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Thread: I have a weekend in New Orleans coming up

  1. #1

    I have a weekend in New Orleans coming up

    It's our 30th wedding anniversary.

    We have two nights in the French Quarter. We're not into the bar scene as much, but cool stuff like haunted tours, offbeat stuff, antiques & curiosities. We'll go to Bourbon Street, of course. So, a cool place to eat would be great.

    Any suggestions?
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  2. #2
    ALL ACCESS Gruno's Avatar
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    Brothels. Hit up the brothels!

    Congrats on the anniversary!

  3. #3
    Member No Pride's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ronmac View Post
    It's our 30th wedding anniversary.

    We have two nights in the French Quarter. We're not into the bar scene as much, but cool stuff like haunted tours, offbeat stuff, antiques & curiosities. We'll go to Bourbon Street, of course. So, a cool place to eat would be great.

    Any suggestions?
    My honeymoon was in the French Quarter, 27 years ago. The marriage didn't last, but the honeymoon sure was great! I've been to New Orleans on business (if you can call playing music "business") a few times since and I still love it, though it's unbearable in the summer.

    When we first got there, we went to restaurants that were recommended to us, but by the 4th day, we would walk into any restaurant and it didn't matter, the food was great everywhere! I must've tried gumbo and jambalaya at 5 different places and though it was a little different every place we went, it was always really good. One place I remember well (and it's still there) was called Acme Oyster Bar. They had a thing called "Gumbo Poopah;" it's a hollowed out loaf of bread that they pour the gumbo into, then you eat the soaked bread loaf; yum! A famous place in the French Quarter that you'll want to check out is called Café du Monde, famous for their beignets (powdered doughnut-like pastries) and their coffee.

    IMO, New Orleans is the closest you can come to feeling like you're in another country without leaving the US, partially because of the old French architecture, but also because of the cuisine. It's fantastic food, though not recommended for the health conscious; lots of salt, for starters. If I lived there for a year, I'd be an obese man! Another interesting thing is the voodoo culture there; some very interesting shops. There's something kind of sleazy about New Orleans too, but in an appealing way, if that makes any sense.

    Enjoy... and congratulations!

  4. #4
    Member Man In The Mountain's Avatar
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    You should take your wife to "The Court of Two Sisters"

    http://www.courtoftwosisters.com/

    It is the considered to be one of the authentic New Orleans Dining Experiences. It's been there since like 1726, and is a "must see" place in New Orleans.

  5. #5
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    The Pharmacy Museum (and court yard)
    The Voodoo Museum
    Jackson Square
    Cafe du Monde (beignets and chicory coffee)
    Preservation Hall (I saw Louis Armstrong play in that place: dirt floors, wooden benches, etc)
    The Zoo
    Garden District trolley ride
    Riverboats (don't eat on the boat though)
    Cemetery and/or tour

    Stay within a few blocks (parallel) off Bourbon St after dark -

    I went to a wedding at the Pharmacy Museum (in their courtyard) - it was magical with an old-time jazzy/circus type of band . . . everyone dressed in Victorian/western style clothing.

    We lived in Houston for many years, and went over to NO many times on business and pleasure . . . it's like no other place in the country if you ask me. We're going back during the holidays with the kids - our son is doing Civil War research at some of the ancient churches and city hall itself . . . so be it.

    Have a great/safe trip.
    Last edited by WHORG; 10-12-2015 at 07:54 PM.

  6. #6
    All great suggestions!!!!!

    Keep 'em coming!
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  7. #7
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    Never been there. But have fun, and happy anniversary!
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    And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973

  8. #8
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    I have been to New Orleans twice, once in my mid-20’s and once in my mid 40’s. To be honest I liked it a lot better as a younger person than I did as an older person, but maybe that is just me. As others have mentioned you can’t go wrong with the food as there are good places to eat all over the place on and around Bourbon Street. Of course there are all different types of live music everywhere you go so make sure and take some of that in. Some places are free, but most charge a cover (or a drink minimum), but there is too much competition to find crap music there. In fact my wife’s nephew and his buddy sometimes busks on the street there (he lives in Houston, but goes to New Orleans often). One thing that I did, and enjoyed, was caught a paddle wheel boat at the end of Canal Street that took us up river to the site of the Battle Of New Orleans. It was a nice river trip and a cool historical park if you are into that kind of thing.

    Happy Anniversary!

  9. #9
    Member Sputnik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ronmac View Post
    It's our 30th wedding anniversary.

    We have two nights in the French Quarter. We're not into the bar scene as much, but cool stuff like haunted tours, offbeat stuff, antiques & curiosities. We'll go to Bourbon Street, of course. So, a cool place to eat would be great.

