Honeymoon in NOLA

Our road trip to New Orleans was one hot (as in heat index) and delicious (as in food) adventure!  We found just the cutest, and very quaint, hotel online in about February.  The Frenchman Hotel was having an online special  - 50% off of their already low-for-New-Orleans rates.  We booked it the morning we found it.  What more could we want?  Adorable, French Quarter style, free breakfast, no penalty for cancellation (only in case of a hurricane of course!), a courtyard with a wading pool and OFF STREET parking??  Well, when we got there, we found it to be on just about the best street ever.  Decatur, the main drag of the French Quarter ran right into our hotel which was technically on Frenchman Street.  The Frenchman was the end point of the Quarter and our destination every night, just guiding us home. We were 16 blocks from down town, which we did walk one morning for a well-deserved breakfast at Mother's.  But on every other morning, we walked one block in the opposite direction of the French Quarter to what felt like our very own street car stop!  For $5 a day, we were able to ride all over the city and by week's end we were pros at navigating the River Line, Canal Line and the Saint Charles Line.  

It was hot as holy hamsters, but we explored the city as much as we could in the time allotted.  While we regret not being bold enough to walk into a couple of local bars to check out the music, we realize that Frenchman Street is the premier spot for jazz in the Quarter.  Also, we now realize there is a pretty cool spot for some soul food on the same street.  We shall return to the Frenchman, to explore more of Frenchman Street as soon as possible.  

We DID a lot of walking.  And a LOT of eating.  We pride ourselves on being able to scope out the best food in any area and NOLA was no exception.  We ate our weight in jambalaya, red beans and rice, calamari, oysters, beignets, muffaletta sandwiches, pecan pie and pralines.  I could go on and on and ON about when, where and how we procured each meal, but I fear that would bore most people.  But these few things must be known:  Coop's has the BEST jambalaya (ask for the Supreme) and duck quesadillas with bacon sauce.  Cafe Du Monde IS actually all it is hyped up to be.  Pandora's has the best version of a snowball (a fancy snow cone) I've experienced.  The chargrilled oysters at Acme Oyster House are delicious, but the beans and rice aren't worth it.  And pralines are delicious, but are so rich they should always be shared by two people :-)  

Our activities ranged from wandering through an above ground Lafayette Cemetary, to photographing the houses in the Garden District, to wandering the Quarter until we found a place for dinner.  Most of these were on the budget or free side since we were nearly wiped out from actual wedding expenses, but we don't feel deprived of the New Orleans experience.  The free sculpture park next to the city museum was wonderful.  The campuses of Loyola and Tulane were beautiful enough to spend an afternoon wandering.  An evening stroll through the riverwalk was a fun (and romantic) way to burn off some of our beignet bedtime snack.  

What we would do with more money is go on a haunted tour of the city and take an airboat tour through the New Orleans swamps.  We would not change our food adventures or our hotel choice.  We would LOVE to go back with friends.  

We took over 600 pictures, but here is the abridged album of our photos :-)