Party Time in New Orleans 2023

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Last weekend, I headed out to New Orleans with my co-worker and long time friend, Christina. We were stopping by for our friend's birthday party on the way to a conference near Chicago. I started out with a huge fish and chips meal at the Canucks restaurant at YVR, boarded a plane to Houston, then on to New Orleans. United Airlines does not have movie screens and the app barely works onboard so read most of the flight. We arrived in New Orleans at 9:30 pm, dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out to the Abbey Pub to meet our co-worker, Claire, who was also in town for a conference. Her local friends (Lulu and Jason) gave us some great tips for seeing the best city sights in one weekend. After some beers, we walked back to our hotel through Bourbon Street at 2am. There were lots of people partying. We also stopped in for alligator pizza.

The next day, I woke up early to go for a long walk, past St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, through Louis Armstrong Park, down St. Ann Street to Jackson Square, by St. Louis Cathedral and Café du Monde, then along the Riverwalk south to the Aquarium. I found Prytania Theatre and got a ticket for The Marvels movie for later (as it was opening weekend). I headed back up Canal Street to the hotel and met Christina and Claire for a late breakfast at 11am. We went to the Carousel Restaurant but it was too busy and ended up at Café Beignet for beignets and a croissant. Claire left for the airport, so Christina and I went to Sazerac House for free liquor tasting and the ‘boozeum’. Then we did a long walk down Decatur Street to Frenchman Street and saw the jazz bars. I headed back along Royal Street to the movie theatre. The Marvels was extra funny and had lots of girl power moments. Then I headed to M.S. Rau to meet Christina. It is a fancy museum/store with interesting works of art and antiques that are extremely overpriced. Next, we went by the Reservation Hall and into Pat O’Briens for a shrimp and chips snack and a 4 oz Hurricane drink. We had heard about the oldest bar in New Orleans and headed there next for a drink - Lafitte’s Blacksmith. We had a bit of rain but sat on the patio under an umbrella with an older couple (Marjorie and her brother Rick). We walked back along Bourbon Street gathering beads and watching the local wildlife. We reached Palm & Pine Restaurant to meet up with Chris and his birthday squad of family and friends, who would all become ‘family’ and friends to us over the next couple days. We had a great meal and started to meet everyone – Shawn & Vanessa (his high school buddy), Dustyne and Emily (and later their partners Ian and Jason, all from San Francisco), and Chris’s lovely wife, Rhonda. Some colleagues of mine, James and Andrew, were also there and we caught up later. After dinner, we all headed out through the mayhem of Bourbon Street and found a lounge for 22 of us to sit in but we only managed one drink before they closed up at midnight, so we started heading towards the Frenchmen Street area. I decided partway along to call it a night and walked Alyssa back to her hotel, then returned along Bourbon Street to my hotel, and fortunately missed the deluge that caught Christina when she made the return journey an hour later.

I woke up early and headed south on Loyola to the Warehouse District then east to the National World War II museum. It was a special day as the United States celebrates Veteran’s Day on the same day as Remembrance Day in Canada (although they are not familiar with poppies). There was a special ceremony at the museum and the opening of a new exhibit - Our War Too: Women in Service. I tried to see as much as I could over the next two and a half hours but I really needed several days to see it all. They were exhibits on key events of the war and descriptions of every major battle across all the continents. I liked the focus on Japanese American heroes, and the benefits that came from the war in terms of human rights and women’s rights. After the museum, I grabbed a Beef Po Boy and a chocolate milkshake at Jeri Nim’s Soda Shop then booked it over to the bike tour location. I thought I was running late but still arrived before the gang. Carmen (Chris’s sister) had booked it all for us in advance. Our tour guide Betsy got us all kitted out then took us on a fabulous tour of the city – along the Riverwalk, up Frenchman Street, along Esplanade Ave to St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, through City Park then back to the starting point. It took Chris about 2 hours to realize that prankster James was pushing his kickstand down at every other stop. We were thirsty afterwards, so went to Sneaky Pete’s for a pint or two. Christina and I came back to the hotel to changed into fancier clothes then joined the gang for dinner at Arnaud’s, which was a fancy house changed into a restaurant with a warren like maze of stairs. We had our own private balcony to look out over the city and fine dining. This is where I learned so much about the group as everyone told a heart warming story or expression of love for the birthday boy, Chris. Each one followed by tears or hugging (after Treana and Ryan demanded it). Quite overwhelming. And it only got ‘worse’ as the drinks flowed. Funny stories like high school friends driving from Edmonton to Montana to get beer and getting turned back at the border. I sat with Rhonda, Christina, Mark and Alyssa for dinner and heard more great stories. After dinner, we headed out on to Bourbon Street and promptly fractured into many groups and lost everyone. James was particularly worried that he didn’t know where Jill was. Andrew, Becky, Alyssa, Emily and I were headed towards the Spotted Cat jazz bar (a long way away) until a message came through to go to Lafitte’s Blacksmith first. Most everyone managed to find their way there (even if they had to walk barefoot for a portion). James thought his wife, Jill, was missing so she jumped in a cab to go find him. Joe slipped and fell at the pub, Ian and Emily were drunk as skunks, Jerrit and Denai were both tipsy but somehow we managed to wrangle everyone towards Frenchman Street to the live jazz bar at the Spotted Cat. Only $10 USD cover charge but Emily negotiated $80 for 12 of us. The rest of the night was drinks and dancing. It ended too quickly. Around 2am, we all headed out and slowly separated form each other to head back. Christina and I walked down Bourbon Street during the late hours where tons of people were still partying, achieving beads, dancing and drinking in the streets.

A slow start the next morning. I woke up around 10am and we headed to meet the group for brunch at Compare Lapin. I was famished and ordered two breakfasts – scones and French toast. We joked about the night before. Emily did not remember singing and dancing until we showed her photos. We were sitting with Emily, Jason, Dustyne, Ian, Rhonda, and Chris. Ian started a conversation with me about England, Keystone, how I knew Chris which was identical in questions/order that he had asked me drunkenly the previous night. Too funny. Afterwards, the group went to see an American Football game and Christina and I jumped on the streetcar towards the Garden District. We didn’t know how to pay so the driver waived us through. We got off near the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and wandered between the fancy houses towards Lafyette Street. We stopped for dumplings and a non-alcoholic beer before heading back. We met a nice lady at the trolly stop and helped her pay for the streetcar (once we figured it out). We arrived back on Canal Street and walked over to the Vacherie Restaurant for the cocktail tour. We didn’t want to be first to arrive (again) so wandered around the block. Elizabeth took us on a walking tour with our own bags of booze. We wandered around the Courthouse, Jackson Square and the Riverwalk while she told some history of alcoholic drinks in the city. We didn’t have too much time afterwards but managed to make a stop at Pat O’Briens to sit out in the courtyard and everyone tried the Hurricanes. Chris, James, Jill and I left early to get an uber to Cochan Restaurant to be in time for our reservation. We had an exceptional meal of shared plates with the highlight being a full roasted pig. Fortunately, no speeches and rarely any hugs tonight. Ian still thought Christina and I were married until she corrected him. Christina and I got a ride with Alyssa to Canal Street then walked back to the hotel. We got back early around 11pm and packed up for our flight in the morning.

We flew to Chicago the next day, drove to Champaign and attended a railroad conference for the next two days. On the way back we stopped in Chicago and rode bikes along the waterfront and walked along the Magnificent Mile. The highlight was a Chicago Blackhawks game with one of our clients.

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