    Any suggestions?
    So it may not be super easy to get to from the French Quarter, but we absolutely loved the shops and boutiques on Magazine Street. There are some antique stores along there, and a great Po Boy shop (Magazine Po Boy shop on 2368 Magazine Street). We were lucky to have access to a car, but if you can get out there, Magazine Street is totally worth it.

    There are also some really nice antique stores in the French Quarter on Royal Street around the Royal Orleans, but they are super expensive. Speaking of the Royal Orleans, go into their bar and have a Saezrac, and picture John Paul Jones picking up trans-gendered groupies.

    We had dinner at both Brennan's (which is better known for their breakfast) and Court of the Two Sisters. Court has an amazing atmosphere, but we preferred the food at Brennan's, and for a "fancy" place, it was really not super expensive. There are tons of other great restaurants, but if you want the classic "New Orleans experience," it's really one of these two. Cafe Du Monde is a must, just hit them when there aren't a million people there (later at night is good).

    Take the trolly out to the garden district and see Tulane and Loyola. We also enjoyed visiting the old graveyard, and there is a pretty good museum of New Orleans/Louisiana history right in the French Quarter that we enjoyed. We also did the art museum, which was great, but that is also further out to the northwest of the French Quarter.

    In all, you shouldn't have any trouble amusing yourselves for two days in New Orleans! Have fun!

    Bill

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Sputnik View Post
    So it may not be super easy to get to from the French Quarter, but we absolutely loved the shops and boutiques on Magazine Street. ... There are also some really nice antique stores in the French Quarter on Royal Street around the Royal Orleans, but they are super expensive.
    We were just discussing this. Hopefully, it's not a hassle to get to Magazine St.
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  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by ronmac View Post

    Any suggestions?
    Leave your wife home??

    Nah, kidding. Have fun.

  12. #12
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    You can take the St Charles trolley (from the Quarter) up to Napoleon and head south a half-dozen blocks to Magazine.

    I've a good friend (Steve) who used to own an antique tailor shop in the Quarter. He drove over to Houston every few months for estate sales and picked up old sewing machines, thimbles, buttons, etc . . . and sold them in his shop. He purchased an old antebellum home in the Garden District (near Magazine) that turned into a life long project. He's moved back over to the Florida panhandle in his old age these days . . .

    One time we went over to see him for Thanksgiving, and we were all invited out to his friend's place on the bayou. We drove out to this tiny town called Delacroix - then got on these air boats and motored into the swamps for another hour before we arrived at this dock and fishing camp. No electricity or running water. I was getting kind of scared to tell the truth - but Steve said it was all cool. There were about 40 people from various families, and all welcomed me warmly. They deep fried turkey over the fire in these gigantic metal pots filled with boiling oil, plus crayfish, cornbread, etoufee, gumbo - - best turkey I ever put in my mouth to this day, I tell you that. Once the meal was done and the sun went down - they lit a gigantic bonfire and brought out the instruments: a few acoustic guitars, a mandolin, banjo, 2 accordions, spoons, harmonicas, and a couple of wash boarders . . . all augmented by this home made peach moonshine, sazerac and cold beers.

    I had a blast . . . we sang and danced until the wee hours - and I finally fell asleep on a fuckin' picnic table !!! That was really a mystical and magical time for me, I'll never forget it.

  13. #13
    Member Sputnik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ronmac View Post
    We were just discussing this. Hopefully, it's not a hassle to get to Magazine St.
    The other issue is that the stores along Magazine street occur in little "clusters." So it takes a bit of walking (or driving) to get from one cluster to another. It couldn't cost too much to get a cab from the French Quarter to somewhere along Magazine where the first cluster of shops are. You can then walk from there, if you like to walk. There may also be buses, I don't recall. It was our favorite part of the city, but we were lucky that we had a car, and were actually with a local resident knew where all the good stuff was, so that made it easier.

    Hope you can get it to work out. The concierge at your hotel will likely be able to advise you how to logically get there and back.

    Bill

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    I forgot about City Park too: Peristyle, Museum of Art, Botanical Gardens, all the bridges, Popp Bandstand, fountains, etc. It's a full day seeing everything though - plan accordingly.

  15. #15
    Less crowded than Cafe du Monde, and for my money better beignets: Cafe Beignet, across the street. (This was about seven years ago and things may have changed.)

    The Aquarium is a short walk from the FQ.

    And I highly recommend Mardi Gras World. Yes, it's a tourist trap, but it's a _good_ one, with lots of pretty amazing relics of Mardi Gras parades past.
    Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.

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