New Orleans Trip 2022

This past weekend I knocked another city off my bucket list by visiting New Orleans for the first time. It's a city rich with history and culture and one of the few cities in America I had yet to visit. Luckily I was able to tag along with my mom's work conference and got to stay at a very nice luxurious hotel for free. I flew out with my dad from Chicago and there we met up with my mom and Jackie. It was three days of exploration, relaxation, good food, good drinking, and good times. 

The first thought that comes to mind when I think New Orleans is the Cajun food, the jazz music, and the iconic Bourbon street. All of these things lived up to their expectation, and are what made the city so incredible unique. It's a very old city that was founded by the French in 1718, and much of it's architecture, buildings, street names, and culture reflect French heritage. The city was later inherited by the Spanish Empire from 1763-1802 and thus made for a cultural fusion of Spanish/French/and slaves from the Caribbean islands. The city was once again returned to the French under Napoleon in 1802, and then finally sold off to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. 

In 1815 the British led a military campaign against the Gulf Coast, however were repelled by Gen Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. From that point on the southern American city became a booming seaport of trade, much of which was agriculture. The state of Louisiana had begun to thrive off of sugar and cotton plantations, and New Orleans became a key trading point. With the trade of agriculture also came the trade of slavery and Louisiana was very reliant on their plantation slaves as a means of production. They were one of the original confederate states during the Civil War that were defeated in 1865. From that point on Louisiana has done away with slavery and have adjusted to the modern times. 

Our Trip

My dad arrived Wednesday evening and we got some Burger King for dinner. We decided to watch the movie Gettysburg to take on some southern history and culture, and surprisingly we stayed up for the entire 4 hour film. That morning we woke up early around 5am to drive my car to Chicago. I once again planned to park my car at the nearby O'hare Best Western lot. We hit some terrible traffic coming out of Indy and then of course coming into Chicago. I was also surprised to find that the hotel we arrived at was different then the one I was planning. It was 20 minutes away from the airport. Thankfully we were still on target and aside from an additional Uber fee, we got to our airport gate with time to spare. 

We flew from Chicago at 11:30pm on Spirit Airlines and arrived to New Orleans around 1:30pm. There we met mom and Jackie who had arrived shortly before us, and were able to get us an Uber on the company dollar. Our Uber driver was a very chatty woman and a proud Louisianan. She gave us some insights and tips on places to see and where to eat. We arrived at the luxurious Omni hotel by around 4pm. I remember my first impression of setting foot outside in Louisiana was the weather being very hot and humid. We spent maybe an hour resting, then set out to explore our surroundings. L
uckily the hotel was right downtown, off of St. Louis and Chartres street and in the middle of everything. 

Our first stop that evening was to the iconic Cafe Du Monde which specialized in the beignets. These were basically fried dough laced with powdered sugar. I thought they were very tasty but my mom was very disappointed with them. The streets were loaded with pedestrian and tourists and there were many street performers and musicians. Near the Cafe du Monde was the beautiful Saint Louis Cathedral and to the south was the mighty Mississippi River. After we had our beignets we continued to explore and look for somewhere to get a late lunch. We walked around the French Market for a little bit and my mom eventually decided to eat at the fried chicken franchise of Willies. 

Our timing was perfect because as soon as we entered Willie's it began to heavily downpour. I ordered a bowl of jambalaya (spicy rice and chicken) with 2 beers. My parents and Jackie ordered some fried chicken and fries, and I of course helped them finish. After this we went back to the hotel around 6pm, where my mom had to prepare for an evening conference. At this point my dad and I decided to take a dip in the pool which was located on the roof of the building. It was a great view of the city and the water was the perfect temperature, not too hot not too cold. After this we showered up and planned to explore the city at night. Jackie joined us since she did not have to attend the evening work conference with my mom. 

The three of us walked to Bourbon street which was only a couple blocks north of our hotel. This was quite the sight to behold unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It was packed with pedestrians, performers, and drunken/high chaos. It was unlike any bar strip I've seen before, where it was almost shoulder to shoulder up and down the street blocks. On both sides of the strips were various bars, restaurants, and shops catering to some form of entertainment. On the streets were musicians, jugglers, dancers, snake-handlers, preachers, hobos, and many other forms of sideshows. It was ten times crazier then other iconic night strips such as Las Vegas or Nashville. 

