A Weekend In New Orleans

August 20, 2017August 21, 2017 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

SATURDAY

12:00 MEAUXBAR

You MUST hit this place for two hour unlimited mimosas (offered on Saturdays and Sundays for brunch). And I’m not talking about watered down mimosas that they bring to you. No Sireeee, you get fresh OJ and a bottle of champagne, plus some bitters, tinctures and um, shrubs (I asked about the shrubs but forgot what they said).

So, you can add shrubs (whatever the heck those are), if you like greenery and want to be fancy. Ha. Okay, sorry. It was fabulous. The food is awesome too. Jeannie had the sweet potato hash and I had the petit dejeuner (the grits! the biscuit!).

The place is chic and the dinner menu looked superb as well.

Meauxbar – 942 N Rampart St, New Orleans 504.569.9979

2:30 We meandered around a bit in search of a cold brew coffee. And we ran into this funky camper covered in all kinds of stickers. Pretty fun. Not sure if it’s always parked on N Rampart St or it moves around.

I promise, Jeannie really is happy. She’s just one cool chica.

We found our cold brew coffee! And headed back towards Bourbon St.

3:30 Bourbon St to find the web cam

Back on Bourbon St. and it was packed with tourists with huge ass beers. Never saw one with a huge ass burger though. I couldn’t believe people were already drinking. I was only 3:30 in the afternoon! Oh, wait. Ahem.

The day before we flew to NOLA, there was a hurricane building up and there was a chance it would hit New Orleans. Both of our airlines sent us messages about it and that we could change our flight. We decided to stick it out and thank goodness we did because it changed its path and we had no problems getting into New Orleans. BUT, I wanted ot check out the weather while here in Spain and I found this New Orleans web cam. And naturally it’s on Bourbon St. (it’s pretty entertaining to watch at all times) We were determined to find it and do a dance or something crazy. It’s on the corner of Bourbon and St. Peter. We found it, did our crazy dancing – did you see us? Go do it. Feel the web cam love.

4:00 St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, Café du Monde, some shopping on Decatur St. and finally a Bloody Mary.

Headed south on St. Peter to walk through Jackson Square on our way to Café Du Monde. A must stop for all people! Some great sites to see on the way.

The St. Louis Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in the United States, built in 1718. I love cathedrals and this one is gorgeous.

slc

Jackson Square with of course – Mr. Jackson on a horse (not Michael). That would be Andrew Jackson, our seventh President of the United States. I wonder if this statue will be coming down? He was definitely on the side of favoring slavery and his role in Indian removal. Not what our country should idolize – even though I do understand that it is our history. So, shall it stay or shall it go? That is another blog post entirely.

statue

Alright, time for some chicory coffee and beignets at the famous Café du Monde. So YUM. The menu is quite simple: dark-roasted coffee with chicory (you can add milk for a café au lait), beignets, white and chocolate milk, hot chocolate, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. And the famous restaurant is open 24 -7, except for Christmas Day and when a hurricane gets too close for comfort.

Beignets at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans

It’s a scrumdillyumptious as it looks. Now I want to go back immediately for more.

Café Du Monde 800 Decatur Street 504.525.4544

After getting extra caffeinated from our second coffee in a matter of an hourish, plus a nice sugar rush from the beignets we decided to do a little shopping on our way to get a Bloody Mary at Molly’s At The Market. Check out some of these hilarious finds. Decatur street is a fun street with stores, restaurants and for good ole people watching.

Some funny stuff found during our scouring of the stores.

Finally got to Molly’s at the Market for a Bloody Mary.

7:00 Dinner at Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Time for some fried pickles and oysters. And don’t forget the Purple Haze.

Usually there is a line to get in but it moves pretty fast. And there is not a single bad thing on the menu. My mouth is watering now for an oyster po-boy sandwich.

Felix’s Restaurant & Bar 739 Iberville St 504.522.4440

10:00 Taxi to Frenchmen St.

There is much more than just Bourbon St. for nightlife in NOLA. Frenchmen St. is pretty happening with lots of bars, music venues, buskers, etc. and here is where you will find the locals. Its more popular section is the two-block stretch in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood. Our favorite stops where Maison, a live music venue where there is always a good band playing and a busker where you could yell out a word and he word make up a rap to it. We were dying to be chosen and our word for him was going to be …… PLATYPUS. I think he could’ve come up with something good.

I also was almost killed by these women on this portable swing thing. What in the world?

Busker dude, doin’ his thing. Platypus!!!!

And The Maison. Good tunes.

SUNDAY

11:30 Brunch at Red Dog Diner

Nothing like hair of the dog to get your day started. And this was a good one. It’s like a salad with your drink.

