Usually I take this opportunity to share everything I've been up to the past month, but there wasn't much other than my trip with Blue to visit her niece in New Orleans, so this my vacation recap!
This was actually our second trip to New Orleans so besides the food, we were more interested in relaxing than anything else. Lucky for us, K (Blue's niece) has been working her little tuchus off so she hasn't gotten a chance to really experience the town. We were more than happy to introduce her to some of our past faves and just hang out with her!
Our first stop was The Gumbo Shop. This was a favorite of ours last time, and the second time around was just as good as I remember! We all had the 4 course combo special with all the specialties- gumbo, red beans and rice, jambalaya, shrimp creole, and (of course) bread pudding. The pictures above don't do it justice!
Saturday was our main "chill day." Blue wanted just one day to lay out by the pool. After a few hours swimming (them) and reading (me), we cleaned up and headed out to Erin Rose. This tiny dive bar is famous for their 'killer poboys" and frozen Irish coffee, and both were absolutely amazing!
We still had time to kill before our Ghost and Vampire Tour, so we stopped into another bar on the way to our meeting spot for the tour. And then we had B1G1 hurricane special at the Voodoo Lounge, to bring with us on the tour. And then... well, things get a little foggy because I had a bit too much to drink and not nearly enough food. We ended the night eating fried chicken in bed though, which really ain't so terrible if you ask me!
Sunday kicked off with a jazzy brunch buffet at the Court of Two Sisters. Surprisingly I didn't take any pics of the food there (mostly because I was shoving it in my pie-hole too fast). They had everything you can imagine, and then some. The omelet bar and carving station were impressive, and I heard the sweet potatoes tasted like "warm pecan pie," but I didn't get a chance to try them. The two new things I tried were the shrimp étouffée and turtle soup. (I liked the shrimp better.) The only thing I would've changed was sitting outdoors. The courtyard was beautiful, mostly covered by trees and fans throughout, but it was a bit too warm out. Or maybe it was the soup? Anyway, they offer the brunch daily so I would definitely recommend adding it to your list if you have the opportunity!
We decided to walk off our meal meandering around Jackson Square, listening to live music, watching the side street acts, and checking out the French Market (but mostly just trying to find places with strong AC, tbh) before heading back to the hotel where we were getting picked up for our swamp tour!
Don't know what an airboat is? Yeah, we didn't either. Basically it's a boat with little to no cover on top and lots of picnic-style rows of seats with a giant fan propeller in the back that makes so much noise when at "full throttle" that patrons are strongly suggested to wear these very attractive ear protectors. Can you tell that we were a bit nervous/uncomfortable?!
If you couldn't tell by the amount of pictures of this compared to anything else, this was my favorite part of our trip. And I think a big part of it is directly attributed to our tour guide, Earl. (Yes, that's his real name. Can't make this shit up.) Earl was AWESOME. He was very charismatic and funny, but not in the cheesy "I'm-a-tour-guide-so-I-have-to-be" way. He told us about an earlier tour where the people totally sucked and were scarily silent the whole time. He told us that he was taking us through a swamp path that he wasn't approved to go through with the size of our airboat because another guide dared him to, but "No worries, if we really don't fit, I'll get us out!"
And best of all? He kept us behind all the other airboats that left at the same time, which kinda freaked me out at first. But when we were out of view, he explained that he purposely held us back because the day before he found a mother gator guarding her nest that no one else had seen! He guided us up to her, and got so close that she started toward our boat and started hissing at us! By that time I was well on the other side of the boat, slightly freaking out (can they jump? She looked ready to jump us!). This pic is of her when we first saw her (before she started approaching, and ya know, hissing at us). She is about 8 1/2 ft long, and that pile of straw on the left is her nest. Also, I kind of thought a gator hiss would be very guttural, like a roar, but it's much more like a very pissed-off cat. Just an interesting tidbit.
Near the end of the tour Earl reached into the ice chest in front of him and pulls out his little buddy, Fluffy. (Again, can't make this shit up!) Apparently he helps salvage gator eggs, and then raises them when they hatch so they have a better chance of survival. Fluffy is one that hatched in his care, and is about 3 1/2 years old. He didn't even have to trap his mouth shut- he was so docile the whole time! He was feeding various other gators in the swamp (all of which he had names for) marshmallows, because apparently they like those? And telling us about some of his "souvenirs" or scars from when he wasn't so smart about gators. He was just the best, so if you can do this tour, I'd definitely request him! He's the real deal!
After the swamp tour, Blue and I grabbed some (very average imho, though it was recommended by several locals) hot dogs at Dat Dog before checking out the live bands at various bars on Frenchman St., something we missed out on our last trip! The last morning, we caught a late breakfast at a ridiculously good and underrated restaurant across the street from our hotel called Cafe Fleur De Lis. Of course I had to get the Seriously Southern Special, but definitely could not handle that giant 1/3" slab of bacon that came with it! Everything else was fabulous though!
TL;DR
To Stay: The W Downtown New Orleans
To Do: French Quarter Phantom Tour, Airboat Adventures (ask for Earl!)
