Trip Report: Part 1

Ok folks, here it is.

Thursday, April 9th: Arrived at my hotel, Place D%26#39;Armes hotel, around 9:15pm after a very long day of planes and airports. I was sooooooooo excited!!

When I got into the cab, I put the window down and I got a sniff of that warm, humid air, aaaaaaaaaah. Holly cow, people drive like maniacs in NO!! At least on the highways. 4 to 5 lanes of traffic, people going at least 80 miles an hour and weaving from one lane to the other like there%26#39;s no tommorow. I was 1/2 scare out of my wits by the time we got to the French Quarter!! :)

Check in at the hotel was fine. I get to my room and open the door to a king size bedroom with a balcony overlooking St Ann street, room 302. PERFECT!!! Was a large room with 2 ';doors';, only the one going to the balcony actually opens, but very light and bright. Room itself was fine, clean and no musty smell or anything. I was quite pleased.

After litterally throwing my stuff on my bed, I head down to Bourbon St. WOW!!! A blind person could have seen I was a tourist, 1st time on Bourbon. I was walking around looking at everything, big grin on my face, in awe. I couldn%26#39;t believe I was finally there!! I was starving but didn%26#39;t want to go sit down anywhere%26#39;s, so my 1st meal in NO was a Lucky Dog hot dog. Boy was I surprised when the guy said 4.50$...for a hotdog?!? But then I told myself, you%26#39;re on vacation in NO, who cares!! So I walked around looking and listening to everything, munching on my doggie for a bit. Finally, the 22hr day got to me so I headed off to bed.

Friday, the 10th: Woke up earlier than I expected, probably around 7amish. Was still feeling tired from the day b4, so I decided not to go to the Jean Lafitte Ctr free tour at 9am. I also decided that having breakfast on my balcony would be a fine start to my vacation, so I went down for the continental breakfast. Tea, coffee, juice (which was excellent), danishes and croissants. If they would add maybe peanut butter, boiled eggs, and fruit to it, it would make a fine breakfast. I grabbed some coffee, juice and a croissant, brought it back to my room and sat outside listening to the Quarter waking up. It was sooooo lovely. It was warm and a bit humid. Some little birds even came by to say hi (and steal crumbs).

After taking my time getting ready and what not, I headed out. My 1st stop was Rouse%26#39;s as I wanted to get some water for my room (I%26#39;m a big water drinker). I also picked up some strawberries and a jar of peanut butter to have on those mornings I%26#39;d be having breakfast at the hotel. Back to my room to put that stuff away and I went exploring. I decided since I didn%26#39;t do the walking tour that I%26#39;d do the carriage ride that 1st morning.

I enjoyed it, a great way to see the city when u 1st get there. I saw a lot of the places, restaurants, etc that I wanted to see during my trip. The driver was very kind, forget his name though. I%26#39;ll tell you all right now, I%26#39;m terrible with names and forgot pretty much the names of all tour guides.

Afterwards, I went back to Rouse%26#39;s for snacks and ';beverages'; for the room. I picked up a ham %26amp; cheese poboy as it was lunch time, and I planned on going on the cemetery walking tour at 1pm, so didn%26#39;t chance going to a restaurant and being late.

I did the cemetery tour with Historic New Orleans tours which meets at Royal Cafe Beignet. The guide was very informative and you can tell he really cares about preserving the tombs and whatnot. Tour lasted about 2hrs. We walked to the church which is accross the street from the St Louis#1, he explained about the church and it%26#39;s significance, then we went into the cemetery. There was a lot of people around, we saw at least 3 other tour groups, plus people looking on their own. It was so interesting to see everything, the old tombs, the newer/restored ones, the explanation on how they used to bury people %26amp; how they do it today, etc. It had been cloudy in the am, but the sun came out shortly after we started the tour, and the sun was just beating down on us. I had burnt shoulders by the time I got back to my hotel.

After the cemetery, we walked over Congo Square, and he pointed out where the temple was accross the street. We didn%26#39;t go over though cause you could see the place was packed with other tours. I don%26#39;t think anybody minded really cause we were all getting tired from the tour and being out in the sun.

