The hotel was perfect. The location was AMAZING! It has a old school feel with modern conveniences. I knew I was in love from the moment we walked in the door to a live jazz trio...
Another unique feature of the hotel was the Carousel Bar. Yes, it actually spins...no worries...verrrryyy slowly. Bar snack= Zap's Cajun Crawtators in your own individual bowl (screw you nasty bar nuts that peoples dirty hands have been digging in for days) When we made the reservation, we told them we were celebrating our anniversary. Upon arrival, there was an envelope waiting for us with an anniversary card with gift certificates for two drinks at the Carousel Bar (way better than free cheap champagne if you ask me).
Our room wasn't ready when we got there. They kindly stored our luggage and we took to explore the French Quarter. We landed at the Gumbo Shop, it had been recommended by friends and did not disappoint. It is located in the NE Corner of Jackson Square.
I had a fresh fruit strawberry daquiri to start and Andrew a bloody mary. Then, bowls of gumbo...complete with fresh crusty bread (p.s. how can you not love a city that serves almost every meal with fresh crusty french bread?!) and a sauteed shrimp poboy, he had a roastbeef poboy...which come to think of it, I did not steal a bite of. I would definitely recommend this place. We spent the afternoon walking around and exploring the area (Note: if you've never been to New Orleans...stay on the main streets).
Our room was ready so we went up and showered (showering is necessary several times a day when visiting New Orleans in August). For dinner, we drove uptown to a little place called Jaques-Imo's. 
If it hadn't been recommended to us by friends, we never would have stumbled upon this place, but we were very glad we did. We're always up for something out-of-the-ordinary. Jaques (actually Jack) the chef wanders around the 3 separate buildings the restaurant uses socializing with his customers. They do not take reservations. We got there fairly early (6:30ish) and still waited 45 minutes. Their drink specialty is watermelon mojitos, which made the wait not so bad ;)
The menu is a mix of southern comfort food and cajun cuisine. Hubby had a smothered chicken dish, which was OK. I had (are you ready for this???) Shrimp and Alligator Sausage CHEESECAKE! Wait! Stop! Don't think cheesecake! No sugar, no strawberry topping. No! Think delicious, savory, gouda cheesy, salty perfection! It is listed as an appetizer, but I was still full from lunch so I ordered it as my entree. Best decision ever!
After dinner, we drove back to the hotel, and walked around some more (can you see why there is the need to walk so much??) Then we adventured out into one of the best parts (or worst, depending on who you are): La Rue Bourbon. Bourbon Street at night is something every adult should experience (this is where I would like to go off on my rant about irresponsible adults bringing children to Bourbon St. at night, but I'll spare you).
There is something for everyone (except children...see above). We wandered around for a while, people watching. We made it to Tropical Isle and sat upstairs on their balcony with our hand grenade and horny gator drinks. People watching on Bourbon St. may be more entertaining than anywhere else in the world. You can trust me, I'm a professional people watcher. The ATL Airport is a close second though...
We finished our drinks and made our way to Pat O'Brien's for one of their famous hurricanes (which I much prefer to the green junk at Tropical Isle, hubby disagrees). Anyways, we got them to-go and found the perfect Bourbon St. escape. Somewhere near Pat O'Brien's, on the other side of the street, there is a beautiful courtyard. 5 steps in the gate it is surprisingly peaceful and serene. We sat down with our drinks and enjoyed some live, soothing bluesy-cajuny music. The band took a break while we were there and the guys walked around collecting tips (in a non-invasive way) and spending time talking to people in the audience. It was just one of those great moments... sitting on a bench with the love of my life, happy, swaying to the music. Sometimes you just have to stop and look at the simplest moments that make you smile and think, I am blessed. For me, that moment is at the beach, at family gatherings, at church, and yes my friends, that night it was 5 steps off of Bourbon St.
We finished our night at Howl at the Moon dueling pianos bar. It is a franchise (see Bachelorette Party in Nashville post) and SOOO much fun, if it's a good crowd. It was standing room only, but we had a blast singing, dancing, and laughing. Perfect close to a fun night.
Due to our late night, we woke up slow Sunday morning. Thank goodness, the place we knew we wanted to go to for breakfast serves breakfast all day (more places should do this...take note, America!). We arrived at Mother's to a line outside the door in the direct sun. We had been warned about it and told it would move quickly. Usually there is a long line outside restaurants for a reason and Mother's did not disappoint.