Our first stop that night was at a French jazz club, which played some great classic jazz. It consisted of a trumpet player, guitar player, bass, and piano. I treated us to the first round there. After this we watched an outdoor juggler who got my dad to help him with his stunt. After that we found a nice outdoor bar and watched some more live jazz and blues. This time the band consisted of a keyboardist, trombone lead, and percussionist. The lead singing female trombonist was a very raggedy woman but a great performer. My dad was getting pretty juiced up and got chatty with the band. We were all having a good time at this point, and it was so nice to be able to walk up and down the strip with our drinks.  

We were all getting hungry after the 2nd bar and decided to look for somewhere to get a small snack. We stopped in at the fancy Red Fish Grill restaurant. My dad and I ordered a very tasty cup of seafood gumbo while Jackie ordered a cup of broccoli soup. After this we went and picked up my mom from the hotel then returned to Bourbon street. We once again
walked up and down the strip but I don't believe we made anymore stops that night. We came in around midnight and finished off the leftovers from Willies and Cafe du Monde. 

The next morning on Friday my dad and I got to sleep in a little, while Jackie and mom had to go to their work function. By around 9am we left the hotel to get some breakfast and further explore the city. We got some breakfast at a place nearby called Johnny's PoBoys. I ordered bacon, eggs, and grits (I was not all the impressed with the grits). After this we explored the French Market, including a canopy of souvenir shops. It was pretty cool to see the city during the day, deeper into the neighborhoods with less tourism. My dad mentioned the similarity with a Latin American place which I agreed with due to its architecture, climate, colorful buildings, and many plants and palm trees. We walked as far north as Rampart street into the Louis Armstrong Park. We walked a total of 4 miles by the time we got back to the hotel. 

That afternoon we went to the hotel pool once again and my dad got us a round of drinks. It was very nice to swim and I even got to relax and read a few chapters in my book. Mom and Jackie returned to the hotel from their work functions by around 2pm, and we decided to get a late lunch. We ate at a very tasty restaurant and ordered some fried calamari, po-boy, and muffuletta sandwiches. The muffuletta sandwiches were my favorite, loaded with oil and olives. After this we went back to the hotel and got our Uber to take us to our swamp tour. The Uber driver was a black guy named Tyrone and was very chatty. He kind of reminded me of Bubba Gump, when he went on about the many ways to cook the fish he caught. He eventually got us to our destination after a 30 minute drive south of New Orleans. 

Our swamp tour was in the city of Marrero and consisted of a pontoon trip through the swamps. We got to see alligators in their natural habitat which was very cool. I was however a little on edge with all the children on the boat running around, afraid if they fell in one of us would have to dive in after them. The captain had a very good sense of humor and told us he wasn't a captain that would go down with the ship, but would be the first one off. He showed us many alligators and even a surprising poisonous spider. The tour was very enjoyable and worth every penny. We then caught an Uber back with a driver named Kevin, who was just as chatty as our last driver. He was very into sports yet also full of BS and said he knew Marshall Faulk. We got back to the hotel by around 7pm. 

That evening we returned to Cafe Du Monde to give them a 2nd shot. I bought us all another round of beignets and coffee, and thought they were just as good as before. However my mom was once again very disappointed with them. My dad was more disappointed with the street entertainment which consisted of two amateur hobos singing karaoke. For dinner we found a seafood place and I once again ordered some gumbo soup and we shared a plate of barbecue shrimp. It was a very tasty meal but I remember my mom and Jackie were annoyed by the waitress. 

After dinner we returned to Bourbon street and made our way into the Maison Jazz Preservation bar. Here we witnessed a very entertaining act of a black guy playing his saxophone yet also speaking gibberish. He was accompanied by a dancing Asian woman, and a white pianist, percussionist, and bassist. My dad later explained this was the jazz-scat genre, which consisted of vocal improvisation and utter nonsense and gibberish. The lead musician never stopped talking during the songs and in-between often going on about his wacky cousin Billie and catching a train. The Asian dancer at his side was just as entertaining with her very expressive renditions of the jitterbug and charlatan style. 

After a couple rounds and many songs from this band we continued to walk the entertaining Bourbon strip. My mom decided she wanted to hold a massive python snake for several minutes. She was having a good time and I could tell she really enjoyed New Orleans. We then decided to explore an alley which happened to be a salsa dance party. We danced for a little bit here then continued walking to the end of the strip. We watched the brass section play several songs in the streets and was cool to see the gathering they had as well as people dancing in the streets to their jiving music. The whole thing was such a surreal sight to see. It was as if we had entered a new domain that celebrated sin and pleasure, a real present day Sodom and Gomorrah. I had to laugh at the irony of it all and could not deny that I myself was having a good time. 

