How to Spend a New Orleans Weekend

Forty-nine years ago, my boyfriend’s parents celebrated their honeymoon in New Orleans. Last week, they invited him, his sister and brother-in-law, and me to join them there for their anniversary. What fun! I was not accustomed to traveling with a group, and particularly not one I like so much. We had a blast.

My first observation, upon arriving in the French Quarter, was that New Orleans looked exactly the way I’d always expected it to based on every movie I’ve seen where it appeared. Yet none of those movies really prepared me for how it felt. Being in it, rather than seeing it on a screen, felt somehow proportionally surprising. It felt both larger and smaller around me than I expected it to. And absolutely everything looked haunted. (If there’s a next time, I’ll definitely throw in an after-dark ghost tour for the fun of it. There’s just never enough time to do everything in one trip.)

Hotel Provincial

We arrived at the Hotel Provincial and acquainted ourselves with the layout. The hotel was conveniently located right in the French Quarter, on Chartres Street. Like everything else around us, it felt charmingly historic (and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places). It had a beautiful courtyard, lobby, and rooms and a relaxing bar with friendly staff. And despite its age, the a/c and fan inside our room worked wonderfully and kept me nice and cool under the comfy blankets.

Muriel’s

After settling in, we set out again for dinner at Muriel’s. It was lovely inside; something about it sort of reminded me of being inside an old train station. And I couldn’t stop looking up at the impressive high ceiling.

I ordered the New Orleans seafood gumbo and a side of creamy burrata cheese served with eggplant caponata, smoked tomato vinaigrette, and crostini. That gumbo was the very first thing I ate in New Orleans, and it did not disappoint. There was so much flavor thrown in, I couldn’t identify it all! That came to be true of everything I ate in New Orleans. It is a foodie’s paradise.

After dinner, I went right to bed with a migraine caused by a plane with lackluster a/c and exacerbated by the Louisiana heat.

Croissant d’Or

We chose a place to breakfast at random and lucked out with Croissant d’Or. My Ratatouille omelette was thick and fluffy, and I’d never had an omelette with eggplant before. The croissant was flaky and buttery. And I really loved my cute little marzipan pig whose bug eyes and pointy, down-turned ears somehow reminded me of our sweet puppy whom we were already missing after only 24 hours. (“That’s why she’s so scared of you,” my boyfriend said. “She’s always wondering when you’ll think she looks cute enough to eat!”) My only regret is that I did not return to sample more of their baked goods.

Garden District Tour

We did the two-hour Two Chicks Garden District Tour with our guide Karen (“Not that Karen,” she informed us) on Saturday morning. This was fun and informative and gave us a great background on the unique local architecture. I now know the difference between cast iron and wrought iron (and love both). And I’ll always remember the color “haint blue”. We got to see some local celebrity homes and speculate over what it must be like to be John Goodman’s neighbor.

This tour also took us to the gates of Lafayette Cemetery, which I did not realize is currently closed to the public. Something to note if you’re planning to visit.

The tour began at PJ’s Coffee, where, despite having just eaten breakfast, I got to try beignets for the first time. (For the uninitiated, they’re a lot like funnel cake.) When the tour ended near Gris-Gris, I decided to get an oyster salad for lunch, even though dinner was only a couple hours away. (I eat way more food than normal when I’m on vacation because I want to try all the things in the limited time available!) And after tasting that salad, I still want to go back and try everything on their menu.

I’d like to make note of the luxurious restrooms at Gris-Gris. If you need a pit stop in the middle of a busy day, that’s the place to do it!

The following night, we’re pretty sure we spotted our tour guide on Bourbon Street. My boyfriend’s brother-in-law joked about jogging up to her to say, “Karen! I just have one more question!” This mental image is still making me giggle.

Bayona

We selected Bayona for dinner to celebrate all of us as couples. Not only was it my boyfriend’s parents’ 49th anniversary, but it was his sister and brother-in-law’s 17th the day before, and our fourth was a month before that. So there was a lot to celebrate!

I tried the Mississippi rabbit, since I don’t often see rabbit on a menu and have only had it a handful of times. (“Pardon me, waiter,” someone quipped, “but this tastes more like Louisiana rabbit to me.” I got a good laugh out of that one.) This was a green-onion-sausage-stuffed rabbit roulade with smothered greens, dirty rice, and Creole mustard sauce. For dessert, there was bananas foster bread pudding. I cannot resist bread pudding anytime I see it. Combining it with bananas foster just makes it that much better!

