New Years in New Orleans, December 31, 2017 - January 3, 2018

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New Orleans has so much character, I love it! It was a great place to ring in the New Year, particularly considering 2018 marks New Orleans' 300 year anniversary. It's too bad it was freezing, I had been looking forward to getting a bit of a reprieve from the -20 Celsius weather here in Toronto. Sure, it wasn't quite that cold, but it was below 0 and that was enough to keep us from heading to Jackson Square for the fleur de lis drop at midnight and fireworks show. Instead we prowled Bourbon Street, bar hopping until we stumbled into a place with a fantastic jazz band. Although the plan was to head to Jackson Square as midnight approached, we opted to stay in that warm bar and ring in the new year to some live jazz. It was great fun.

One of the downsides of going to Nola during huge events like New Years and the Sugar Bowl is that getting into good restaurants is impossible without a reservation. We arrived around noon on December 31, waiting around the airport for the infrequent 202 bus rather than spend $20 on the airport shuttle or $36 for a taxi. The bus is only $1.50. Additionally, we didn't have any particular hotel for a taxi or shuttle to drop us off at, since we were meeting up with my brother-in-law later that afternoon. He had booked a hotel months prior and invited us to join him. He rode the Amtrak train from Detroit through Chicago and Memphis, and arrived in New Orleans around 5pm. So we packed light, and after the 202 dropped us off at Canal St and Elk Place, we wandered down Canal Street towards the New Years Eve Sugar Bowl parade that started at 3:30, proceeding along Decatur Street through the French Quarter and past the Allstate Fan Fest. We couldn't get in to any of the restaurants we attempted to eat lunch at, so ended up eating crawfish étouffée and beans and rice from the Jax Brewery food court.

The parade was a bit chaotic, one float would pass by, and several minutes later a marching band might go by. You'd think it was over, then after another 10 minutes another float would pass by. Caring not a bit about football, I was nonetheless happy to get some beads thrown from a float to commemorate the 2018 Sugar Bowl. Once the parade wrapped up, we shared some fish tacos at Felipe's Mexican Taqueria. Then we waiting in the lobby of the Marriott on Canal Street to meet up with my partner's brother. The Alabama football team was also staying at that hotel, so the place was buzzing with excitement and fans milling around hoping to catch a glimpse of some college football players. I can't believe how much Americans care about college football. At one point, I noticed a television was even airing a high school football game. Apparently they care about that too...

After having a few beers in the hotel room to kick off the night, we headed to Bourbon St., and ate some po'boys and seafood gumbo with to-go beers. I was surprised most bars let you in even though you already had a drink in your hand. Some have a "one-drink-purchase" policy they remind you of as you walk in, but there doesn't seem to be much policing of that.

After midnight, we left Bourbon Street in hopes of catching the tail end of the fireworks, but it was too late and everyone from Jackson Square was pouring towards Bourbon Street as we headed south. We went to Hurrah's casino. There was a horde of other people trying to get in, and it was slow moving because everyone's IDs had to be checked - which really sucked as I desperately had to pee from all the beer on Bourbon Street. Thankfully I managed to get to the casino washroom in time. We didn't win any money that night at the casino, but returned on January 2 when it was much less busy and we could actually benefit from the free drinks. We seemed to have a pretty good strategy worked out and won $80 at e-roulette over the course of enjoying three free drinks. At Hurrah's, you can order your drinks straight from the gaming console rather than having to flag down a server.

New Years Day was once again a challenge trying to get into a restaurant for breakfast. We ended up going to Backspace Bar & Kitchen at 139 Chartres St. The waitress had called in sick, so the bartender was there all by herself. At first there weren't too many people in there so it was ok, but the place quickly got packed as people started to realize it was one of the few places you could sit down and get some food without a big line up. It was a significant wait, and we were freezing because we stupidly sat near the door and people kept coming in, checking to see what games were playing on the multiple televisions, then promptly leaving when it wasn't the game they wanted to see. Many people would leave the door wide open, and since the door didn't automatically close, very cold air kept flooding in. There was a fire going, but I didn't realize we could have sat near the fireplace until it was too late.

