Our first night there we enjoyed oysters at the Acme Oyster House, and it was a blast! Last time when we were here, we saw a long line forming outside of the restaurant we were dining at to get into this place, so this time we thought we'd try it out. Totally worth it! Our bartender, Pam was hilarious, and made our adventure awesome!
The next morning we enjoyed a jazz brunch at the Court of Two Sisters (sadly, it poured rain, so we couldn't sit outside, but we still had a great time). It's a buffet style, so its a great way to try lots of cajun and creole dishes. I tried King Cake and Turtle Soup, both a first for me, as well as many other yummy dishes. While it was raining we had to change hotels, so naturally we got soaked...but it was fun! There were all kinds of wet patrons hanging out in the lounge at the Hotel Montleone, laughing and having a good time...I love the atmosphere here!
We walked over and caught the streetcar down St Charles street to check out all the beautiful old homes (mansions). We got off at the Columns Hotel to have drinks with a friend of Denise's, and then he dropped us off at the Audubon Park which was stunning! We walked around there for a while and then rode the streetcar back to the quarter to our hotel.
The next day we had a cab pick us up and take us to Honey Island Swamp. The cab driver was awesome and shared a spectacular story about her experiences during Katrina. Her story was so mesmerizing that we almost didn't want the ride to end. Once there, we quickly boarded a boat with Captain Hunter, who told us hilarious tales of the swamp life, shared interesting facts about the history of the swamps, and then introduced us to the wildlife! Apparently gators love marshmallows...who knew!?! :) We also discovered wild bore and a raccoon while we were out and about. The entire trip was awesome, and I loved the drive across Lake Pontchartrain! Our driver said she would drop us off wherever we wanted, so we had her drop us off by the French Market, which is close to the Central Grocery so we could sample a Muffuletta. We got there just in time (they were closing in 10 minutes) whew! So we grabbed a few sandwiches and then found a great little table in the shade across the street to enjoy our food. OMG were they good! The olive salad totally makes the sandwich! After eating we strolled through the french market, and then headed back to our hotel. I took a nap and then went for a swim in the pool! Denise and Teresa wandered around and grabbed us a couple of margaritas to enjoy by the pool. Then we got dressed and went to dinner at Oceana's. I was still rather full from that giant sandwich, but "somehow" made room for more seafood!
On our last day, we enjoyed brunch in our hotel restaurant, the Sobou, with cocktails. The menu was rather fancy/pricey, but it was delicious. We had some time to kill before we had to get to the airport, so we walked around some more and did some last minute shopping. I bought a bag of goodies from Laura's Candies shop for Justin and Jordyn, and TJ got a shirt at the police station for Jake. I love all the little shops in New Orleans...so much charm and character.
Alas, it was time to head home...but another wonderful adventure was had by all! I look forward to our next adventure! Enjoy the stream of photos...
Goodbye New Orleans...until next time!
