New Orleans :: Final

I was the first to have to leave on our last day in NOLA. Penny, Amy & I walked to Café du Monde again before I had to take off. Always so sad to leave these ladies. What a special trip this was. I still don't know how I got so lucky.

Our Airbnb, right off of Bourbon Street, was absolutely perfect for the five of us. From the outside, you opened a door that lead to an amazing indoor courtyard. Which we didn't end up using at all, surprisingly. But that's only because we had such a great balcony too! Anyhow, in the courtyard was this awesome, giant mirror, so of course it called for a group photo before every outing. Only the first photo was upon a return instead, and that was on the first day after I met everyone at the restaurant.

What a fun few days. I love this kooky city and these amazing women. And, I'm so proud of Emma and all of her accomplishments. She slayed college, and I know she's going to continue to do great things. It was such an honor to get to celebrate her and her graduation for a few days.

New Orleans :: Day 3

Unfortunately, Emma ended up getting really sick in the middle of the night and basically slept on the bathroom floor for hours Our best guess is that it may have been a rogue oyster from the first night. She woke up feeling much better, but ended up resting in the room most of the day. Such a bummer! Especially since it was the most perfect day. Penny and I decided to head out and grab beignets & coffee from Café du Monde. We hung out in the park, where Mel & Amy met up with us a little while later, then we all went to the French Market for Bloody Mary's at Organic Banana.

Lunch was a crazy little place Mel found called Red's Chinese. It was pretty amazing. We had pork buns, smashed cucumbers, ginger scallion noodles, cheeseburger fried rice and broccoli. The broccoli was ok, and one dish too many, but the rest was perfect. You guys, cheeseburger fried rice. So flipping good! What a fun find. Leave it to Melissa. We even were able to pack up some rice and bring it back to Emma.

Melissa ended up stayed with Emma for a bit while Amy, Penny and I wandered more. We visited amazing antique stores, I bought a hat. We stopped at The Chart Room for a cocktail and ended up marching in a Second Line parade! Seriously, we saw a lady with a Jaywalkers sash on, not thinking much about it. As we were leaving, the rest of the band showed up, and next thing you know, the police escort was there and we took off marching with the band. The core group was the three of us and another couple. Occasionally other strays were join in while we marched down Bourbon Street. I was even able to text Mel & Emma and they got to watch the spectacle from our balcony. So funny. We didn't know where the parade would take us, but didn't care -- and as it turns out, it walked us home! Seriously, it ended a block from our apartment. What an escort. We couldn't stop laughing about it.

That evening, Emma was able to join us. We went to Frenchman Street, which was an area Brian & I didn't make it to last time we were in NOLA. It was so fun! We spent some time at the Palace art market before going to Snug Harbor to hear Charmaine Neville perform. Let me start by saying, she was such a nice person and was chatting and hanging out with us before the show even started. She was such a great performer and so much fun. The highlight was when she brought Emma (and a couple others) up on stage to help with a song. So fun. We came back to our room and called it a night. It was quite the day.

New Orleans :: Day 2

Day two, was Sunday -- Mother's Day -- and we sure did make the most of it. Turns out, the evening before had quite the storm. We all heard it, but didn't think much about it. Until we walked around and saw sand bags outside doors, and restaurants and stores closed. Supposedly it rained 6 inches that night. The restaurant we were going to go to brunch at was flooded, so we hopped on a street car and rode up to the Garden District. We ended up at Ruby Slipper, which was delicious. And it worked out perfect because we had a reservation for a Garden District tour that afternoon. The tour started in Lafayette Cemetery and had us strolling through the neighborhood. It was really informative and interesting. Afterwards, we came back to the apartment, spruced up, then went right back out for our dinner reservation at Shaya. When Brian and I were in New Orleans a few years ago, so many people recommended we go there. And we didn't. And I have been regretting it ever since. It did not disappoint, and a great way to celebrate Mother's Day. Emma said she wanted to take us all out dancing, which, didn't necessarily appeal to any of us. Ha! What we ended up doing, however, was absolutely fantastic. We went back to our neighborhood for a drag show. You can never go wrong with that, in my opinion. After, we went back out on Bourbon Street and walked into Fritzel's European Jazz Bar. Such a great atmosphere. We only stayed for a bit before stopping into the grocery store to get Penny a toothbrush. And of course, we got a kick out of walking around with our beers. Such a fun night. A perfect day.

New Orleans :: Day 1

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Lucky, lucky me. Last week I got to travel to New Orleans to meet up with my besties to celebrate Emma's graduation from college. Mel arranged the entire thing as a surprise for Emma. They arrived the day earlier, then surprise! Amy, Penny and I (aka the Mom Squad) showed up. It was so amazing. I was the last to show up. Had an early am flight with a transfer in Atlanta. Dropped my bags off (this was the entrance to our Airbnb! You would never know it even existed from the street which was right off of Bourbom. Amazing), then met everyone at Cochon to kick the weekend off right with an incredible lunch. We walked back to the apartment, then per the recommendation of a friend of mine and part-time New Orleans resident, headed to Magazine for the Champagne Stroll. But first, Casamento's for oysters. I enjoy oysters, but tend to shy away from the giant ones. I don't know what it is about the oysters in NOLA though, because they are HUGE yet different from others and so, so good! We hit the tail end of the stroll, but completely enjoyed it. The last store of the night was Peaches, where we got to meet the store dog, Sir Winston Pepperbottoms. What a cutie. We were all pretty exhausted after our big day, so headed back and called it a night.

NOLA :: Day 4

Our last day in New Orleans happened to be Valentine's Day. We started out with a fabulous brunch at Atchafalaya. Shrimp and grits for Brian, and duck confit with poached eggs, mango and blackberries for me. And, an amazing bloody mary bar with homemade pickled vegetables, bloody mary mix and green tomato juice. So good. Afterwards, we took an Uber to City Park, and spent a good share of our time walking around the gorgeous sculpture garden. Unfortunately, Brian hadn't been feeling 100% the entire trip, so he decided to rest while I walked up and down Magazine again. I picked up a Louisiana hot sausage & fries from Dat Dog before heading to the airport and home. What a great city. I can't wait to go back. There really is nothing like it.

NOLA :: Day 3

Breakfast on day three was at the highly recommended, Elizabeth, in the Bywater area. Of course, we had to try the praline bacon (omg). I had the "Redneck Eggs" which was fried green tomatoes, poached eggs and hollandaise. And grits, of course. I seriously cannot get enough of those things! Brian had the Bayou Breakfast, which was catfish and eggs. Both were so good. Afterwards, we walked along the river to the French Quarter, and had bloody mary's from the Organic Banana. When Maria sends you a text saying to try something and not to ask ask questions, you do it. Known for daiquiris, the bloody mary wasn't something I would normally order there, but she was right -- it was amazing. Next, we walked to Cochon Butcher, and split a muffuletta sandwich and marinated brussels sprouts. Then, we walked all the way up Magazine. Both directions. It was another 12 mile day. At least. That evening, we met up with Wes & Melinda. Wes and Brian have been roommates on the past two Pablove Across American rides Brian rode on, and it was so great to finally meet them. We first went to Bouligny for cocktails, then Dick & Jenny's for an amazing creole dinner. One of the highlights was a special that night -- crawfish cheesecake. It was crazy good. Such a fun evening. Unfortunately, when we were coming home that night, Brian went to put in the key and the entire lock came out! We had to call a locksmith to get us in. Thank goodness for that man. It was no small feat. 1.5 hours later, we were in. Thank goodness!