Partied it up in New Orleans


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Published: June 11th 2009
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We decided not to stop in Birmingham and instead drove straight through to New Orleans, giving us an extra day here (we definitely put it to good use). We arrived on Monday evening and because of the rain (and the long drive), we decided not to head into the French Quarter and instead spent the evening at our hostel (which definitely merits a description here shortly) doing laundry and relaxing in our lovely air conditioned room.

We've been staying at the India House just off of Canal Street, a couple miles from the French Quarter. I would definitely recommend this hostel. We're staying in a four bed ensuit (meaning it's just us and we have our own bathroom), so I'm not sure what the shared rooms are like here. But, it's just a neat place. They've got a nice big living room space with books all around (you're free to take any book and they just ask that you try to leave one in its place). There are also several refrigerators for everyone's use, as well as a full kitchen, a pool and patio space in the back. There's even a small stage where they often have bands that come and preform. They also have a laundry room, which is nice and convenient. Our room is nice, as it was recently renovated. The first night we did have a little cockroach in our room, but we haven't seen one since. The staff has been very nice and helpful. The place is busy, with people coming in and out and people from all over hanging out. Again, definitely a place I would recommend staying if you're looking for a relatively inexpensive place to stay in New Orleans.

Yesterday we hoped on the street car just down the block from the hostel. Even though it was about 9 in the morning, we were already sweating as soon as we stepped outside. It's quite hot and very humid here! Our first destination was Cafe du Monde to eat beignets (as per recommendations from a couple friends). Beignets are fried dough topped off with powdered sugar. mmmhmmm... were they yummy. They're a must eat if you're in this area. We then walked around the French Quarter for a while. It's such a neat quaint area. The buildings are beautiful! The buildings are actually Spanish style since the area was Spanish before it was French.

In the afternoon we decided to take a swamp & bayou tour with Greyline Tours. That was definitely a neat thing to do. It was about a 30 minute bus ride to where we hopped on the pontoon to tour the bayou (well, actually mostly man made canals). The canals we went down had originally been dredged by oil companies so they could float their equipment down em. We saw lots and lots of little alligators. Unfortunately the couple larger ones in that area didn't come out to greet us. We also saw a few turtles and a Great Blue Hearing. =) The tour guide even had a baby alligator that we could hold =) It was a fun way to spend the afternoon (and although we were out in the heat, we didn't have to be walking around in it.... definitely a plus). When we got back to the French Quarter, we walked around a bit more and then headed back to our hostel to relax a bit before getting ready for a night out on the town.

Around 8 we headed back into the Quarter. We ate dinner at a restaurant along Decatur Street. Unfortunately I don't remember the name. I ordered the sampler, so I got a little of the Gumbo, Jambalaya, Red Beans and one other popular dish from this area. It was delicious, but man is cajun food spicy! By the end of the meal my mouth was definitely burning a bit. After dinner we walked down to the famous Bourbon Street to enjoy the nightlife.

Bourbon Street is definitely a happening place, even on a Tuesday night. There are tons of bars and lots and lots of live music! Be prepared though, drinks are quite expensive! (and you can only pay cash) We did quite a bit of bar hopping (especially at the beginning) We started and ended our night at a place called ... something 544. In between we went to several other bars including a jazz bar, a Karaoke bar and others. The jazz bar was so much fun! The band was great and it was nice to sit and enjoy some good jazz music. We ended up back at the 544 bar because they have 3 for 1 drinks upstairs. Downstairs is the DJ and dance floor, so most people stay there. What you should do though is go upstairs to get your drinks and then take em downstairs. We got to go out on the balcony. Definitely a cool thing to do =) We hung out upstairs for a while and chatted with the bartender. Eventually we went downstairs and danced the night away =)

Today we got a late start (guess that's what happens when you come home at 5 am). It was also a much more relaxed and lazy day than yesterday. We drove out to the West Bank to visit Hela, Linda's sister (my old boss from AAANY). It was nice to see her and her two little kids. They're so adorable! We spent a few hours just hanging out over there and then drove back to the French Quarter and walked around a bit. Tonight's an early night for us 'cause we've gotta get an early start for our drive to Texas tomorrow. It'll be the first day of a three day drive to the Grand Canyon. I'll probably write again from there. Talk with you then. Ciao =)


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