My reuben sandwich was really good (but I think the normal rye bread choice would have been better then their choice of focaccia, jeannnie warned me) but Jeannie’s dish was the best – Huevos Rancheros with a side of grits. I stole some of everything when she wasn’t looking.

Red Dog Diner 3122 Magazine St. 504.934.3333

1:00 Shopping along Magazine St.

This six-mile-long stretch from the Garden District to Uptown is full of antique stores, boutique shops, art galleries and craft shops. We had probably a bit too much fun in one antique shop where everything we found somewhat scary (think anything with clowns, dolls, and general weirdness) we would hand it to each other saying, “this is for you…” in a creepy voice. It was quite a large store and we found the jackpot near the end. An extremely freaky wicker thing with a baby face coming out of it. Hard to explain and I wouldn’t let Jeannie take a picture for fear it would haunt us forever.

Lots of hip boutiques and the coffee shop across from the Red Dog Diner had great cold brew coffee and free wi-fi.

3:00 Check out a cemetery.

Whether it’s the famous St. Louis Cemetery (voodoo priestess Marie Laveau is buried here plus many other famous New Orleans peeps) or just one you happen to walk by, there are many around, go do a walk around. There will most likely always be someone wanting to give you a tour, your choice, but I think either way I think it’s something to see when in NOLA.

stouiscem

The above ground tombs are often referred to as “cities of the dead.” Burial plots are shallow in New Orleans because the water table is very high. Dig a few feet down, and the grave becomes soggy, filling with water. The casket will literally float. And nobody wants a floating casket.

4:30 Garden District

Since we were already down by Magazine St. and had just checked out Lafayette Cemetery we decided to head up to St. Charles Ave and look at all the beautiful homes in the Garden District. You could make this into as long as you want, there are so many gorgeous places. I pretty much wanted to move into every house we saw. I loved the light blue upstairs patio ceiling on this one.

7:00 Ghost Tour

You know there are ghosts in New Orleans. It’s one of the things they advertise! Ghosts, voodoo, fortune tellers and all that. And I love it all. I might have had to twist Jeannie’s arm to do a ghost tour because I guess it can be a bit cheesy but we did it. And it was so much fun. Plus we had a few ghost encounters on the tour. Are you a believer? Check out my blog post here for the whole scoop on the tour. But here was the place I found the creepiest of all. The Ursuline Convent. Oooohhhhooooooooghheeheh.

9:30 Dinner at Coop’s Place

Back to Decatur St. for the best fried chicken in NOLA. I love the Zagat’s Guide description “Where the not-so-elite meet to eat”. It’s true. It’s a fun place with wooden bar tables and snarky waiters and a lot of fun and helluva good fried chicken.

Coop’s Place 1109 Decatur St.

11:30 Fritzel’s European Jazz Club

Okay you guys, this place CANNOT be missed. They have amazing jazz bands here every night playing their heart out. I love listening to the trumpet, the bass, whatever instrument you want to play I am ready to listen. This was our perfect last stop for our fun-filled weekend. It’s the coolest place on Bourbon St. Want to hear the man sing? Click here. Man he is good!

Fritzel’s 733 Bourbon St. 504.586.4800

Monday morning we hung out at the pool at our hotel – The Roosevelt (nice place! ask for a room higher than the 10th floor for some sort of view). We grabbed a taxi to get a Muffuletta from Central Grocery which is another must during your NOLA trip. You can thank me later. And then sadly our NOLA trip was over and we had to head to the airport.

New Orleans has so much energy and so many things to see and do and drink. Until next trip my friends! I hope you enjoyed the post and places to see as much as I did. xo

new orleans · Quirky · Road Trip · scary · tragic · usa · weird

Dine With A Ghost

August 5, 2017 GOING NINETY MILES3 Comments

You know there are TONS of ghosts in NOLA. Ghosts, voodoo, spirits, you name it, they got it. Some stories are down right scary and some are a bit, hmmmmm, not so sure about that one – skinned rolled back to look like a caterpillar?? You can take the stories with a grain of salt or you can fully believe or you can relax enjoy the ride and who knows! Maybe you will feel a cold hand on your shoulder or take a picture and when you look at it later you do see some kind of apparition. I believe in ghosts. One day I will tell my ghost story.

I think the ghosts tours are pretty much the same no matter which company you choose. We saw people on other ghost tours and they were all stopping at the same places we did. Now you MUST read this in a spooky and sinister voice.

