The French Quarter- New Orleans

We rolled into the “Big Easy” on the morning of the 23^rd. Our hotel was able to check us in early, which helped avoid driving around town. After settling in we hoped onto the nearest bus. The bus transferred us to a street car. This was the first time either of us had ridden a street car (it’s basically a trolley on rails.) The street car dropped us off in the French Quarter, New Orleans’ famous district. Finding lunch was our first task. This was a very difficult decision because there were so many options! We ending up at P&G Restaurant. This was a quaint little establishment just outside the French Quarter. They serve their food cafeteria style, which helped keep cost down. P&G offered so many options we had a hard time choosing. We ended up ordering a shrimp po’ boy, a bowl of seafood gumbo, and a catfish dinner, and splitting everything. Our lunch only cost $20! Not only was it affordable, but it was absolutely delicious. I am still having cravings for their shrimp po’ boy… Now that we were completely stuffed we headed to the French Quarter. (We had to walk off the large meal.)

Shrimp Po' Boy, Catfish Dinner, and Seafood Gumbo- so much food!

 The French Quarter truly lived up to the hype. It features beautiful and historic architecture as well as unique shops. Almost immediately after arriving we spotted a street jazz band. It was almost as if New Orleans was welcoming us! The musicians appeared to be our age, if not younger. They each played their instruments beautifully. I could have sat and listened to them play for hours, but we had to press on. We visited several art galleries and tourist shops.

One of the galleries featured works by some of my favorite artists including Andy Warhol, Takahashi Murakami, and Salvador Dali. It was amazing to be able to see them in person.

Eventually we made our way down the famous Bourbon Street. It was a lot smaller than I imagined. The majority of the buildings were bars or other “seedy” establishments. Eventually we ventured to the large Flea Market in the corner of the district. I am a huge fan of thrift stores and flea markets. However, in actuality, this was a large tourist trap. They only sold New Orleans souvenirs at outrageous prices. We ventured on, a little disappointed, and came across a little farmer's market, which was decent, but pretty much a little produce section of a grocery store.

A small ice cream parlor caught our eyes. Originally, we popped in to enjoy the air conditioning. We left with a generous scoop of pecan praline ice cream. Delicious!

We also got to enjoy another band while we ate the ice cream

You are probably thinking “Haven’t these two eaten enough?” Well, the answer is no. Our very next stop was Café Du Monde. This was one stop Allison didn’t want to miss. We enjoyed a plate of their famous beignets. (If you are unfamiliar, beignets are a French style donut that is covered in powdered sugar.) After we finished it was easy to see why the place was packed. 

Beignets and Cafe au Lait- amazing!

As we headed back to the street car stop, we saw the Mississippi River. We even checked out some more shops. The further we got from the French Quarter, the more familiar the shops became. (Urban Outfitters, stuff like that.) I was stopped suddenly by the smell of vinyl. The source of the scent was Peaches Records, a local record store that has been around for ages. Allison and I spent a good amount of time rummaging through their large inventory. Unfortunately, finances and limited car space prevented me from taking any records home.

After seeing everything we wanted, we hopped back on the street car and made our way back to the hotel. We took the time to relax and reflect. Allison had to prevent me (on several occasions) from ordering shrimp po’ boys to be delivered to our hotel. Our day in New Orleans was absolutely amazing. The city is so rich is culture and energy that it’s hard not to take a little bit with you. 

-Marc