New Orleans kind of started off a little rocky. Mario turned the wrong way onto a one way street, I developed an irrational fear of alligators, and we almost had heat strokes in our tent over night.
After our dramatic evening of camping we decided to head into the French Quarter to find a hotel and see the sights. We found a great deal at the St. Charles Inn Best Western a block off of Canal Street, unloaded Shrimpy, and headed out to explore.
We stopped at The Market Cafe for a shrimp po'boy, gumbo, and Cajun music. The gumbo was great, but neither of us loved the po'boy. (Imagine Libby Hill popcorn shrimp on a subway roll.) We browsed through a few stores including a voodoo shop and a calligraphy specialty store. Mario, of course, loved the calligraphy shop, Papier Plume, and loaded up on extra flexible Copperplate and Spencerian nibs and ink. All of this shopping made us very thirsty so we stopped at Pat O'Brien's. Back in the day, blind tigers would only sell a bottle of whiskey if an establishment would buy 20 bottles of rum in addition. What to do with all the extra rum? Add a special flavor mix and serve in a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp. After sampling the famous "Hurricane" drink from a sweet senior citizen I decided I better stick to a strawberry daiquiri. The "Hurricane" has four shots of rum and I didn't think being drunk at 3 in the afternoon would be appropriate (I know, I'm lame). Mario discovered his new favorite drink, the mint julep. After drinking our (while strolling through more shops...I like being able to take a to go beverage) we headed back to the hotel to relax.
After a nap, an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond", and "King of Queens", our evening began with a dozen oysters at Felix's Oyster Bar. This place was pretty great. We didn't have to wait for a table, our server mixed up her special sauce for us, and the oysters were delicious. They shuck them at the bar right in front of you. Right before leaving an honest to God pirate walked in and started eating oysters on the half shell. Peg leg? Check. Bald head? Check. Eyepatch? Check.
Next we took a ride on the St. Charles streetcar, which is the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world. It took us from the heart of the French Quarter to the Garden District. It was a fun and inexpensive way to see the city. We even had the pleasure of sitting by a stripper in her "by-day" clothes on her way to the club. Playboy t-shirt? Check. Shorts with tube socks and white sneakers? Check. Large boyfriend bouncer wearing a polo with the strip club's name? Check.
We ended the night at Cafe Maspero with $11 steak and $1 daiquiris. We thought we were getting a great deal until we noticed roaches on our way out the door. We chose to believe that the roaches just stopped in for a short visit. They definitely weren't in the kitchen in our food.
Overall, we really enjoyed New Orleans. I'm not sure that either of us have the desire to go to Mardi Gras (because we're old and lame), but I could see us visiting again, maybe in the spring or fall when it's not quite so hot.
Love, Kristen & Mario
p.s. I saw a train on our last morning in New Orleans. It was pretty sweet.
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Location:New Orleans, LA
New Orleans sounds pretty awesome for a big city. It all sounded very romantic. I think I'd really love to visit someday
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