Here are the stops we made:

New Orleans Pharmacy Museum – In 1823, Louis Dufilho became America’s first licensed pharmacist and opened his apothecary shop on Royal St. But he is not the one haunting this place, that would be Dr. Dupas. The mysterious Dupas bought the pharmacy from Dufilho right before he died. According to legend, Dupas did many experiments on pregnant women and slaves. It was said, you would go in healthy, and never be seen again. It seems, he was conducting experiments on people upstairs, giving them large doses of his voodoo medicine. He is usually seen in a brown suit and likes to move potions around on the shelves and sometimes throws a book. I had a strange experience there while trying to take a picture of the inside. My phone did over 60 photo bursts, I’ve looked through them and maybe I see something near the back in the middle, but I’m not sure. What do you see?

pharmacy ghost

Zach Bowen/Omni Hotel – Zach Bowen joined the military to support his wife and two children. He did a tour in Kosovo and a tour in Iraq (parts of which were spent at Abu Ghraib), where friends say he changed. Upon return he became a bartender in the French Quarter of New Orleans and soon after he separated from his wife. He met Addie Hall, a fellow bartender and the two of them liked to party – drinking a lot and doing cocaine. Also, Hall was said to be a mean drunk and abusing Bowen. Hurricane Katrina hit and they were one of the few who stayed and weathered out the storm. Many people said that going back to “real life” after the tragedy of Katrina was their downfall. On Oct. 5, 2006, they got into a fight (Hall claimed he was cheating on her) and Bowen strangled Hall to death before cutting her up into pieces. He placed her head in a pot on the stove, her feet and legs were either in other pots or in the oven where he tried to cook the body parts. During the next two weeks he spray painted messages on the walls, wrote his five page suicide note and went out drinking, getting strippers and doing drugs with friends. Late October he went to the Omni Hotel, had a drink and then threw himself out of an upstairs window where he landed on the roof of a parking garage. Police found the suicide note and where to find Hall’s body. Some claimed he had been possessed by a demonic spirit that was terrorizing them from the voodoo shop that was below their home. Was it that? Was it PSTD from his two tours overseas? We will never know. But there are still claims that people see someone jump from the Omni Hotel window. The police will show up but there is never anyone there.

Muriel’s Restaurant – Here you can dine with a ghost. The restaurant that is now Muriel’s went through many changes, owners, etc. On March 21, 1788, the Great New Orleans Fire started on Good Friday and burned 856 of the 1,100 structures in the French Quarter, and one of these was a portion of Pierre Phillipe de Marigny’s mansion that was burnt. During the next decade the city was trying to rebuild and Mr. Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan purchased the property from Marigny. We will call him Antoine from now on (why did they all have such loooooong names back then). Antoine LOVED his home but he was a huge gambler. In 1814 he wagered his home in a poker game and lost. He was devastated and before vacating the premises he went up to the second floor and hung himself. Supposedly he haunts the second floor – he can be seen as a bright glimmering light. In the past he would throw wine glasses off tables, but ever since the restaurant set up his own table, leaving bread and a bottle of wine (he prefers Cabernet) every night the “tantrums” have diminished. You can have a private dinner with Antoine but you need to call Muriel’s to set it up. Whether or not Antoine will show up, it is still one helluva a good promotion.

The Ursuline Convent – I thought this place was truly freaky. Here is where vampires arrived from the Old World to the New World. This three-story Colonial masterpiece (no nuns live here now) sits behind a high wall with gothic gates and a big courtyard. In 1727, France sent young women (very poor and possibly homeless) to help populate the city of New Orleans. When the girls arrived they came with casket shaped boxes supposedly holding their belongings and both (the girls and the casket boxes) were placed at the Convent for the nuns to watch over them until they found a husband for them to marry. Thereby earning them the name of the Casket Girls. After they arrived the mortality rate skyrocketed – because what was in those caskets were vampires. Once the girls found suitors the caskets were opened and were found empty. Dum dum Duuummmmmm. Fear of what had escaped from those caskets brought the Archdiocese to the convent. He had them immediately moved to the third floor, where to this day unless you are from the Vatican you cannot go up there. Plus, the shutters are continuously closed. And on top of that they have closed them with 800 screws EACH, that supposedly the Pope blessed. That’s 8000 Pope blessed screws keeping whatever needs to be kept in there! But locals have witnessed the shutters fly open in the middle of the night. I could stop there, but there is one more story to this. Back in the 70s a group of paranormal researchers came to NOLA to check out the convent. Two stayed overnight, in front of the convent to finish their research. The next day they were found dead, and drained of their blood. Drained of their blood!! Now, nothing can be found on the news about this from the 70s but the people in New Orleans say it happened.

