Out hotel is one block from Bourbon Street. I think we'll have more than one night or two on Bourbon.
I'm pretty sure it's a staple of Louis Armstrong International Airport. Last time I was there two years ago they were playing.
Had dinner at August, Herbsaint, NOLA, Jacques-Imo's Cafe, Felix’s Restaurant, breakfast at Cafe du Monde and had Beignets for the first time, lunch at Pat O'Briens, Mulates, and Mother's, ate boiled crawfish for the first time (and sucked the heads), had a Muffuletta at the Central Grocery, bought some CDs at the Louisiana Music Factory, had gelato at Angelo Bracato's, got hammered on Bourbon Street multiple times, saw a great guitarist named EJ Phillips at a bar called Sing Sing, and happened to be there when he invited a guest from the audience, Guitar Slim Junior, who came up and played SRV's Pride and Joy, saw some dude walking down Iberville Street pull his trumpet out of its case and start jamming with a brass band that was already playing, saw at least three different brass bands around the French Quarter, had the following drinks for the first time - Ramos Gin Fizz, Vieux Carre (at the spinning bar, where it was allegedly invented), Hurricane, and Sazerac, saw the Rebirth Brass Band at the Maple Leaf Cafe (stood and danced close enough to the stage that I had to duck from the trombone slide a few times, and I also closed the place), saw The Soul Rebels and Galactic (who had Cyril Neville as a guest percussionist) at the last "Wednesday in the Square" show at Lafayette Square and danced my ass off at center stage, walked back from that show and danced on Bourbon Street to a brass band (some locals tried to teach me the way to dance to that kind of music - I think I got close), told two different women that I was married when they tried to pick me up, rescued a former co-worker who passed out on Bourbon Street after drinking too may Hurricanes (got him into a cab and and rode back with him to his hotel about two minutes before the ambulance showed up) and visited a few places I probably shouldn't mention in a public forum. Oh, and I learned some stuff at the conference. So all in all, I didn't do a whole lot. Didn't have time to get to Frenchmen Street, the WWII museum, take a ride on a riverboat, take the Saint Charles Streetcar, or see Kermit Ruffins at Vaughan's Lounge. I'll try to do that next time. Because I will be back. Without a doubt, I'll be back. I've never experienced any city like New Orleans.
BTW, I think the best meal I had the entire time down there was at Jacques-Imo's Cafe, which is right next door to The Maple Leaf Bar (where we saw the Rebirth Brass Band). Jacques-Imo's menu is fantastic.
And a few wrong ones too. Oh and forget fire, the wheel, the incandescent light, the computer, etc. The go cup is the greatest invention in the history of mankind.
I'll never forget my dismay at learning (after I'd already moved to Tampa) that go cups were not a universal thing. I was at a bar and we were leaving but I wasn't finished my drink so I asked the bartender for a go cup. He said, "A what?" I said, "A go cup - I'm not finished but we're leaving." He was polite enough to wait until I left before he started laughing at me. So kids, when you're moving to a new town, make sure to do lots of research ahead of time.
After being there for just a week, I can't imagine how anyone who's lived there would ever want to leave. Hell, I'm trying to figure out if my wife and I can find jobs down there.
Ahh, the good 'ol go cup. How long did it take you find out that Tampa didn't have drive through liquor/beverage stores?
Don't do it unless you like unrelenting heat, humidity and roaches. I left because I was 22 and I'd lived in NOLA, in my parents' house, my whole life. I had a chance to live in Florida and go to the beach all the time - I was all over that shit. Five years later, I really was over it and moved to DC. Honestly, though, had I been unattached and able to find a job, I would have seriously considered moving back after the storm. But there aren't many jobs for real estate accountants in cities that just lost most of their real estate.
Drive through liquor stores aren't a NOLA thing because liquor stores aren't a NOLA thing. Hell, when we needed booze, we went to the grocery store. Though that's another thing. The first time I tried to buy booze in Florida my friend and I walked up and down the grocery store aisles for like 45 minutes before we figured out that there wasn't any. That experience actually predated my move by several years. Now, NOLA did have a bunch of drive-through daquiri shops (like Baskin-Robbins with alcohol) but those mostly sprang up after I moved away.
Can't argue about the heat and humidity. The first week of June felt like the middle of August in DC. I think rather than living there, I'm gonna be visiting NOLA as often as possible. Trying to convince the Missus that we should head down for Mardi Gras (March 8th, 2011) to celebrate her birthday (March 10th).
If I was going to pick an occasion to go back for, it would be Jazz Fest. But you can't go by me because I'm still traumatized by a childhood of being perched precariously on top of ladders to watch MG parades. These things scared the bejesus out of me especially since my dad usually built mine and he wasn't really good at that sort of thing. Here's one with a little kid who looks somewhat like me when I was little but she can't be me because she isn't paralyzed with terror.
One of the locals told us to check out French Quarter Fest sometime, which is a three day weekend usually a week or two prior to Jazz Fest. I wouldn't mind seeing both. As for Mardi Gras, the main reason I'd like to go is that I've never been before. I have been to Mainz for Rosenmontag festivals when I lived in Germany, and they were a lot of fun too. Rosenmontag is pretty much the German equivalent of Mardi Gras, featuring lots of drunken revelry and loose moral values immediately prior to Lent.
Yeah, it's real culture shock for a native leaving NOLA. Why in the world is it illegal to drink in public everywhere else? Of course Barb is right about liquor in grocery stores (not the only state where that happens). I remember getting free shots of Captain Morgan's once at the grocery - better than a little cube of cheese on a toothpick! Draft beer and frozen margaritas at the gas station - don't drink and drive! Mardi Gras is a great time, but understand that you won't have such easy access to all the things that tourists like to do. And make your reservations now. If DC United moves, I hope it's to NOLA.
If we go to Mardi Gras, I wanna do what the locals do, as much as possible anyway. It's gonna be tough to convince the Mrs though. She really doesn't like big crowds.
If you get a hotel room on the parade route you won't have to fight crowds to get to and fro and you'll have ready access to a bathroom. That latter thing is the most challenging part of Mardi Gras, in my opinion. Another thing, if your room is right there, she can escape as soon as she feels uncomfortable. Also lots of the night parades aren't that crowded. You might want to think about going for a few days the weekend before Mardi Gras. There's still lots of fun stuff to and parades to go to but it's not the all-out chaos that is Mardi Gras day. You'll miss out on the Bourbon St titties, I guess, but something tells me that wouldn't bother your wife. Speaking of the BST, that's new since I left. I remember going down to the FQ with a friend of mine on MG night when I was 18 or 19. She and I kept getting grabbed and kissed by strangers but no one was showing their boobies. It's pretty gross to have a bunch of strangers sticking their tongues in your mouth, though. Blech. No wonder I don't like MG. Funkfoot, there used to be a difference between "drunk driving" and "drinking and driving."