Sometimes you just need a break! One of the great things about living in Birmingham, Alabama is the sheer number of options if you're in the mood for a road trip! Whatever you're in the mood for - mountains, beach, country, music, shopping - you can take an easy road trip and have a fun weekend excursion.
Earlier this year, we headed south for a Big Easy N'awlins Adventure. We left Birmingham around lunch, stopped for a few breaks along the way, and pulled into the French Quarter around 6 pm. Just enough time to settle into the hotel and do some exploring!
We took advantage of the light crowd and took a stroll down Bourbon Street. We wanted to get a glimpse of the revelry before it got too crazy later on. This was one of the only times we walked directly on Bourbon Street - if your destination is in the French Quarter, you can take any of the parallel streets and get where you're going without as many crowds, noise, or smells.
One of the oldest and best (and relatively cheap) experiences is right off one of those side streets - Preservation Hall. Every night there is a show at 8, 9 and 10 pm. General Admission tickets are $15-20, and you stand in line before the show to get the first come, first serve seats. Sometimes they have guest superstars who make surprise appearances, but the house band is so funky-jazz-cool, you won't be disappointed if it's just their "regular" show.
The next day, we hopped the St. Charles Streetcar to the Garden District!
We hopped off at Jackson Avenue and worked our way through the jasmine-lined streets. The smells were incredible - magnolia, jasmine, honeysuckle... everything seemed to be blooming!
It was beautiful, and later on our tour, we learned a tidbit that explained why it was necessary for the "garden" district to have such aromatic flowers. because of its close proximity to the river, the district backed up to the area where the stockyards were. The flowers helped to cover the other smells that tended to float up-wind!
We arrived at our first stop of the day: District Donuts Sliders Brew on Magazine Street, where I quickly scanned the menu... even though the donuts looked INCREDIBLE, I decided to go with the Miso Praline Bacon Biscuit. As you can see, it did not disappoint.
We were led to this breakfast spot because it was the starting point for our Garden District Grandeur tour with Two Chicks Walking Tours. Our fabulous guide, Christine, led us through the streets and entertained us with historical tidbits and insider info about New Orleans. We really lucked out, because there was only one other couple on the tour, so we got to ask LOTS of questions.
- The fabulous Christine - with a jasmine-lined wall in the background.
- The Buckner Mansion - American Horror Story fans may recognize it as "Mrs. Robichaux's Academy"
- Wrought-iron "corn stalk" fence design
- A stop in Lafayette Cemetery
Afternoons in New Orleans tend to include a passing shower, especially in the summertime. If you get caught without an umbrella in the Garden District, you can take weave in and out from under the awnings of the shops on Magazine...
... or if you've already started walking back toward St. Charles, you may have to take shelter under a big Magnolia tree!
After the afternoon shower, we headed back to the River Walk, just in time to see a big ship rolling into the docks...
- The soldiers lined up on the deck had a pretty nice view of the Crescent City!
We were lucky to be in New Orleans during Navy Week! Every year, ships come in to dock and are open for public tours. It was amazing to see these big ships up close - and to see all the crew lined up on the deck as they rolled into town!
- USS Cole gangplank - we had a guided tour led by one of the crew!
We spent the next day playing tourist in the French Quarter. Royal and Decatur Streets are full of antique shops and boutiques, so we worked our way through the shops and walked through Jackson Square.
We stopped by the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen, thanks to a recommendation list from our friends Randy and Jamie (they are honorary New Orleans residents, they visit so often). It's a great spot for lunch and right next to the French Market, so you can work off those calories while exploring the vendors and picking up some great souvenirs.
- Roasted Chicken Pizza - delish!
The afternoon monsoon sent us in search of shelter - but we aimed for a tiny shop that had been on our "to do" list: Faulkner House Books. William Faulkner lived in the house, but the store is so small, you feel like your hanging out in his personal library!
- Faulkner House Books - New Orleans French Quarter
After one final walk through the quarter...
- The sun finally made an appearance, just in time to set!
We decided to splurge a bit for our final night! We went back to the Garden District to the famous Commander's Palace for dinner. It was originally by Emile Commander as a wedding gift for his daughter; however, she never married, and now it's a gift for all of us, a world-famous-award-winning restaurant.
- Dinner and color-coordination at the Commander's Palace!
After dinner, we headed back toward the quarter, to hear my friend Stuart McNair. He lives in New Orleans now, and was playing with the Royal Street Windin' Boys at Sbisa's - a funky little dive bar near the French Market.
It was a fun way to close out our stay in the Big Easy - good food, remembering the past, supporting local art and music - laissez les bons temps rouler, indeed!
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