After eating, we walked through the French Market and Flea Market. The line-up outside Café du Monde on Decatur was so ridiculous every time we passed that we didn't even bother - even though that's one of the places everyone says you need to go. Instead we went to the Café du Monde inside the Riverwalk Outlet Mall when we happened to pass that and noticed there wasn't a line-up at all. People rave about the chicory flavoured café au lait and beignets. While reading the menu at Court of Two Sisters I realized the chicory is added to the coffee to keep the bitter coffee flavour, but make it more mild. It was good, but I prefer strong coffee. The beignets are just fried dough with copious amounts of icing sugar dumped on top. Again, tasty, but not worth waiting in line for 3 hours in the freezing cold on Decatur Street. Go to the Riverwalk for your chicory coffee and beignets if you must.

New Years Day was mostly a write off given the hang overs, but we had booked a dinner jazz cruise on the Steamboat Natchez that night. There was a live band, and exploring the steam engine room was pretty cool, but it was very cold to be on a boat and the indoor spaces were limited. The darkness also meant the sight seeing was not as great as it would have been during the daytime. The buffet dinner was good, and so was the live jazz. It was a nice way to start off the new year.

The next day we had breakfast at Daisy Dukes and then headed over to the World War Two museum before my brother-in-law caught the train back home. My partner and I had decided to stay an extra night since my birthday was January 3 and we wanted a bit more time to explore the city. It was a good thing we did, because by the 2nd most of the football fans had gone home and it was much easier to get in to some of the acclaimed French Quarter restaurants. I hadn't really intended on visiting any museums in New Orleans, but the World War Two museum is ranked as the number one thing to do in Nola. Given the continuing cold freeze, an indoor activity sounded like a good idea. We only spent about 3 hours there, but easily could have spent the whole day if we had taken the time to watch all the videos and read everything. One of the most striking things I did read was that when Hitler was elected, his campaign slogan was "Make Germany Great Again." I didn't quite realize Trump had stolen the Nazi's campaign slogan! Despite the steep entry fee and the time required, this museum was worth it, though really intense - lots of sounds of gunfire and bombs all around. They give you a dog tag at the beginning you can scan throughout the exhibits so you can follow an individual's personal story, and collect digital artefacts you can access online afterwards.

After the museum, we rode the historic St. Charles Streetcar through the Garden District, which was very scenic. Parade participants seem to make a concerted effort to hang beads from trees, which gave one stretch a very decorated feel. We saw a frozen fountain it was so cold. We had a delicious West African vegetarian lunch at Bennachin (1212 Royal St.) with warm ginger and hibiscus drinks. We walked down Frenchmen Street, which is the local, lower-key equivalent to Bourbon St. Whereas Bourbon Street is a bit of a tourist trap where people go to get drunk and hear top 40 hits (with some good live music thrown in), Frenchmen is where the locals go to hear live jazz. To get a good feel for Nola, Frenchmen Street is a requirement, and Royal Street is probably the nicest street to walk along in the French Quarter, though the entire French Quarter has a great vibe that makes this city such a big tourist attraction. We went to Crescent City Brewhouse afterwards for a couple beers, checked into our hotel (the Courtyard by Marriot in the French Quarter on Iberville St.) and spent a few hours at Hurrah's casino before having a truly amazing dinner at the Palace Café. I had the catfish pecan, my partner had turtle soup, and we shared some red wine. The best was the banana foster for dessert prepared table side. Both the food and service was impeccable for this dinner, as well as the at the Court of Two Sisters where I had my birthday brunch the following morning. The jazz brunch buffet here is highly recommended. A friend recommended it to us, and this place, plus Palace Café are certainly worth making reservations for to avoid missing. I can only imagine how much nicer Court of Two Sisters is when the courtyard is open and the jazz musicians are playing in the courtyard. Maybe one day we will return when the weather is warm.

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