New Orleans April 8-12

[Sol]

Last week, Dave and I were in New Orleans. I had to go there for work and asked Dave to come along. It was the first time we had visited the Crescent City. We stayed at the Marriott, on Canal Street, which is located right on the edge of the French Quarter. We had some great meals at the following restaurant/bars: Mr. B's, Felix's, Napoleon's, and the Chartre Street Oyster Bar. I ate a wonderful bowl of gumbo at a little dive bar called Evelyn's which is on Chartres Street. Dave and I went on a drinking tour that took us to five bars which are landmarks in New Orleans: Antoine's, The Courtyard of Two Sisters, Muriel's, Tu Jaques, and the Bombay Club (wonderful martinis). We also went on a Swamp and Bayou tour. Both tours were great because we learned a lot of history about the area.

We also spent a Saturday evening on Bourbon Street. This was a blast. We stopped in at Pat O'Brian's for some of their famous hurricanes. Also, I had buy a Huge Ass beer. We didn't get to go to Café Du Monde because either it was late in the day or it was too crowded. Also, Dave and I didn't make it to Mother's restaurant or Brennan's for breakfast. Hopefully we will go back and eat at these places and visit others that we missed. Dave and I found it to be a fun place to visit that has friendly people, great food, and lots of things to do.





Tuba player at Jackson Square



Jeff who works at the oyster bar at Felix's.




Dave at the Opera House Bar. They had a great zydeco band on Saturday. Friendly bartenders and waitresses.



Charles at The Court of Two Sisters. He won the best drink award in 2007 for his delicious New Orlean's Comfort. He calls himself the Diva of bartenders.



Random shot of Bourbon Street



Hurricane at Pat O'Brian's. These pack a wallop.




Huge Ass Heineken. I was looking for a huge ass Centennario or Don Julio...couldn't find any.




D and I on the swamp tour.


Two year old gator. This little one will be released in the swamp later this month.



Swamp shack. People no longer live in these.



Resident gator sunning itself.



Lots of turtles and gators all over the place. The guide informed us that there will be even more alligators out once the water warms up. We must have seen about twenty alligators and the longest one was around 12 feet long.



I love these tile street signs.



Old Hickory at Jackson Square. This is a lively area. The square has a very nice garden.



Tu Jaques sign. This place has a huge mirror over the bar. It took 80 men to carry it from the dock. Also, this is the first place in the US to have a buffet. The owner who was a woman came up with the idea of setting out several dishes, family style, so that she could serve people more efficiently and economically for both owner and customer. It was a hit.






The dining area of the Courtyard of Two Sisters. The wisteria tree in the middle is very old and spreads across the courtyard. It is magnificent.


These drinks are Green Fairy absinthe. This stuff has a very strong licorice taste. It was considered medicinal...I found out that you can't drink this stuff very fast.



The is the area outside of Jackson Square that is in front of the cathedral.

[Sol]

Here are some more pictures....



Beautiful house on Royal Street. This house has a very unique fence.




Detail of fence.



The ceiling of Pat O'Brian's is covered with hanging steins. It's kind of neat.


The view from the balcony of Muriel's.



The Mississippi River.

[Jacko]

Very cool! I just love this city!

I miss me some Acme Oyster House oysters....and Felix's is quite nice right across the street..Court of Two Sisters Jazz buffet , Cafe du Monde......Lunch at Commanders Palace...Muffaleta's at Central Grocery..what a foody town!

[queencityfan]

Great pictures Sol!

Love the one of Dave in his hat.

I wish I had a Big Ass Beer!

[Doggiemom]

Great pictures!!! Must get to NO soon!

[tbay13]

Love that 'cornstalk fence' around the front yard of that home. Nice pictures!

[Sol]

Originally Posted by Jacko

Very cool! I just love this city!

I miss me some Acme Oyster House oysters....and Felix's is quite nice right across the street..Court of Two Sisters Jazz buffet , Cafe du Monde......Lunch at Commanders Palace...Muffaleta's at Central Grocery..what a foody town!

I fell in love with New Orleans and the folks who live there. People are so friendly.

The food is just incredible! We tried fried oysters and charbroiled oysters for the first time and it was heaven. I keep calling the Two Sisters "courtyard"; it's court. I couldn't believe that bowl of gumbo that I had at Evelyn's. I was looking for somewhere to have lunch but did not want to go to a fast food place and it was about the first eating establishment I found. An elderly man and his granddaughter run Evelyn's and everyday they serve red beans and rice, gumbo, and an assortment of sandwiches. The gumbo and the french bread were amazing! I tried a muffaleta...OMG these are huge and so delicious. The oysters at Felix's are huge and I just love all the condiments that you can put on them: horseradish, and worcestershire sauce etc. I always was used to just putting seafood sauce on them. Geez, what I was missing! We had one lousy meal and that was a Landry's Seafood restaurant. It's a chain restaurant and a lot of the locals were telling us the food is horrible.

Originally Posted by queencityfan

Great pictures Sol!

Love the one of Dave in his hat.

I wish I had a Big Ass Beer!

Thanks Miss Sharon! I will tell Dave that you complimented his picture. He bought the hat in Mérida and just loves it. You would have loved those Huge Ass Beers! They were so good and cold.

Originally Posted by Doggiemom

Great pictures!!! Must get to NO soon!

I cannot wait to go back. I was in a food coma....

Originally Posted by tbay13

Love that 'cornstalk fence' around the front yard of that home. Nice pictures!

Thank you!

Isn't that the most interesting and beautiful fence! There are so many houses around that area that are so beautiful and unique.

[TAPPY]

We are headed to NO this week for a wedding at Southern Oaks Plantation, we are staying in the French Quarter for a few days...cant wait.

Swamp Tour...you went right by my house, you should have stopped in to say hello. (j/k) - was it Henderson swamp you went to ???

[roni]

I have not been since 1966, and I would like to go back with enough time to swing by Lafayette and meet Tappy, the Big Guy and their daughter.

[Sol]

Originally Posted by TAPPY

We are headed to NO this week for a wedding at Southern Oaks Plantation, we are staying in the French Quarter for a few days...cant wait.

Swamp Tour...you went right by my house, you should have stopped in to say hello. (j/k) - was it Henderson swamp you went to ???

We did the tour with Grayline tours which deal with Jacques Lafitte Swamp and Bayou tours. Great company. I didn't think to ask which swamp we were in, but it sure was beautiful. I just loved all of the trees, grasses, and wildlife. We saw a snowy egret and a big heron.

Originally Posted by roni

I have not been since 1966, and I would like to go back with enough time to swing by Lafayette and meet Tappy, the Big Guy and their daughter.

Well, when you and Kathy head out that way, let me know because if I got some money, I would just love to go back, especially with y' all.

[Eileencc]

This one is adorable! Frameworthy! I wondered where you were last weekend! Looks like you had a blast! Thanks for sharing your great pics!

[Sol]

Thanks Eileen! One of the women on the tour took this picture of Dave and I. I had taken one of her and her boyfriend, so she reciprocated.

[TAPPY]

Originally Posted by roni

I have not been since 1966, and I would like to go back with enough time to swing by Lafayette and meet Tappy, the Big Guy and their daughter.

We would love to have you.....of course I would love to have a peep meet in New Orleans one day to.

[jevans]

i love new orleans. i'm a big fan of the crawdads.

[Sol]

Originally Posted by jevans

i love new orleans. i'm a big fan of the crawdads.

I love crawdads too. I tried Abita and Dixie beer. I like them both a lot. Abita pairs nicely with oysters. Dixie tastes great accompanied by some seafood gumbo.