Travel Tuesday

We just spent the weekend in New Orleans. We arrived on Thursday, checked in to the hotel. Then we met our guide for our first tour--a 3 hour walking, history of food tour. We stopped at 5 restaurants for tastings that made for the perfect lunch. I like oysters (not raw), but had never had charred oysters. They are now my new favorite!

One of the stops was at Leah's Pralines. They also gave us a sample of the bacon brittle. Oh my gosh! It was all delicious!

We ended our food tour with muffalettas while sitting in Jackson Square. I love this photo--the composition is great! I plan to have it printed in a larger format to put in the guest room formerly known as Mindy's room!

The pictures are a little out of order, but I'm just going to go with it.

One of my favorite things to do---anywhere---is to have tea. We had reservations at the Windsor Court Hotel. They started us off with cocktails which were delicious. I considered getting a second one, but then I was looking forward to my tea.

Normally, all of the tea foods come on a 3-tiered plate. Instead, they served us in courses. The scones and Devonshire cream are always my favorite. These did not disappoint. I asked for a second black currant scone. They were so so good! 

This was a Mother's Day tea, so they had roses for all of us. We didn't take ours since we didn't really have any place to put them.

One of our favorite activities was the New Orleans School of Cooking. Butch and I had done that a few years ago with our friends. I knew our gang would love it.

The food was so good! We learned a lot of tips for Cajun cooking. We got all the recipes so we can make those same dishes at home. They started us with hot biscuits and Steen syrup. Next came shrimp and artichoke soup. Next up was crawfish etouffe with pralines and white chocolate bread pudding for dessert. We didn't have time to shop right then as we had to get to our swamp tour. 

They picked us up at our hotel. We were the only ones on the bus, so we decided to spread out! It was about a half hour ride.

As you can see, we saw tons of alligators. This was my third swamp tour. I don't think I need to do it again. But I wanted the girls to experience it. 

New Orleans is my favorite place in the world for food. We hit most of our favorites. Mr. B's Barbecue Shrimp is my most favorite dish. 

We went to Commanders Palace on Friday night. Everything is amazing there. We were in the room that makes you feel like you are in a treehouse. I love cloth tablecloths and twinkle lights! 

On Saturday, we went to Cafe Beingets for breakfast. We stopped back at the clooking school and bought all kinds of seasonings. Stephanie and Nicky's Mother's Day gift to me was souvenirs on our trip. I got everything at the store. I got the Steen syrup--which seemed like such a splurge that I would not get for myself. $12.50 for a small can. Now it's all the more special.

We ended our trip with a street car ride to Mandina's Italian restaurant. We had to wait about 45 minutes for a table, but it was worth it. 

Of course, there are some downsides to NOLA:

1. All the smells--mostly not good.

2. The heat and humidity.

3. The uneven, trip you up pavements.

4. The curb juice--as Mindy dubbed it. We actually saw a horse pee in the street--which of course, makes it's way to mix with the other liquids. Sandy was in sandals so had to be very careful where she was walking!

5. Worst of all was the pot smell that permeates the whole city! We hated that---everywhere you turned, it hits you. Obviously it's legal there. I used to say I didn't care one way or the other about that. Now I hope if it's legalized everywhere I hope  the keep it out of public places. Yuck!

We all agreed that the weekend was so much fun. I didn't even mention the geo-caching and happy hours. We certainly cram a lot in to our trips. We don't waste a minute! We're already planning our next trip!

Now, I'm off to the beach tomorrow with my friends! Oh what fun it is to be retired!