Hubby had an omlet and I had a traditional egg breakfast with their famous ham. Nothing special about it. Just no-fuss good eatin. Hubby did say that the bloody mary was the best one he'd every had...
I'm not a bloody mary fan, but even I took a sip and it was good.
We had put on our tennis shoes that morning and spent the rest of the day exploring the city by foot. We checked out the Riverwalk shops, walked along the muddy Mississippi, and walked around the French Quarter looking for some local art. It is incredible to me the variety of talented artists are around Jackson Square. Each one is so talented and yet no two are even close to being similar.
Our next stop was a New Orleans MUST, the Cafe du Monde. Beignets and Cafe Au Lait aren't exactly what one wants walking around in 98 degree weather with 98% humidity, but hubby had never been so there wasn't an option. Thank goodness we discovered they serve FROZEN cafe au lait...mmmmm...
From there, we wandered in several more souvenir shops and art galleries as we made our way down to the French Market. I LOVE the French Market. The front half is fun street food, produce stands, and some classier vendors. There was even a cajun cooking demonstration going on...
The back half is more flea-markety but still fun to walk through. We walked down a little bit past the market and saw a traditional New Orleans wedding street parade. So fun!!! Maybe I can convince one of my friends to do this for their wedding!
By this time it was late afternoon and we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap and yes, you guessed it shower. We changed and walked down to WINO. I was really excited about this adventure. I had seen it earlier that day on the touristy channel on the hotel TV. The concept is very cool. The have tons of wine stored in these stainless steel containers. Each wine is hooked up to a pump. When you arrive at the place, you put $ on a card. You walk up to a machine, insert your card and then you can select whether you want a taste (1 oz.), larger taste (2 oz.), or glass (6 oz.) portion. The prices are displayed for each one.
Sounds perfect, right? Well, the workers were rude, the atmosphere was off (only one other group in there) and the wines were odd and expensive. Most wines were $30-40/bottle and it was hard to find the most basic wines like a cabernet sauvignon or chardonnay. The place had a lot of potential but was not well executed for the general wine drinker. We thought if we had more $, we could open one ourselves and do a much better job.
We walked a ways (we needed it) to dinner at the Crescent City Brewhouse. They only serve 5 beers, all brewed in house. Live music, good beer, crusty bread and that was all before the meal even came. Hubby had an awesome jambalaya pasta and I had the ribs (I read on UrbanSpoon that they were good, and they were). My ribs came with a side of mac&cheese. It was done in a ramekin and crusty on top and creamy in the middle. It was very good, but there was something very different about it. There were crunchy cheesy bits throughout. It took me a minute, but I figured it out. When our waitress came back, I said, "This is going to sound very strange if I'm wrong, but are there Cheetos in this mac&cheese." She was impressed. Yes, my friends, there were. What is the opposite of a distinguished palate, haha?
After dinner, we went back and had our free drinks at the carousel bar and decided to make another stop at Howl at the Moon before calling it a night. Not very many people, not nearly as fun. The guys running the show were talented, but it definitely take a few drunk bachelor/bachelorette parties to really get it going, and on a Sunday night, no such thing...
Sunday morning we checked out, considered going to the zoo, decided against it and went back uptown for breakfast at the Camilla Grill. I had fond memories of the place from visits as a child. It's definitely a novelty. We had to wait forever, my sandwich was not very good, hubby's chilli-cheese omlet was though (tasted like it clogs arteries).
Then, we headed home with a stop at Copelands (we used to have one at home and hubby still talks about their chocolate cake). So we stopped and got him a slice of Big Al's Chocolate Fudge Cake. He was as happy as a little kid on his birthday.
Like I said earlier, we are planning to go back to New Orleans often. It is the perfect weekend get away. We have a list of things we want to do on future visits: plantation tour, zoo, aquarium, dinner on the Natchez steam boat, voodoo tour, Saints game, and Mardi Gras (that's on my bucket list).
Wow! Long post for a 2 day trip! It was a wonderful one, and the perfect way to spend some quality time with the hubby before the long school year begins! As they say in N'awlins my friends... Leissez les bon temps rouler!
