A Birthday In New Orleans

On March 10th was my oldest daughter's birthday so I boarded a plane to New Orleans to celebrate her 24th birthday with her. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia and I'm in Goodyear, Arizona so we were excited to meet there. During our 4 day adventure we explored museums, steamboats, restaurants, and shops.

The night we arrived we ate dinner at The Pelican Club. The food was great, the atmosphere was fancy and we appreciated the difference in location. My husband, two other children and two of her friends were also in attendance. If you've never been to The Pelican Club, this is a must try on my list.

We stayed at Hilton Riverside, which was located right by everything we wanted to explore and about 25 minutes from the airport. It was a great location, but the rooms were dated and simple. I didn't like the shower. The hotel itself was nice and large. They have a restaurant downstairs, Starbucks, full parking garage and right next door was a shopping plaza.

The next day we had breakfast at Café Fleur De Lis.It was intimate and the food was amazing. We were able to look over the balcony on the second floor and see people walking down the street. Considering it was a Thursday there was a lot going on. It seemed as if people were all vacationing there. Then we went to the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo. For six people we paid under $50. They had two floors of music history and it was nice, but not much in each room. We walked through the entire thing in less than 20 minutes. We also went into a store called Sneaker Politics NOLA which had a lot of cool sneakers at a reasonable price. I got a pair of black Jordan's. Don't ask me the actual name, I am not that familiar with sneakers.

Later that night we walked down Bourbon street getting drinks from local bars and enjoying the music and people. There was something about the atmosphere that made me relaxed and at peace with just being there. Maybe it was that southern charm, the smell of good food or the drinking on the street. Whatever it was, made the night a night to remember.

The next day other family members flew in and little by little we all started meeting up. That morning we ate at Ruby Slippers for breakfast. There was a long line so we knew this place was good. It took about 30 minutes to be seated, but the food was worth it. It was seasoned to perfection, and the presentation was amazing. A must go place if you visit New Orleans.

We did some shopping at Saks 5th Ave and a few other shops before meeting up with everyone. Saturday afternoon we did a steamboat cruise on the Natchez that served lunch. The food was delicious. The boat takes you around the harbor to view historic sites and places that were affected by Katrina. It was a nice way to enjoy the afternoon and have lunch. After the boat ride we walked around downtown tasting candy from candy shops, listening to the music on the streets, eating beignets from everywhere we could get them. That night we had dinner at Laundry's. In Arizona we have a place called Pappadeaux that is similar, but I've never eaten at Laundry's so I wanted to try it. I was not pleased. The service was HORRIBLE. We waited at least 15 minutes to be greeted, after being sat at a dirty table. When we did get greeted we ended up having 4 servers, who didn't know what the previous one had done. When the food came out it was decent, but not good. The manager came out to apologize and offered us free desert, which was good, but the overall vibe from the visit was already ruined.

Sunday, the last day I was there we went to breakfast and walked around a few site seeing places near our hotel then I got dropped off at the airport. My daughter and two of my sisters stayed until the following day. My husband and two other children came in on a later flight. I flew American Airlines, which I wasn't impressed. I normally fly Southwest, which is considered a cheap airline, but I appreciate the two free bags after paying $30 per bag with American Airlines. The overall trip was exciting, adventurous, fun and affordable. If you ever get a chance to travel to New Orleans check out some of the places I've mentioned in this blog post. If you've been and have experienced some of these places let us know how your trip went. Stay safe, stay focused and stay traveling. Happy Travels.