Service was top-notch at Bayona. And to our surprise, our waiter happened to be from Jacksonville! And not just Jacksonville, which spans a massive area, but our neighborhood specifically! He even knew our street! What a small world. It reminded me of the time I sat next to someone from Jacksonville at a bar in Petoskey, Michigan.

Secret Vampire Speakeasy

In the days leading up to our trip, I received my September Book of the Month, which, much to my surprise, partially took place in New Orleans. In one scene, a character visits a “secret vampire speakeasy”. Knowing that the author, Deanna Raybourn, is very thorough in her historical research, I had a suspicion this might have been inspired by a real place. Sure enough, this does exist!

The speakeasy is called Potions. Beloved by locals, it’s hidden behind Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub. (In hindsight, we probably should have stayed to enjoy Fritzel’s for a time after trying our absinthe at Potions, but I had a migraine that night, too.) To gain entry, you must give the Fritzel’s bouncer a $10 cover fee and the password. You’ll have to get the password from a nifty little store around the corner called Boutique du Vampyre.

It was really cool watching them prepare the absinthe. If you’ve never tried it, it’s definitely an acquired taste. But since I have loved black licorice my entire life, I enjoyed it a lot. Each sip was like a mouthful of lightly-toasted black jelly beans. It was saintly.

I don’t know, but can surmise that Potions was probably frequented by Anne Rice when she lived in the area. Maybe a fan or local can confirm.

Cafe du Monde

Because I only ate one beignet the day before, I decided to get a couple more at the famous Cafe du Monde. (How famous? I’m really not sure; I just knew I had heard of it.) Cafe du Monde has a long line for beignets. And we took a risk standing in it, as I didn’t know whether the beignets were actually that good, or whether, like me, people were just lining up there because they had heard of it.

The line moves fairly quickly. While standing in it, I observed that waiting in a hot line for beignets while covered in flies and listening to live jazz seemed like about the most authentic New Orleans experience I could have. However, if you’re wondering whether the line is worth it, I’ll say that the beignets are wonderful, but they are equally wonderful at PJ’s. So if you’d rather skip that line, you can have the same tasty experience at a few air-conditioned locations in the city.

The Court of Two Sisters Jazz Brunch

I ate so many delicious things at the brunch buffet at The Court of Two Sisters! The biscuits (and I’m picky about biscuits), corn macque choux, prime rib au jus, and jambalaya…especially the jambalaya. I also got brave and tried a bit of the turtle soup au sherry. Not brave, mind you, because I was trying turtle for the first time; I’d had turtle once before, in a fried nugget form, and sworn I would never eat it again. I remembered it having a mucus-like consistency. But I knew my dad and my uncle both loved turtle soup (and green turtle soup in particular, before it became illegal to eat green turtles). And I figured, when in Rome. When was I going to try turtle soup again? It did look very mucous when I dipped my spoon in it and watched it slowly drip off the sides.

When I tasted it, though, it was really not much different from chili! It tasted delicious, actually. And it didn’t feel like mucus in my mouth. Rather, the turtle skin (I think is what that was) had more of a thin, leathery, chewy, papery feel. It actually didn’t offend my senses at all. It’s funny–there were a couple of ladies in line beside me when I got my turtle soup who looked askance at it and asked me if there was really turtle in it. I told them there was and their mouths dropped open and they said I was braver than they were! So that only encouraged me more.

Once again, I spotted my irresistible favorite, bread pudding (with whiskey sauce). And as there was bananas foster right beside it, I spooned some on top. Delicious! You can actually find their bread pudding and whiskey sauce recipes on their website if you’d like to make some at home.

It was here that I also got to try brandy milk punch. According to our guidebooks, this is one of the top five cocktails of New Orleans. It was really good. Sweet and creamy with a bit of spice and a kick.

Ignatius J. Reilly Statue

Having recently fallen in love with A Confederacy of Dunces, I had to check out the statue of Ignatius J. Reilly. We went together as a whole group because we are all fans.

Preservation Hall and Legacy Band ft. Will Smith

What an amazing experience this was! The building, which I believe they said had been there since 1750, looked like it could have been a set from a ride at Disney World. We entered and exited through an old carriageway. We’re still not sure whether there was a restroom in the place (and it smelled like people of the past had probably used the walls for this purpose). And the airflow was nonexistent. (If I hadn’t had my portable fan and the wall to lean on, I think I might have passed out.) But the vibe was great, and the music slayed. I kept thinking of that scene in one of my favorite films, That Thing You Do, when Guy tells the bellhop that he wants good jazz, and the bellhop laughs and says, “Oh, you want good jazz? Good jazz?” and then directs him where to go.

