Anyone that knows me, knows that I love The Read podcast. Now, this isn't a plug for them, but I definitely Stan for Kid Fury, Chrissle, and their hilarious commentary on everything from celebrity gossip to racial tension in America. Naturally, when I found out they were going to be doing a live show in one of my favorite cities, I knew I had to go. I asked a friend if she would be willing to spend her birthday in New Orleans to go and see the show and she said duh, as she loves The Read podcast as well! So, we booked our flights, took time off of work, found a bomb hotel and were on our way in a couple of weeks time. We decided to leave on Saturday, December second and come back home on Tuesday, December fifth. "Why would you go to New Orleans in December?", you may ask. Well, I have been to New Orleans in the dead of summer (July to be exact) and that was one of the worst experiences of my hair's life. It is so muggy, humid, and sticky that my makeup was actually dripping off of my face. It is IMPOSSIBLE to look cute during this time of year unless you want to be shiny and frizzy. December seemed like a better and COOLER option, also, live podcast! We left on December 2, 2017 on a connecting flight to NOLA (New Orleans' affectionately handy nickname). and arrived at around 4pm to very gloomy and wet weather, which was fine as the weather was not too cold and not too hot, it was tropical for beginning of December to say the least. We caught an Uber to our hotel which was very interesting and had a cool vibe and atmosphere. But before I get into that, I would like to talk about the people of NOLA. I have never met more friendly, chatty, and hard to understand people in my life. I've heard clearer sentences from people of DIFFERENT countries than I have heard in a NOLA Uber ride. Our driver talked to us about everything from his many ex-wives to his favorite bars, and let me tell you, the people here know what they're talking about when you ask them for suggestions or advice, SO LISTEN! Back to the hotel experience. I found the Old No. 77 Hotel and Chandlery while searching for a good deal on TravelZoo (I am a complete Groupon loyalist, but at the time, I could not find anything reasonable for my travel dates), and my experience with TravelZoo and their communication with vendors was horrible. There was a whole payment fiasco which ended with me feeling pretty put out about using TravelZoo again, but... The hotel itself was fantastic, it's in a great location and has great ambiance! I'm a sucker for exposed beams and brick walls, so much so, that I didn't even mind that the one window we had in the room basically opened up to an alley, it all fed into the very niche style the Old No. 7 had created. Aside from this, I picked up a pretty paranormal vibe from this place, endless roaming hallways, and thumps in the night...? Maybe I'm just playing up to the city's creepy history or I could be mistaking those thumps for other things going on in this interesting hotel... Night OneOf course New Orleans is known for the food, and I am well aware of this, but upon arriving at the hotel there, we recognized that there were more important matters to attend to, like getting ready for shenanigans of the evening. With only a few hours to spare before we had to head to the Joy Theater for the Read Live show, we quickly got dressed into our eveningwear and headed out the door. Be sure to bring a jacket at all times for a December New Orleans trip, the weather is very unpredictable and you don't want to be left cold and shivering on the street. We caught an Uber to Joy Theater as we were unsure of how close we actually were to this location (my rule of thumb for travel is always take an Uber to your first location to get a feel for the area, take mental notes the whole ride of places you would like to try or might be close to). Upon arriving at Joy Theater and getting inside this crammed location, we were shocked to find that there was no sloped seat arrangement in front of the stage, it was completely leveled, so needless to say, when a woman with a really large sat in front of me, I knew it was going to be a bad time...just like I'm sure the person behind ME wished she hadn't been... Boy was I wrong. The show was amazing, being around so many like-minded folk and discussing world affairs, gossip, and shade in general made me fall in love with this city and all that it has to offer; if the crowd was this lit inside Joy Theater, I can only imagine what else New Orleans has in store for us. After listening to Kid Fury and Chrissle read just about everybody, my friend and I left, unsure of what to do with all of our free time in the city, so we decided to hit the infamous Bourbon Street for some food and dancing.
