Over the past year I have been watching the HBO show Treme about New Orleans, and True Blood, set in Louisiana... slowly gaining a slight fascination of New Orleans. I've also been a fan of the NFL New Orleans Saints team from watching football on Sundays with my father. These factors cumulated together making me decided I needed to go down to New Orleans and check it out myself.
Booked my trip around a home Saints game so to fulfil both reasons for wanting to go, and off we went last Tuesday!My thoughts on the city are all over the place. Obviously I thought it was fantastic, and would go back in a heartbeat. Bourbon Street is probably the trashiest street I've every been on - lights, booze and loud - it was fun the first night, and probably would have been better with a larger group instead of the just the two of us. Everyone else looked like they were having a time.
Food - Loved the blackened alligator and char-grilled oysters from Felix. Didn't get into Acme which had been recommended to me, but I thought Felix's was grand. We went a couple times, the second one we sat at the bar and watched buddy shuck raw oysters. I tried the po'boys that New Orleans is known for, not a fan. Maybe I shoulda had another kind? I had a blackened catfish one. I loved the seasoning on the alligator and was hoping it was the same! It was not. Next time I will try some fried one, like crawfish, maybe there will be good seasoning in the batter? Filled our bellies with beignets (kinda like beaver tails, friend balls of dough) at Cafe du Monde, apparently the most touristy cafe in town. There were the ridiculous amounts of icing sugar poured on the beignets, you couldn't help by get covered. I had an interesting gator on a stick, crab cakes, corn bread and greens for supper. Blegh on the greens, yum yum on the rest. Jambalaya that I had was interesting. It was good, but once again, I thought it would be more... zinging? It was hot, that's for sure, but I feel like thats all it was, hot rice with sausages and shrimp. Maybe I should have tried it at some other places?
Music - Loved it. I loved that there were amazing musicians playing in the streets. I love that it was such a large variety of music - Jazz, Swing-Jazz, Brass, Cajun, Country - loved them all. The street music I think impressed me the most, I was not expecting them to be so entertaining, though I dont know why, I saw it all in Treme, I should have known!
Hit up Frenchmen`s street a couple nights, so fun! I wish I could dance like those swing dancers at the Spotted Cat, which also has the coolest bathroom hahah, or as Patrick later pointed out maybe the dirtiest piano? I really enjoyed the "big brass bands" I dont know what else their called, but the big groups who play all the brass instruments. So fun! The jazz bands were good too, dont get me wrong, but the brass ones were more entertaining.We got to see a parade on thanksgiving, holy smokes do they love their marching bands! University, High School and Club bands, all with baton and flag girls. Nuts!
A key presence in our trip, which I was not anticipating - Football. The parade we saw on Thursday was the kick-off to the football weekend. Friday was a big college game between 1st place Louisiana State and 3rd place Arkansas. Everyone in the city was wearing purple and gold colours in support of LSU and everyone was talking about the games, couldnt escape it! Saturday was the Bayou Classic, a huge game between Grambling State and Southern University. It was craaazy busy with all the fans in town for that. Everyone, again, was decked out in either Grambling Tigers clothes or Southern Jags clothes, and that night in the French Quarter/Canal Street is was pretty much shoulder to should people.
Then on Monday, we went to a NFL game, Giants vs Saints. Unfortunately I was exhausted from the night before and so lazed the day away until 430ish and we missed all the tailgating. I actually dont mind, the amount of people was intimidating for a little town gal like myself. But Joey I think really wanted to go. Oh well. The stadium was huge! We were up in the nosebleeds, but that was ok, the view was still really good, we were on the 50yard line so could see everything on the go! Though dad was right, I missed all the play by play commentary.We did a lot of other cool stuff, checked out the above the ground cemeteries, definitely a highlight for me. Rode the St. Charles Street Car, explored the D-Day Memorial/Museum, walked along the Mississippi, held a baby alligator and went on a ghost tour (I know, how cheesy). But there is so much more I'd like to do there... definitely returning at some point!