Alright, finalizing things up. If you watch American Horror Story you might have heard about this last one, or at least about the lady – Madame Delphine Lalaurie.

The Lalaurie Mansion – This haunted history is perhaps New Orleans most famous ghostly tale. For more than 150 years, the Lalaurie House is said to be the most haunted location in NOLA. Delphine married her third husband, wealthy doctor Louis Lalaurie in 1832. They threw lavish parties and everyone wanted to be invited inside their gorgeous three story mansion. People started wondering about all the slaves that were being bought – they saw them go in but never saw any go out. Once in 1833, a neighbor saw Delphine chase her 12-year old slave around the roof with a whip. The child jumped to her death and was buried in the courtyard. Investigators came to the house and punished Delphine with a fine and making her sell all her slaves. Unbeknownst to authorities she had relatives buy them and she got them back. In 1834 the truth came out. A fire was started in the kitchen by her cook who was chained to the stove. When authorities came they found a very grisly scene in attic – slaves chained to the walls, badly scarred and starving. It gets worse. Reports say one man had a hole drilled into his head with a wooden spoon sticking out (to stir the brains), another woman had her arms amputated and her skin rolled down making her look like a caterpillar, a woman with her stomach cut open and her intestines wrapped around her body and another had her arms and legs broken and reset so she looked like a crab. Horrifying! Gives me the creeps. After finding this an angry mob grew outside the Lalaurie mansion, soon Delphine and her children came roaring out in a carriage and Delphine was never seen again. Some say she died in France, some say she is buried in a New Orleans cemetery. After we left, Jeannie told me she had felt a very cold breeze go by her. Here is where most people do feel something or see something.

Spoooky stuff right there. And even if you don’t believe, it is still some fascinating stories. Next time I think I will do the vampire tour. Do you have any ghost stories? I would love to hear them. BOO.

celebrity sighting · favorite things · happy happy joy joy · music favorites · new orleans · paaaarty · travel · usa

Fritz’s Jazz Bar – NOLA

June 28, 2017June 28, 2017 GOING NINETY MILES3 Comments

Hello there.

Just sitting here in Phoenix, AZ sweating my face off in lovely 100° weather, trying to recover from my weekend in New Orleans. We pretty much hit every spot to be hit so keep tuned. But wanted to share this video of Mike Fulton & John Royen from Fritzel’s Jazz Club on Bourbon St. It’s always a favorite place of mine for some most excellent jazz.

You know what I say – Turn it up!

happy happy joy joy · just do it already · let's daaaance! · new orleans · usa

Reminds me of New Orleans

October 12, 2012October 14, 2016 GOING NINETY MILES1 Comment

I have a confession. I am addicted to …. Pinterest. Yes, it’s true. There are so many different categories for your interest (get it, interest with pins = Pinterest). All you do is join, follow people that you like and pin things that you like. I did see a pin from ecards that said Pinterest is just electronic hoarding. Which is somewhat true. I don’t necessarily immediately create everything I pin but there is a good possibility that I will get around to it. And it is great for finding creative ideas for teaching English. At least electronic hoarding is better than actual hoarding. Riiiight? Wanna follow me on Pinterest? Click here to go to my page and then click on FOLLOW.

I have many different boards: fashion, food, tees and totes, teaching, paintings, etc. And I am going to randomly post on my blog things that inspire me. For instance, this picture. It reminds of my recent trip to New Orleans. Isn’t it beautiful?

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cool photos · friends · love love love · new orleans · usa

Glance at New Orleans

May 19, 2012October 25, 2016 GOING NINETY MILES4 Comments

A bit irritated, when I first got to New Orleans my camera wasn’t focusing so I didn’t take pictures the first day and a half. I fixed it, and I do believe I really love some of these glimpses of New Orleans. Hope you do too.

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drinkin' · food · hotels · new orleans · travel · usa · yum

NOLA

May 15, 2012August 7, 2017 GOING NINETY MILES1 Comment

NOLA – New Orleans, Louisiana. Ah-May-Zing! So much fun. And I feel silly for saying this, but it was my first time there. I really don’t know what took me so long. I guess it was just the distance from my older stomping grounds. In Oklahoma we would head towards Lake Texoma, Padre or once for a college spring break we drove from Stillwater to Fort Lauderdale. When I lived in Dallas, well, I went to, um, Dallas! And when I was in the New York/CT area I went to well, Manhattan, of course. But also to Mt. Snow, Vermont and a few other random Pepsi sponsored ski areas.