I remember a while ago calling this particular area Sodom and Gomorrah, and a few years later, coming back I realized...I've seen worse. It was just the right amount of fun and raunchy, complete with men throwing down beads to see boobs and that oh too familiar smell of pee that every city center has (and before you ask, Ashley...did YOU get some beads? The answer is yes, yes I did). If I could warn anybody of anything while on this strip of dancing and food, it would be to stay away from creepy guys and stay in densely populated areas. Being a woman definitely means that I am strong, but after a couple of drinks, I may not be as strong as I think against a grown man...I should try to pick up Jiu Jitsu come to think of it... anyways, I always know my limits while drinking and never get to the point where I feel I am in an unsafe situation, but that being said, cover your drinks anyways. I will also say that if you want the Mardi Gras feel of a body-to-body packed crowd, December isn't the month for you. Despite the fact that the city was working on sewage repair and had gutted up most of the street, it was kind of dead for a weekend night. It was still crowded, but not as crowded as I have seen it. If you love to dance and dance in style, be prepared to twerk in a house probably older than some of your greats. It's really interesting to enter a house thrumming with music only to find out that it's a piece of history, which is cool, I can't really name some of my favorites but that is only because every place is SO CLOSE and plays about the same type of music. Bar hopping is real and easy here, don't expect to need an Uber until you're ready to go back to the hotel (unless you don't like the vibe and would rather go to Frenchman Street, which I will get to later).
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So, the heat and humidity was fully upon us and it wasn't even lunchtime. Please notice my shiny greasy face above and realize that it is just as uncomfortable as it looks, and the fact that you still kind of need a jacket is just MADNESS. If you would like tips on how to keep your face flawless for applying makeup or just going bare-faced, please check out my nightly routine. When we awoke, we realized we now were obligated to try a real New Orleans mom-and-pop for breakfast so we consulted Yelp. The first place to come up was the Ruby Slipper Cafe, which really wasn't as good as the reviews claim it is. Thing to remember about reviews: So, just because someone put a restaurant in a movie and said it was the best restaurant ever, DOES NOT MEAN THAT RESTAURANT IS GOOD. Just because someone in a song says a place is the pinnacle of a city, DOES NOT MEAN THAT THAT PLACE IS WORTH TRYING. This entire trip, I was confronted with these truths, going to places because the internet says it's amazing when in actuality it's not! Trust your gut and read the BAD reviews on any 4-5 star place first... We then went to take a tour that I had purchased on Yelp for a place called "French Quarter Phantoms," sounds spooky right? Well, it was! We had a tour guide named Robert who showed us around the spookiest spots of the city, including a very famous old cemetery where Nicholas Cage actually had his own crypt built for future use! After the tour, we were let loose near Louis Armstrong park which was hosting an African diaspora event, just one of the cool things that can happen while in New Orleans. There were tables set up with awesome Kente fabric dresses, hats, and jewelry while people nearby danced to drums. If this is what goes down in NOLA regularly, I wanted to be here ALL the time! We took a walk back to Bourbon street to check out the damage from the night before, and it was as if the street was transformed. It was now a glowing and enchanting place where street performers played jazz and enticed watchers to dance and contribute whatever they could in terms of cash. I listened to some of the best singing and heard some of the best music while perusing this street. Just strolling around is an event in itself and visitors can spend many an hour enjoying good weather and great street performances (if you didn't like Zydeco before, you might change your mind by the end of the trip...). It was also on this walk that my friend and I discovered the Spice and Tea Exchange, which are all over the country, I just happened to walk into one of the NOLA locations. The Spice and Tea Exchange is the cutest spice store where they sell all sorts of goodies that they make in house. I bought a packet of Adobo seasoning for my mom after Facetiming with her at this location. She was in awe at the sheer abundance of original spices. Being a chef herself, she wouldn't let me leave until I snagged a cute baggie of seasoning for her. It was now that I had begun to get hungry, and can you blame me? Being around so much rich food and culture had me salivating in a way that I never had before back in plain-as-mayonnaise Arizona. We decided to try a restaurant nearby called Napoleon House, it is on a street corner near a lot of construction and renovation, but that didn't stop the place from still being charming. Coming to this restaurant was like walking through time. They had many different interesting food options but I was really focused on the architecture, lighting, and art. It was relatively empty and has a gorgeous courtyard for enjoying a Gouda grilled cheese sandwich with chili jelly (I'm a grilled cheese fanatic...don't get me started). Little side note about restaurants, hotels, etc. in New Orleans...they are DARK. Every restaurant seems to conduct their business in dim lighting, I personally didn't mind as it contributed more to the magic and the overall splendor of the city. If you have bad eyes or can't stand reading in the dark, please keep this in mind and have your phone flashlight handy! My friend decided to hold off on the food here at Napoleon House so she could keep an eye out for her beloved etouffee as we walked around that night. Ashamedly, I must admit that when she did find it at a random restaurant on Bourbon Street, I ate some more...and the desserts are just as delicious here as the entrees (I spend a lot of time thinking about food). It was on this night that we decided to next ask someone about where to go for partying that isn't anything like Bourbon Street. Our server indicated to us that if we wanted a good time but at a more low-key pace, we should try going to the Frenchmen Street Corridor. It was then that we decided to take this advice about exploring a jazz-filled street and see what it was all about. We chose to walk it since we had been eating so much, and it wasn't too bad, especially since I had brought cute but comfortable shoes. Frenchmen Street was really laid-back, which I anticipated, but it was still nice. This very short strip is chock-full of artistic talent and carries some serious hipster vibes, from the long-bearded man typing on a vintage blue typewriter to the tousled artist with the horn-rimmed glasses who sold me his graphic prints of NOLA nightlife. We really enjoyed the chill atmosphere and found that it was the perfect speed for us after our travels. After hamming it up at the above photo spot, we headed on in search of alcohol and good music. We bar-hopped at a couple of different locations, hearing everything from a girl singing Bill Withers to eclectic groups of old men taking on folk and country, it was a mashup of all the greatest things about NOLA. After spending some time on the strip, we decided to call it a night, heading back to the hotel feeling immensely satisfied and ready for the next day's adventure.
