanh Dinh and Nine Roses - even better!

Also, Sal%26#39;s is pretty good, but they overcharged you for crawfish at $3.75/pound. It%26#39;s high season, so you should have gotten $2 or under/pound. I%26#39;ll yell at them next time on your behalf ;)

Trip Report Day 1 and 2 Very detailed

Thanks Worldtraveler - for yelling at Sal :) we knew when we pulled into the parking lot they%26#39;d know we weren%26#39;t from around here! Everyone else had SUV%26#39;s - - we had a sedan :) Sal was behind the bar having fun with the locals - still, the FQ was charging $8/lb - so we think it was a good deal anyway.

It always bothers me with how much the restaurants charge for boiled crawfish but then I buy it roadside or fishhouse at bargain rates and bring it home something a tourist doesn%26#39;t have the option to do. Pho is so good-When I can I grab some at the Saigon Noodle House in Slidell. I%26#39;ve heard very little about ONE so it was good to have your report. Keep reporting.