The next Saturday morning my dad and I got some breakfast off of Decatur Street at a spot called Toast. I had some very tasty French toast and bacon. After this we walked back to the French Market district where i bought some souvenirs. This included a t-shirt, magnet, and a mini alligator replica. My dad also bought a t-shirt. After this we went back to the hotel by around 10 and got a quick dip in the pool. Jackie and mom were able to cut out of their work schedule early and we planned to visit a plantation that day. We caught a bus from downtown, which took us on an hour drive to the Oak Alley Plantation, which was about 40 miles west of the city. The plantation is one of the more iconic sites near New Orleans, best known for the movie Interview with a Vampire. 

It was quite surreal to be at the site of a real slave plantation and we first got to tour the slave quarters. These were very small cabins that got even worse depending if the slave was a house slave or a field slave. We then got a 30-min tour of the mansion and the history of it's owners. Some of the furniture in the building was authentic items dated over 200 years old. The plantation was surrounded by beautiful massive Oak Trees that made for some very impressive alleyways. We spent about 2 hours touring the plantation and then got back on the bus to return home. 

I was pushing for a steamboat tour on the Mississippi river that evening but unfortunately the tickets sold out. However I did some more research and was able to discover about a hopping district known as Frenchmen street. I was also able to navigate us to the iconic fern buildings along Royal Street. The strip was nowhere near as busy as Bourbon street, and had a more artsy-hippie vibe to it. We got all the way to the end of the strip when we settled for some fried seafood at a bar joint. I was afraid the food would be unsatisfactory for my mom but we were actually very surprised by the experience. 

I ordered some incredible shrimp/crawfish bisque and alligator filet sandwich. My dad ordered some more gumbo with a crawfish pie. My mom ordered some very tasty gator balls and salad. And Jackie ordered a muffuletta. We all agreed it was the most tasty food of our trip. Mom, dad, and Jackie all ordered a Hurricane drink and I ordered a beer. It was a very good feast and I'm glad we were able to enjoy ourselves. After this we began barhopping. We first started at a blues bar where my dad bought us a round. The blues band was good but I thought they were too loud. Jackie and mom ordered some more Hurricane drinks which were extremely potent. We stayed for several songs then went on to the next place. 

I really wanted to drop in on some live French jazz, but unfortunately the place was at max capacity and we needed reservations. Jackie and mom decided to do some market shopping and bought some earrings. We then decided to walk back to Bourbon Street with drinks in our hands. On the way there my dad chatted up with a Dixieland band, and my mom had to move him along. We decided to take a break at the hotel real fast since it was a long walk but not for long. We then carried on to Bourbon street with intentions to return to Maison. We had all hoped we would see the same Scat Jazz performer but unfortunately it was a different group.

I bought us a round of drinks at the Maison Preservation Bar, and we had front row seats at the performers. The group this time was not the scat performer, but a fairly entertaining jazz band. They consisted of a lead singer/trumpeter, clarinetist, pianist, percussionist, and bassist. They were okay but I got the impression they were too chill and stoned out of their minds. We caught a few songs there then kept walking up-and-down Bourbon street. My dad was especially wasted at this point and wobbling in the streets. I think at one point he may of bumped into my mom and she fell on the ground. She was alright though. We watched the brass band again for a little bit but unfortunately they were missing some key players. 

I then led us on a mission to return to the European Jazz club we experienced on Thursday. The place was quite packed but luckily we were able to find some seats right at the front row. The band was very sharp and looked like a bunch of older school teachers or professors. I would wager to say this was the best live music we experienced all weekend. It was such a great environment, tightly packed with people enjoying sophisticated music. I was even bold enough to make a request, "Stomping at the Savoy". The reaction was great and warmly received by the musicians and they actually closed their set with my song request. I was so happy I gave them a standing ovation. 

After this we started to head home and I treated us all to a slice of pizza. I realized at this point tho that I had misplaced my debit card somewhere and had to cancel it. Nonetheless all was good and it was a very enjoyable night in New Orleans. My dad and I woke up early Sunday morning at 5am and caught an Uber to the airport. We were surprised to see as we drove by Bourbon Street, people were still out partying. We were both a little hungover that morning but made it to our gate with plenty of time. The drive home from Chicago wasn't all that bad, and we had some McDonalds for lunch. We made it back to Indy by around 4pm and I was very happy to be home again. It was yet another very memorably family trip.