Hey there from Jackson Square on a beautiful Monday morning! My friend and I woke up bright and early so that we could make it for breakfast at Cafe Du Monde (another place that is seriously overrated, IMO). We had to make sure that we had cash because the cafe doesn't take anything else, but aside from this fact everything on the menu is dirt cheap! It was very packed, even for a Monday morning, and we couldn't even find somewhere to sit and eat our tough sugar biscuits. Now, as a woman who grew up on REAL French beignets courtesy of my mother, I can say in all honesty that these were sub-par (and yes, I actually put my nose up when I said that). We took our food to go and headed back over to the French Quarter to buy a Voodoo Tour and learn more about the "scariest" part of New Orleans history. Now I, for the life of me, cannot remember the name of the tour or how we obtained it, but I can say with certainty that if you get a voodoo tour, make sure it is given by someone who KNOWS what they're talking about. Our tour guide was Haitian (Haiti represent!) and and actually practices as his religion. He taught us about how fake the shops are in the area and about how the religion itself falls prey to the many different misconceptions about what it actually is. This fits in line with my own understanding of voodoo and how it came to be popularized by those who are afraid of what they don't understand. He had us engage in a mock ceremony, which I'm sure must have looked funny to see a group of tourists dancing around his family symbol with our umbrellas and sunscreen covered noses, but we had fun regardless and garnered a bit of a crowd. He continued to show us the area, having us walk through the quarter and even see where Marie Laveau's house is, which was awe-inspiring (keep in mind, she wasn't an evil voodoo priestess, but a mastermind in the art of blackmail and gossip, VERY interesting to hear more details behind this woman of mystery!). After finishing the tour at a "real" magic shop, my friend and I decided to hit the Mardi Gras museum, as we had found a Groupon deal online. By this time, it was now blazing hot, a huge difference from the on and off rain of the morning. So the coats came off and we chose this museum as a place to escape the heat. Upon arriving at the museum after paying about $13 for both of us, my friend and I were baffled at how this place could call itself a museum. It was more like a dusty time capsule of costumes. Regardless, it was still a wonderful experience to see the effort and work that people put into costumes as part of an age-old tradition. After walking through (it only took us a few minutes to get through the entire "museum") we decided that food would best remedy our bruised expectations, so we proceeded to find a restaurant to. Again, after consulting Yelp, we were able to find a restaurant entitled Maison Soule, which was empty and looked cozy enough. We were the only patrons and had a wonderful server who provided us with fantastic food and drinks. What I loved the most was the view of the street which was bustling with life even at midday on a Monday. After eating, we were thoroughly stuffed and ready to head back to the hotel for some much needed rest and relaxation....upon awaking hours later, we realized we had one last thing to try: The Hand Grenade. So of course we went back out for one of those and... promptly returned to the hotel for a good nights rest. Pretty boring, I know, but the drink doesn't really live up to the hype!
This trip was spur of the moment and not fully planned out, but this city has so much to offer, so we were able to successfully keep ourselves occupied.
Shopping, sightseeing, not to mention all of the things we DIDN'T even get to see, Louisiana is great and has so much character and charm. I would love to come back for EssenceFest or even just for Mardi Gras as this is one of my favorite places to be. My last real tip for someone who has never been is TRY EVERYTHING AT LEAST ONCE. You won't regret it! It's all about being as laid-back as the locals and not forgetting to have a good time! |
New Orleans 2017A trip to New Orleans in December of 2017 ArchivesCategories |