New Orleans #1: A Wander Around the French Quarter

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We left Fort Collins early in the morning. We had booked spaces on the shuttle bus to Denver airport. As we got on the highway, we hit really bad traffic and we were panicking for a bit that we would miss our flight as we were going at a snail's pace. However, we got past the jam and picked up speed. We didn't get to the airport too much later than we should have done. We had already done online check-in, so after dropping our bags, we headed through security. The queues were quite big, but they moved pretty swiftly. We were starving, so we had a look around for somewhere to eat. We had a while before our flight so we picked a nice looking restaurant to get some breakfast in. We quickly ordered our food and then waited and waited. We were getting pretty anxious as our flight was due to board soon. Finally our food came and we wolfed it down and then ran to the gate. I wish I could have taken some time to enjoy my burrito. The gate was empty when we got there and since I was sitting right at the back of the plane had to do the walk of shame. There were a couple more stragglers after us, too. Best bit was it was the actual pilot, who was the last one to arrive. Once he was abroad we could go.

The flight took a couple of hours and was uneventful. New Orleans airport is definitely old and worn. We took a cab to the place where we would pick up our rental car and got that all sorted out. Then we drove to our Air BnB, which was located on the edge of the French Quarter. It was small, cute and quirky and the owner was really nice. He recommended a good place for us to eat as we were hungry, having skipped lunch. We took a little while to chill and then headed out to explore. It is so different here compared to Colorado. The US is so big, the different states feel like different countries. I already missed the dry heat of Colorado, as it was quite humid here. I was already in love with the gorgeous streets, they were just so pretty. We headed to the restaurant 'Eat' that had been recommended, but it was still a little early and they weren't open for dinner yet, so we wandered the streets a little more. We didn't want to go too far as the restaurant would be opening soon, so we took a walk in the adjacent streets. I loved the style of the buildings. If only I was rich and I could afford to buy one.

We headed back to the restaurant to find it was now open for dinner. We were so hungry and everything on the menu looked good. I think if we could have afforded to order everything we would have. Instead we settled on a few things to share. We also made sure that we ordered some iced tea, now that we were in the South, we had to have their traditional beverage. I'm glad that we could get some unsweetened tea. We ordered some Fried Green Tomatoes, I had never had them before so I was excited to try them. The name just conjures up images of the film 'Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe', which i had watched again fairly recently. Well, the fried green tomatoes were a hit, I really enjoyed them and hoped that I would eat them a lot more on trip. We also ordered some mains to share. These were also new dishes for me to try. We got Cochon, which is pork, served on mustard greens with a side of butter beans with shrimp. One bite and I was in heaven, it was really delicious. We also ordered 'The Trio', which was a cup of regular gumbo, another of red bean gumbo, and a stuffed pepper served with rice. I really enjoyed the gumbos, too. I think we also may have ordered a duck dish, but there is no photographic evidence of it, so either we scoffed it so quickly, we didn't take a picture of it. Or we had it on a subsequent visit. The food had been excellent so far and although we were getting full, it wouldn't stop us from trying some dessert. We opted for the coconut cake and the bread pudding, which is a local specialty. The coconut cake was delicious, but it completely paled in comparison to the bread pudding, which was out of this world. I know back home bread and butter pudding is a thing, but I never fancied eating it, bread pudding is different and I am glad I tried it. I don't know if it was the bourbon sauce or the pieces of pineapple in it, but it was simply superb.

After dinner, we decided to go for a bit more of a walk around. We headed further into the French Quarter as we had only really walked around the edges of it. We headed down to the Mississippi River, which runs through New Orleans. The area around the river was fairly busy with people out and about enjoying the summer evening. We took a bit of a walk along it and then headed up to Jackson Square. There was a man playing the bagpipes there so we listened to him for a bit, before continuing our wander. We were just across the way from St. Louis Cathedral, which was beautiful. The sun was really starting to set by this point and I got some gorgeous pictures of the sky as it turned gorgeous shades of pink, purple and orange. I definitely spent a lot of the evening oohing and aahing at the buildings and the sunset. It had been a long day, so we didn't stay out too late. Our accommodation was in the perfect location, close to the French Quarter, but without all the noise that you would get if you actually stayed in the French Quarter, especially if you were on Bourbon Street.

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Photos

Cochon
Served on a bed of mustard greens with a side of butterbeans and shrimp,
Eat

The Trio
Gumbo, red bean gumbo and stuffed pepper,
Eat

Fried Green Tomatoes
Eat

Coconut Cake and Bread Pudding
Eat