October 29th On our Way!

4 hours of sleep! Thanks to David, Liz and Sydney for putting a dent in our wine cellar. Early morning flight. Flight was uneventful to Denver and landed around 830 am . We had to wait for customs to open so had to sit on the tarmac for at least 25 minutes. Customs doesn’t open until 9 am so why did they have the flight come in at 830 am? We could of slept for another half hour. Then they couldn’t get the exit door open and that was another 25 minutes. Not good when most of us have full bladders!

Did a little shopping in the Denver airport and grabbed some lunch. First drink of the day 1030 am

Next flight at 1230 to New Orleans. Side rant ….. why do they cross the seat belts across the seat? I know they are cleaning up the area and prepping for the traveller but why not put the seat belt straight down on the sides of the seat. You are in a rush putting stuff overhead and getting into your seat to get out of the way and you sit down on top of the crossed seat belt. Then you have to stand up again to get at the seat belt.

Hotel le Marais is fabulous. We have a room with a balcony over looking the courtyard. We go exploring. First stop is some bar on Bourbon street for a 32 oz Long Island Iced Tea. Off to a good start! Then we go wandering for food. What a happening place! It is going to be wild tomorrow for Halloween. End up at Antoine’s for a variety of appetizers including the original Oysters Rockefeller recipe. Then it was dancing, jazz and something involving poles. It was a great time.

Oct 30th Pre Halloween

Got up just in time to get to breakfast before they put it away. Full breakfast with bacon and eggs. Good grease fix after last night. I would definitely recommend the Hotel le Marais.
Went out wandering. we walked and walked and walked poking into various shops and we were still only 3 blocks from our hotel. Jewellery, antiques, gas lanterns and art. Stop at Hotel Monteleone because it is suppose to be haunted. Check out the carousel bar which spins (slowly thank goodness after last night :)) Walked down to the Mississippi river park. Artists and musicians. Stopped at Chartres House to have fried green tomatoes and fried oysters. Piano player on the street. Did a horse (or was it a mule) and carriage ride of the French quarter with a very entertaining guy in purple.
Liz was the first to earn beads. We got bus passes and headed off to take the street car to the garden district. Didn’t get very far and got off because we couldn’t take David’s moaning and groaning of a full bladder :-))). Changed direction to catch the parade. Had to stop for a snack so we had a washroom.
Back to Bourbon street to buy masks and tutus. This place is crazy. Several drinks later and more dancing, we all squeeze into the photo booth at the blacksmith shop which is the oldest bar in North America. Stop for supper at a wine bar. We have met so many fabulous people and most of them are Canadians. So it is back to Bourbon street for more dancing, more drinks and again it was involving poles. By the end of the night someone had lost glasses , someone had a broken toe and someone had lost a wallet

October 31st….OMG! Now that was a Halloween party!!

Started the day with a little shopping and watching the many street musicians. But by afternoon we were in our “Bout the Bass, no treble costumes” and we had wayyyyyyyyyyy too much fun.

Stop at Kingfish for a substantial supper since we know what is coming next. Sat at the bar and met Chris the bartender who was a wealth of information in all things cocktails. Other bartenders were dressed at Forest Gump and Jonah Hill. Food was awesome. The chef was Brangelina’s chef at one point in his career. We all had different dishes – duck, rabbit, pork and shrimp. Very reasonable bill for the wine and food that we had.

And then we headed for Bourbon Street. Where else would you go?

Most people got what we were dressed as but if there was any question, we would all break into our choreographed routine to the lyrics “Every inch of you is perfect, from the bottom to the top”

We saw devils, witches, little Red Riding Hood, nurses, doctors, pirates, parrots, spooks, monsters, Elvis, disco people, Jason, the Pope, nuns, Statue of Liberty, a Princess bride, more pirates and the list goes on and on. Robin Hood and Maid Marion had special gifts of shooters in test tubes and syringes for all who took their picture. Dave drank his first and the rest of us waited 30 mins before having ours. Thought Dave could be the guinea pig.

Lots of dancing and lots of waiting in line at washrooms. Jazz bars, a parade and just wandering and people watching. Awesome time.

