New Orleans Weekend

Ok my goal was to get in this post about our Thanksgiving New Orleans trip before Christmas! It may be only 4 days until Christmas but I made it! We had a great trip. I'd only been to New Orleans once (but it was before I was 21 so I'm not so sure that it counts) and Jonathan had never been! We got a great deal on a hotel in a great location, right on Canal St. at Bourbon St., meaning that we got to stay in the French Quarter but were close to the bus stops so we could also get to the garden district easily. Friday we mostly spent the day roaming around the French Quarter. We went to a burger place for lunch that was recommended to us by a friend and then immediately headed to Cafe du Monde. Yummy!! We each got our own beignets since we definitely wanted 3 each, and I got an iced cafe au lait and Jonathan got a hot cafe au lait. So good! I'm craving them now... So after that, we walked along the water and walked to the River Walk. It's a cute little mall along the river and they have outdoor areas that were pretty to sit and enjoy the view. The rest of the afternoon we spent going in almost every art gallery we saw. We saw such amazing pieces! Then, we decided to go have dinner early because we wanted to go to Acme Oyster House. We tried going there for lunch and they had a huge line. Apparently they just always have a huge line because they're so popular. We made sure to go back early for dinner before the line got too long. We only had to wait about 30 minutes before getting a table. They are known for their grilled oysters and they were delicious!!! It was my first time to have oysters that I actually liked. I've tried raw oysters and oyster stew and gave them both a chance but they're just not for me. However, I could eat the grilled oysters at Acme all day. I kind of wanted to haha. Jonathan said that they're raw oysters were great too if you were wondering. Those were just the appetizers...for our entrees I decided to get my cajun fill and got etoufee and Jonathan got soft shell crab. Definitely hit the spot!

The heart of the French Quarter: Jackson Square! The historic St. Louis Cathedral is in the middle.

Andrew Jackson statue in the middle of Jackson square.

Cafe Du Monde!

 

It's always super crowded. You have to literally run to your table before it's taken haha.



My deliciousness!



Jonathan's beignet art haha.

The river!



The aquarium is also along the river and they have an area with birds that's visible from outside!

 

A nice area with a fountain in the River Walk.

 



Oysters! Yummm!

After dinner it was still kind of early since we'd eaten so early but we decided to head to Bourbon St. to see if we could find some good bars. We wanted to find some good jazz and have a hurricane to check both off of our New Orleans bucket list. We first went to Pat O'Brien's because everyone told us we had to go there. They didn't have jazz but they did have a piano bar so we sat and enjoyed the music while I had a hurricane and Jonathan had a mint julep. The drinks were great and the music was fun! They took requests so everyone was singing along and a lot of people got up and danced. Pat O'Brien's also had a traditional bar area and an outdoor patio with a water fountain/fire pit. That's right, water fountain and a fire pit in one. That's a first for me anyways. We then decided to see what else was happening and if we could find some jazz. Bourbon St. was considerably busier but we survived. It's not hard to find jazz in New Orleans so we popped into a few different bars. It was nice to stop and listen to music for awhile and then stroll down the street to the next place. After awhile we started to get a hankering for some coffee so we stopped at PJ's which is a New Orlean's original. It was pretty good and it was really nice to get out of the Bourbon St. craziness for a little bit. After that we stopped at the Musical Legends Park. It's a small outdoor area off of Bourbon St. that usually has live jazz music. There's nothing better than sipping on coffee outside while listening to some good music! We probably didn't have the typical experience that most people have on Bourbon St. but we definitely had fun.


My hurricane from Pat O'Brien's!



The piano bar!



Jonathan's hot mocha and my iced mocha from PJ's!

The entertainment at Musical Legends Park!

Saturday we decided to take the bus through the Garden District and then walk down Magazine St. and check out all the shops. If you don't know, the Garden District is known for their beautiful houses. We were definitely wowed. I was picking out different houses for us to live in haha. It's a really fun experience because you get to ride a trolley through the area. At the end of the trolley route we stopped and went to eat at Cooter Brown's, another suggestion from friends. They are known for their oysters too. Jonathan got raw oysters and I got fried oysters. Both of ours were really amazing. We also both tried a local beer which is something we always like to do when visiting somewhere new. They were showing a college football game and even though the teams were nowhere near Louisiana, everyone was really into the game. Apparently Louisianians really love football no matter what team is playing. After that we took the trolley down toward the main area on Magazine St. and shopped shopped shopped. We even found some painted vases for our house.

We're on the trolley!



Look at how pretty! I was taking notes for our future house!

Raw oysters for Jonathan and fried for me!

We headed back to the French Quarter after a few hours of shopping to go to mass at the Cathedral. The Cathedral is beautiful. It was really cool to not only go and see it but to also celebrate mass there. That night we went out for a nicer meal at a place called La Petite Grocery. Our friend, Robby, used to be a chef there. We loved the appetizers and desserts the best. I mean, who doesn't? Our favorite appetizer were the crab beignets. Sounds weird but they were great! It was a really nice meal and a great end to our trip.

Inside the Cathedral



Everything was so beautiful.

 

St. Joan of Arc, my patron saint.

Sunday morning was pretty laid back since we wanted to leave to get back to Houston after breakfast. We decided to go back to the Musical Legends Park because in the park was a place called Cafe Beignet. While we were listening to music there Friday night we noticed that there was a sign saying that it was on the Food Network show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." I was shocked and didn't really believe it because everyone always raves about Cafe du Monde. We looked it up and sure enough Alton Brown said that it was the best thing he'd ever eaten. Jonathan said that we had to try it so we went back there Sunday morning. I was really glad we did because we got to listen to more jazz and sit outside! We both got beignets and mochas (made with chicory coffee). It was good and I really liked the coffee with the beignets, but I have to say, the beignets weren't as good as Cafe du Monde. They were crispier at Cafe Beignet, but Cafe du Monde's beignets just melt in your mouth. So just in case you were going and weren't sure where to go, now you know (and sorry Alton Brown if you read this...but if you do I love your show!)


Cafe Beignet still must have been pretty good if I didn't remember to take a picture before almost eating it all!



The traffic wasn't fun on our way back to Houston but at least we had nice scenery!



Lots of trees!


So we had a fun trip! We were glad to be able to go on a long weekend to make it worth the 6 hour trip. We got back to Houston around 6 and then immediately headed to our friend Josh's house to celebrate his birthday. He grilled his amazing burgers for us and we made a bonfire and smores! We had the best time but after a few hours I definitely was ready for bed! It was full weekend. We never have a problem finding something to do haha.

Until next time!
-Chelsey