Went back to the hotel. By then, I was really hot as it was very warm and humid, so I decided to go for a swim in the pool and lie in the sun to work on my tan (I%26#39;m a sun worshipper). The water was a tad cool when u 1st got in, but felt great in no time, very refreshing. After relaxing by the pool for awhile and having a drink or 2, got ready to head out again. Went to the Old Absinthe House to meet up with some TA folks, but we missed each other. I was pretty hungry by then and since Remoulade was close by, decided to go there for supper. I had the crawfish pie which came with fries. Meal was fine, though I did fine the crawfish pie not dry, but the inside mixture wasn%26#39;t exactly what I thought it would be. But I still ate everything, so it certainly wasn%26#39;t bad.

Afterwards, I just started walking down Bourbon St, listening to music in doorways until I heard something that really grabbed my insterest. I ended up going into the Maison Bourbon for their houseband. Excellent!!!!! Highly recommend them!! I ended up staying there most of the evening. It%26#39;s traditional, old jazz, just what you picture when you think of New Orleans jazz.

The long day and all the walking started to get to me, so off to my room to relax, put my feet up cause they were aching, and off to bed. What a great 1st day!!!!!

More to come!!

Trip Report: Part 1

Thanks for the report! I agree with you about the music at Maison Bourbon.

Trip Report: Part 1

I agree about Maison bourbon and also another good one close by is Fritzels. The drivers are wild actually you get a life lesson at each traffic light. When it turns green..don%26#39;t move..count to three and then proceed. And that is a great room at the Place D%26#39;armes.

Yay, porelly. Thanks for writing. I can relate to the excitement you must have felt as you LIVED NO for the first time.

We%26#39;ve stayed in room 302 at the Place before, you got a GREAT room. And I have to admit, all the times we%26#39;ve stayed there, I have NEVER been in the pool. Yay for your Maison Bourbon experience on your first day.

Looking forward to more stories....

';Do you know what it means ....';?

can%26#39;t wait to read the rest!!! How%26#39;d you like that Lucky Dog...we thought they were the worst thing ever-one of the girls tried the Bourbon st vendor, the rest of us tried the airport one-just awful!!!

We are leaving early in the morning so your TR was a good start to my trip!

I find that the depth of enjoyment I get from a Lucky Dog depends on how many drinks I%26#39;ve had. It%26#39;s remarkable how good they taste after a few too many drinks.

Been waiting for that first reaction- not disappointed. Was it as you expected? I am glad you got that Lucky Dog out of the way- that is one NOLA treat I won%26#39;t be trying- never eat hot dogs- esp. on vacation. Can%26#39;t wait to hear more!

Yay! I%26#39;ve been waiting for your TR! Your room at the Place is a great one - the epitome of why I feel the need to have a balcony room - to sit outside and watch New Orleans waking up. Takes you to another century, doesn%26#39;t it?

New Orleans drivers are giving Atlanta drivers a run for their money, I%26#39;ll take Spaghetti Junction anyday rather than I-10 near New Orleans, LOL!

Can%26#39;t wait to hear more!

BTW, I have to tell you that I will always remember the first time I went to New Orleans. I was a teenager and my dad took me there on vacation. When we got there, all my teen-angst melted away. It was like my soul said ';Oh baby, you are home now, relax.'; It will stand out in my mind as the first time I was completely comfortable in my own skin. I wandered around (with Dad%26#39;s supervision) and I can remember just laying my cheek on old warm brick buildings and feeling the history.

I%26#39;ll be 40 soon, and I don%26#39;t live in New Orleans because my husband and my family don%26#39;t want us to live there because of the distance and the crime.

But, I visit whenever I can, and I still feel the same old euphoria each time.

Was it like that for you?

Wow, cerelife, your description of how New Orleans affects you, that%26#39;s exactly, I mean, exactly how New Orleans makes me feel. It%26#39;s like you got inside my head!