November 1st The Craziness Continues!

Love the impromptu brass band parades with a variety people following along. You can’t help but clap along and smile.

Slow start to the today but of course, it starts with a Bloody Mary at Deja Vu bar. This is supposedly where Ellen Degeneres got her start. We asked the waitress what they were famous for and she said “nothing”!

We decided we needed to see something other than Bourbon street so head north to the very very old cememtary. Very similar to cemeteries that we have seen in France with crypts. We make our way over to Louis Armstrong park and come upon a steel band and carnival girls dressed in full costumes of feathers.

We worked our way across the French Quarter through a very residential area towards Frenchman Street. We had to listen to Liz moan and groan about her foot (which is black and blue).

Frenchman Street definitely has a different vibe. More local than tourist Great bars with jazz, blues and dixieland sounds. We stop at La Maison bar to listen to a fabulous singer. Then another bar to listen to jazz. Drinks were less than exciting. So we work our way back to Decatur street to check out the shops. Stop at the Pepper Palace and get an awesome variety of sauces and spices to do some cajun and creole cooking at home.

Stop at the French market for the best fresh raw oysters and boiled shrimp. Yum!

We wander back to our hotel to check out the Vive! bar. We meet Olga who is a very friendly and fabulous bartender. Good drinks here – peach sangria and rum something ?

And then ……. yes we are back on Bourbon street. Bourbon Street is way different tonight (Saturday). We are way older than most people unlike Halloween night where there was a variety of ages.

There was dancing, dancing , meeting people ( all friendly, especially when meeting the mayor of Canada????) Most people say “you all” and end our conversation with “be safe”. Then we were at a club with no poles that was very disappointing. End the night with pizza on the street and with someone losing their cookies!!!

We are kind of done with the cocktails, street food and less than standard washrooms with no soap and paper. We get that this place was created long before sanitation was a concern but they need to get with the times. Maybe they need street washrooms like you see in Amsterdam? With so many people drinking and partying washrooms need to be a bit more of a priority. One advantage to having the hotel so close to party central was that we could easily run back to the hotel.

November 2nd Après la Folie!

Each day Sydney had an envelope for her parents with suggestions of what to do. She is bang on with starting the letter most days saying “you are probably hungover today”.

Another slow start. We decide to try taking the trolley again ($3.00 for an all day pass) through the Warehouse and Garden district only this time we stay on the trolley much longer. We go passed beautiful mansions that are all uniquely different and a couple of universities and parks. On the way back , we walk for a bit and think we saw “fake trees” or ” fig trees. We are not quite sure……… stop at the Delachaise wine bar for a variety of appetizers and of course, wine, at a outside table in the sun. We have had a couple of cool days which we weren’t expecting. The locals are in boots and winter coats and we are in flip flops and sweaters. We hop back on the trolley and head towards the hotel.
Liz and I decide to go shopping. Shopping has not been great here. This place is all about music, street food and alcohol…… not shopping. Needless to say, we didn’t buy anything.

In the evening, we head over to Emeril’s NOLA restaurant for supper. The smoked duck, the drum fish and steak were all fabulous. The service was fantastic and to percision. Wine also fantastic.

We head back over to Bourbon street for one last stroll. The stench of stale booze and various other not pleasant smells is gross. We stop for one last drink at blues bar.

November 3rd La Finale

We had more sleep last night than all the other nights combined. We kind of crashed and burned. And so this is IT for our excessive adventure and your entertainment is over. Today, we fly home to reality and cold.

We head over to the Beinget Cafe for a good strong coffee and some beingets. New Orleans is known for some famous foods and we did enjoy the pralines, gumbo, muffuletta and crawfish.

Cheers to New Orleans and Beads, Beignets, Blues, and Booze

New Orleans airport – we had surprising good food. 3 cocktails, 1 beer and 2 bottles wine later we boarded our flight.

OK, addition…. get to Denver airport and flight is delayed 4 hours. So what is there to do? We are now in a lounge then we wander over to Elway’s for supper and more wine.