But I am getting off track. Jeannette (the lovely) and I went to the Big Easy for our 40th celebration. We met up at the Maison Dupuy hotel. A very nice hotel with possibly a dead, bald guy in the hot tub. He NEVER left y’all! The rooms were clean, the shower had nice water pressure (something that is very important to me), the front staff were nice and friendly, there was a pool and free Wi-Fi. All in all, a great hotel for a decent price.

As I just said, I had never been to NOLA, even though Jeannette was a seasoned pro. We headed down Bourbon St. to see the crazies and get a drink. I was bound and determined to have a Hurricane but then thought, do I really want to throw up on my first day here? I settled for a beer and Jeannie introduced me to my new favorite beer – ABITA Purple Haze.

Abita beer whether it was Purple Haze or Amber was a constant for the remainder of our trip. Well, that and Bloody Marys, mmmmmmmmmmmmm, don’t EVEN get me started on the bloodies from Molly’s at the Market. We watched them being made: a little Guinness, half a squeezed lemon and lime, some Cajun seasoning, worchestire, horseradish, tabasco, juice from the pickled green beans (i wish i could have brought back 12,000 jars of those) and their already mixed bloody mix. The first time there we had THREE. I would have had more to stare at that mellow cat that hangs out on the tables with the customers but my stomach was rumbling and we needed to get ready for dinner.

Speaking of dinner/food we ate SO GOOD. Here were our stops and each were amazing. And in all actuality, it was mainly about the food. Don’t miss any of these.

1. Dante’s Kitchen – Ok, this place…they have the best vegetables in any New Orleans restaurant, an outdoor patio, and an amazing wine list. They have incredible meat and fish dishes too. This is a great restaurant to get away from downtown, and one of the most inspired menus I’ve seen anywhere. The food and produce is fresh, fresh, fresh, and they accentuate the freshness with the preparation and presentation. The only thing I will say is that the portions are HUGE!!! Bring some friends and plan on having one of the best meals of your life.

2. NOLA – This is one of Emeril’s restaurants in New Orleans. Featuring an eclectic menu of New Orleans Creole and Acadian cuisine with an occasional ethnic twist, the rustic style of cooking showcases Southern Cajun, Vietnamese and Southwestern influences using Louisiana products. Private dining rooms, a bread and pastry bakery and wine cellar are located on NOLA’s third floor.

3. Coop’s – Hands down this was my favorite place. The fried chicken was out of this world and the prices were excellent. This French Quarter bar, with its placement across the street from Margaritaville and down the street from Café du Monde, is kind of in tourist central, meh; but these guys have the real deal in red beans and rice, gumbo, fried chicken, and super authentic local favorites. Also check out the side salad, with the BEST homemade Green Goddess dressing in town. The servers are sweet and super tattooed, the kitchen is basically in the outdoor courtyard, and next door is the fantastically alt-goth bar…

4. Felix’s Oyster Bar – Besides being the name of my favorite boyfriend, it was also a fantastic place to grab a seat, an Abita and a dozen oysters. They also have Po-boys, seafood platters and some darn good fried pickles. Man, I could really go for another dozen oysters with lots of horseradish and lemon.

5. Central Grocery – Central Grocery is home of the muffuletta, one of New Orleans’ great sandwiches. A circular loaf of soft Italian bread is sliced horizontally and piled with salami, ham, and provolone, which are in turn topped with a wickedly spicy melange of chopped green and black olives fragrant with anchovies and garlic. You miss this, and you might cry.

6. Café Du Monde – World famous for its cafe‘ au lait, beignets, and the opportunity to people watch. Another New Orleans favorite, stop by for a chicory coffee and beignets to cure your morning hangover. The service was a bit slow while seated so maybe check out the TO GO line on the side if you are in a hurry. But it is a don’t miss.

7. Satsuma Cafe – Their Kale Salad, made of all local ingredients, fresh, and organic, features Lacinato kale, Parmesan dressing, and (this is New Orleans after all) a piece of bacon on the side. This is the BEST SALAD in the city, hands down. A few blocks away from Desire Street, (which kind of says it all), and in the stunning Baywater, this is the hippyish place to go for great coffee and espresso, fresh ginger muffins, super great Nutella banana pancakes, fresh BLT’s with real tomatoes, hummus, bagels and lox with all the sides, and fresh juices made to order. It’s also all organic. Sit at the Squirrel Table and read the New York Times, or a local paper with the locals (and believe me, they’re there). It has a totally great vibe and fresh, fresh, fresh organic food. These guys make an effort and it shows.

I think I will take a break here. Now I am craving an oyster po-boy, an Abita Purple Haze and some excellent fried chicken. Stay tuned for some more New Orleans news and lots of cool pics. Ciao!

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