Exploring New Orleans
It was my first trip to NOLA so I thought It would be fun to share some of my favorites with y’all! About five months ago, we were all sitting around talking about upcoming trips and somehow JP and Paige convinced us to sign up for the half marathon with them. Or, maybe I volunteered us because I was excited about another possible trip! Either way, we signed up, we trained, and we took off for the weekend.
I had asked around to find out some fun things to do and good places to eat! Oh my goodness does New Orleans have some amazing food!! Our first breakfast stop was Surry’s, which was amazing! When I was at a blogger event, I meant Ashley Griffin from theinspiredi. Having lived in New Orleans, she sent me some recommendations and Surry’s was on her list. We all LOVED It! It was such a cute breakfast spot and the banana pancakes were amazing! They were J.P.’s order, but you better believe we all tried them! Everything was delicious and it had that cute cafe feel that makes you feel at home with all the locals. We enjoyed walking around after our breakfast and looking at the cute houses and popping into a couple shops.
My favorite shop that we decided to explore was Dirty Coast. They had so many fun t-shirts and postcards! I snagged a couple for our postcard collection.
That same day we checked in for our race, went to the Rock ‘N’ Roll expo and grabbed our bibs for the race! If I’m honest, I didn’t train hard enough for the race, but even though I was slow, I ran across that finish line with my arms in the air yelling “I’m doing It! I did It!” Accomplishing that goal put me on a high for quite some time!
Of course you have to check out Bourbon Street. It was dirtier than I honestly thought possible, and we were there at the kick off of the Mardi Gras festivities so I believe It was next level. I did really enjoy going into the stores to see how many different beads you could buy! So wild!! And, if I could recommend anything “crazy” on Bourbon street, it is to stop into the Tropical Isle and order a shark attack. That’s all I’m going to say about that, but you will thank me later! There was a cute little courtyard off Bourbon Street where you could listen to jazz music, which we enjoyed on our last day. And, we also stopped into Pat O’ Briens for some gumbo and red beans and rice. It hit the spot! We did go to one of the the Mardi Gras parades while we were there. It was definitely an experience. I would love to go back and see a more family friendly parade, but It was fun to see everyone dressed up and having a good time!
It was so fun to walk around and explore the French Quarter as well! So many places to see and things to do…and of course delicious food! We went to see the Basilica of Saint Louis, stood in line and enjoyed our beignets and coffee and chicory au lait from Cafe du Monde. We went on a Sunday evening and the line wasn’t too bad! So, if you can, try to catch it on a less busy day of the week.
We also dined at Court of Two Sisters which had a very cute date night atmosphere. The courtyard was so whimsical with all of the twinkle lights and the food was so delicious! But hands down our favorite place to dine was Brennan’s! This restaurant has blessed New Orleans with it’s menu since 1946. It is a unique dining atmosphere and a delicious menu. We all loved everything we ordered and were still left with so many things we haven’t tried! We will definitely be back again! Not only was the food unforgettable, but so was the decor. The walls in the room we dined in was covered with colorful, unique oyster plates like these I have linked. They were stunning!
We did manage to make It to the Sazerac Bar inside The Roosevelt Hotel to try the famous cocktail. And, I did have oysters at the Deanie’s Seafood. I ordered the charbroiled oysters and they were so amazing! I can’t wait until I can have them again! We also stopped at the Carousel Bar, which was so awesome! We decided to leave that fun experience for the next time we came back!
The French Quarter was filled with so much culture, art, music and passion. It was so fun to walk around. I can’t wait to go back and bike around the houses and explore what’s on the other side of the Mississippi River. I hear it’s gorgeous! New Orleans, thanks for a fun time!
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