New Orleans, LA

Okay, I LOVED NEW ORLEANS!! The diversity of cultures and history make it such a unique city. We spent a long weekend there. I am not a huge city person, so 3 full days in the city was good for me, but I would have loved to do a swamp tour and spent some time outside the city.

Where we stayed: The Hyatt Regency by the Superdome
It was a beautiful hotel and perfect if you are seeing an event at the superdome. However, I spent most of my time in the French Quarter and it was a bit of a walk or trolley ride to get there.

Inside the Hyatt

View of the Superdome at night from the hotel

Inside the Hyatt

Rooftop Pool at the Hyatt

View of the Superdome from the Hyatt Exercise Room

View of New Orleans from the Hyatt Exercise Room

What to do:
There is so much to do in New Orleans. I spent some time walking the city myself as the hubby was at a conference. The shops at Riverwalk are indoors and it was great to spend some time shopping while it rained. There were many stores and a nice food court. The mall is rectangular building therefore it takes a long time to get from one end to another. It is right along the Mississippi River. The French Quarter is a beautiful area to walk around. Jackson Square is a nice park in the city. My husband loved Frenchman Street. There are many cafes with live bands and the music just pours into the street. I wasn't quite as impressed as he was. Near Frenchman Street is the French Market, I enjoy markets so it was fun to walk around. Bourbon Street was fun to walk through, many dinner options along the road. I took a class at the New Orleans School of Cooking and it was so great! It was my first cooking class and I loved it. The food was delicious, our teacher was so fun, and I learned a lot. I did make one of the dishes myself after getting home, it didn't taste quite as good as hers did : ) One morning we took the street car through the Garden District all the way to the end of the line and then back again. On the way back we got off and walked around through the Garden District. The houses are gorgeous and not being from the south the style is so different from what I am accustomed to seeing. One of the highlights of our trip was going to the World War II Museum. It was incredible. You began by purchasing a ticket and boarding a train where you could pick a person from WWII or could be assigned one. I was a nurse. Then as you walked through the museum there were stands where you scanned your dog tag and could hear about your person at that stage in the war. I was amazed at how well done the museum was, lots of artifacts, interactive, video footage, to name a few aspects of the museum. While we were in New Orleans the King Cake Festival was going on at the Superdome so we walked around there for a bit, it was really cool to see the Superdome in person. My hubby took in a Pelicans game against the Lakers. While he was there filming was going on for Daddy's Home so he was able to see Mark Whalberg and Will Ferrell, I was so jealous! Finally, probably my most favorite thing was Cafe Du Monde and its beignets. They were delicious! 

Riverwalk, The Mississippi River

The Mississippi River

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

Jackson Square

French Market

Bourbon Street at night

Bourbon Street at night

MY COOKING CLASS!!!

The class

Our trolley through the Garden District

The beautiful homes in the Garden District

Garden District

Garden District

Garden District

WWII Museum

WWII Museum

WWII Museum

King Cake Festival

Will Ferrell

Pelicans vs. Lakers

Cafe Du Monde

Cafe Du Monde

Where to Eat:
Obviously, the Number 1 place you should eat at is Cafe Du Monde. The beignets are INCREDIBLE! I ate there every day and sometimes multiple times. It is super crowded there most times during the day unless you go at off hours. The menu consists of beignets, coffee, and tea. Oceana's on Bourbon Street was good. We had dinner there one evening, it was very crowded of course, I had a shrimp po'boy and it was pretty standard. We did try alligator there, it didn't taste too different from other meats, a different texture! Le Bayou was a good restaurant on Bourbon Street as well. I had a cup of gumbo there that was delicious!

Beignets and Coffee

So I LOVED NEW ORLEANS!! The mixture of history, culture, music, and food was so unique and different than any other place I have been. I would definitely recommend visiting and really engaging in the culture of New Orleans, eat out, try food that is unique to the area, spend time just walking the city, and if you have time head out of the city and do a swamp tour in the the bayou.