New Orleans
New Orleans is...complicated.
Hot (even in mid-May...upper 80s). Dirty (even with street sweepers). Sometimes a little smelly (especially when it’s hot...especially in the morning on Bourbon Street). Expensive (but...easy to find inexpensive things to do, too).
New Orleans also is...fun. Beautiful. Crazy. Charming. Sad. Happy. Musical. Wonderful.
My husband and I have not been in the Big Easy since 2018. So this trip—with friends!—felt like a little homecoming.
We stayed at the Hotel Monteleone, which has a terrific carousel bar (where it is almost impossible to find a seat, since it’s so popular). The rooms are spacious and clean, and the location—in the French Quarter— is perfect. We can walk to most places, including a trolley stop that goes to the Garden District.
While there, we ate at The Gumbo Shop...The Palm Court Jazz Club/Restaurant...La Petite Grocery (in the Garden District)...The Italian Barrel...the Hotel Monteleone (for a breakfast that exceeded our expectations!)...and other places.
We took a Treme Walking Tour, which was guided by the smart, funny, charming “Yah Yah Universe.” I plan to write a separate post about Treme because the history is quite complicated, and it deserves its own write-up. The people. Yeah...I definitely cannot write more about the people and Treme in this post.
Street musicians, including young boys drumming on large plastic barrels. The band at The Palm Court. The band at the Cafe Beignet. The nameless bands playing in bars around town. A brass band playing late at night on Bourbon Street. A tap dancer. And a fabulous drag queen—dressed all in blue—and standing on a stage near a large open window.
Hurricanes (the drink). Beignets (with coffee). The National World War II Museum (another post for that, too). The Sculpture Garden (another post...). The Trolley (nighttime...windows open...traveling through the Garden District). Late-night drinks at a rooftop bar. Louis Armstrong Park and Congo Square. Fortune tellers on Jackson Square. Sunny, hot days. Pleasant nights.
And friends. There is nothing quite as wonderful as sharing a great time in a great city with great friends who traveled from Colorado, Massachusetts, and Ohio (that was us!).
I/We love New Orleans. With all of its grit and grime and glorious attitude.