Many of the musicians had come from generations of musicians before them. I believe they said the clarinetist was from eleven generations of clarinet players. The leader of the band, Will Smith (not that Will Smith–and he made a joke about slapping that got a good laugh out of me) plays trumpet with one hand. As a former trumpeter myself, I was very impressed by that. Technically the left hand only serves to help keep the trumpet in position and take some of the pressure off your right arm, but still. Also, during one song–and now I can’t remember which–when he started singing, it felt like I drifted into a trance for a couple of minutes.

Faulkner House Books

We had a whole list of bookstores we wanted to check out, but due to timing and my persistent migraines, the only one I got the chance to see was Faulkner House Books, which is located beneath an apartment formerly occupied by William Faulkner. This was a charming little place with a helpful attendant. And if you love books and have the cash for it, they even have a monthly subscription service that they will tailor to your tastes. I just found out that both my boyfriend’s sister and I, on separate occasions, nearly bought a copy of Faulkner’s New Orleans Sketches (everything he wrote while living in the French Quarter) and then, sadly, put it down again. I regret not buying that one.

Naghi’s

I love coins, and I love ancient artifacts, so I especially love ancient coins. We found some Dutch East India Trading Company coins at Naghi’s that were in great condition and formed into necklaces. (I bought everyone coin jewelry for Christmas last year, so I know how difficult these in particular are to find affordably and in good condition.) Had they had an ancient French or Gaulish coin, I probably would have been tempted to buy one as a souvenir and to represent the French side of my ancestry. It would have seemed fitting in New Orleans! But fortunately for my wallet, they did not. However, I kept their card for later.

Galleries and Antiques

We stopped in lots of cute galleries and antiques shops. One gallery we particularly enjoyed was photographer Sara Elmore’s on Chartres Street. Every single photo in her store was just stunning. I had many favorites–in particular I enjoyed the variations of this one for the gorgeous blue color of the light and the emotions evoked by the art. (The word “Sister” beneath suggests an angel weeping for her lost sister, but having recently lost my brother, I could still relate on a personal level.) There was another I loved that was set in City Park with some majestic swans under a bridge. It felt very French to me and reminded me of a photo I took in France. There were many shots of St. Louis Cathedral that kept catching my eye. Here’s another and another. Plus so many amazing shots of architecture–doors, balconies, homes, etc.

Vampires and Dark Things

Another neat little shop we checked out right near our hotel on Chartres Street was Dark Matter, an “oddities and artisan collective where every day is Halloween”. This was cool, almost like looking through a museum. And it reminded me of walking through Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley.

And of course there was the aforementioned Boutique du Vampyre, where I bought most of my souvenirs from this trip. I got this brass rose terrarium necklace with a real rosebud inside, a fancy glass perfume bottle from India, and a bottle of rose perfume made by the oldest perfumer in New Orleans. The perfume came packaged on a little bed of dried rose petals and smelled as beautiful as it looked!

The Weather

If you know me or have read any of my posts, you probably know I do not handle the heat well. Had it not been for a special occasion, summer is not the time of year I would have chosen to travel to New Orleans. It is hot, and presumably is for most of the year, just like in Florida. Despite drinking water at every opportunity, I still ended each day of the trip with a migraine. When you go, I would recommend visiting in the winter. If you can’t, be sure to take a few changes of clothes each day for the amount of sweat you are going to expel. There was one day where I actually wished I had a third change of clothes! And I took at least two showers each day. I would also advise carrying a portable fan. Mine really saved me on this trip, and it is now a permanent fixture in my handbag!

Purchase

Just for fun, I thought I would share this quick and relevant couplet with you. I came up with it at work one day several years ago when my boyfriend’s tear-off History Channel calendar had a note about the Louisiana Purchase and a certain song popped into my head. It goes like this:

Come, Monsieur Talleyrand, sell Louisiana.
Daylight come and me got a new home. 

Hope that gave you a smile.

Curly Girls

BONUS for Curly Girls! I don’t know if it was the water or the fact that I forgot my wide-toothed comb and had to finger-comb conditioner out of my hair, but my hair was loving New Orleans! Check out this Day Two hair (which I’m almost never able to pull off). I did deep-condition the morning we left, but I do that once a week anyway and rarely have such amazing results. It was luxurious all weekend.