Part Deux of Laura and Jasna's Excellent Adventure!

For the last leg of mine and Jasna's trip, we decided to take the five and a half hour car ride to New Orleans and party it up. We were originally set to make a stop in Lake Charles to gamble a bit (my friend Kristi was going to meet us for our overnight in Lake Charles, but sadly, couldn't join us all the way in New Orleans) and take advantage of the resort at L'Auberge, but it ended down pouring the entire day we were supposed to be there. Luckily, I was able to cancel our reservation, and book an extra night in New Orleans.

Louisiana is one of the few states I actually don't mind driving through. The drive was a bit lengthy, but definitely not terrible. We kept ourselves occupied with impromptu sing-a-longs, boy gossip, and scenery. Speaking of scenery, for a good portion of the trek down I-10, the road is full of bayous and greenery (and, if you're lucky, a tiger!). Yep, you heard me correctly. Believe it or not, one of the gas stations located just west of Baton Rouge (home of the LSU Tigers) does house a real life tiger. I was so excited Tony was there, as the last time I had driven through Louisiana (back in September), the state had confiscated him.

Tony!

Moving on, it had been twelve years since I had been to New Orleans, and that was only for a half of a day (we took a cruise where that was one of our stops). Even when I was way under age, I enjoyed the city's atmosphere. I couldn't wait to go back when I WAS of age! I also can't believe it it took me nearly three and a half years of living only five and a half hours away, to finally make it over. 

Classic New Orleans balcony lit up in Mardi Gras colors

We arrived at our first hotel (the very cute and very "old New Orleans" hotel, Bienvielle House) of the weekend shortly after dinner time, so we took an hour or so to get settled and freshen up from our car ride before heading out to explore. Since we walked a very limited amount the first time I had been there, it was amazing to see how different the area was from what I remembered. We were so mesmerized by the French Quarter and surrounding area. I liked how they kept a lot of the old gas lamp street/house lights. It adds so much character and old world charm to the city! 

Gas lamp street lights

After walking around for nearly two hours, we decided to have our first taste of creole cuisine. We checked out a few different places, but ultimately decided upon Pere Antoine, located on Royal Street. Both Jasna and I decided to have po-boys for dinner (I had shrimp, Jasna catfish). They were fantastic, and we were delighted to be able to wash them down with Abita Strawberry lager (my all-time favorite beer!). Anyone who reads my blog knows how obsessed I am with any Abita beer, and could understand how thrilled I was when I saw it all over the city (like it was Budweiser or Miller)! 

Pere Antoine

When we finished eating, it was time to hit up Bourbon Street! I was the biggest dork, and compiled a list on my iPhone of different bars (which a majority are open until 3-5am) and drinks to try. Question was, where do we start? After a little walk down Bourbon, we decided to pop into Tropical Isle to get one of their Hand Grenades (which can be served on the rocks or frozen). Oh. Girl. I can definitely see why they are so popular! They hardly taste like alcohol, and are very delicious. Beware: they DO consist of pretty much just booze, so they are extremely potent. Both Jasna and I were feeling pretty tipsy by the time we finished those (I know, old ladies getting schwastey after one drink), so we decided to take it easy with a daiquiri - or so we thought. We didn't know which daiquiri shop to go to since there were so many, so in typical Laura and Jasna fashion, we chose based on the cute/creepy little Jester glasses from Jester Daqs. Next question was what flavor to get, so we went with the obvious choice - the house special (labelled "strongest drink in the world"). Neither of us thought too much of their "claim", as most places that say they have "the best this, or the strongest that" are completely bogus. Not the case here. Whoa!!!! Jasna and I went from 40 to 150 mph in a matter of minutes. These, too, went down quite easily. I couldn't believe it was so easy to drink Everclear (word on the street is that most signature "Bourbon Street" drinks include it as one of their ingredients)! After half a Jester, Jasna and I headed into a club called "Bourbon Heat", where the bouncer was nice enough to let us sit with our outside drinks (it was, after all, around 3:30am). We decided to finally call it a night around 4:30am, but happened to meet some cool friends randomly on our way back to the hotel. So, of course, we ended staying out an extra hour!

Bourbon Street

Tropical Isle Hand Grenade

Inside Tropical Isle

Tropical Isle

Jester Daiquiri 

After a good night of sleep (and shockingly, no hangovers), we were ready for our full day in the city. We decided to start with breakfast at Cafe du Monde, which is famous for its' beignets and cafe au laits. They were so good, even though we ended up in a big powder sugar mess! We decided to do a little shopping in the little one of a kind shops mainly on Chartres Street, and a few other random stores in that area after breakfast. There were so many cute, eclectic stores (why am I acting surprised?)! A few of my favorites were Hemline and Fleurty Girl (not on Chartes Street), as well as the vast array of antique shops (even though I have a tiny dislike for them, I can still appreciate their history). At Fleurty Girl, I ended up getting hooked on their signature super soft t-shirts, as well as a local headband brand, Haybands. I ended up buying two shirts (one with traditional Mardi Gras colors on a crown, and the other featuring the Hurricane drink), as well as a couple Haybands (followed by a plethora of other colors when I got home!). We hit the French Market after wrapping things up on on Chartres Street, which was the main thing I remember from my first trip there. You can find just about anything there - food, drinks, clothing, trinkets, flowers, decor, the list goes on! It's a great place to people watch and check out local vendors.

Cafe du Monde

Entrance to French Market

Jackson Square

Once we finished our shopping excursion, Jasna and I hopped into the car and took a drive to Uptown and the Garden District, to see what other parts of the city had to offer. We took Magazine Street over that way, and stumbled upon a ton of cute little shops, restaurants, and bars. After popping into a handful of little shops, we decided it was time to feed our faces again. After reading a few menus, we again chose creole - dining at Ignatius Eatery. Both Jasna and I feasted on red beans and rice, and all I have to say is yum! I've been hooked on red beans and rice ever since! We, of course, paired our red beans and rice with more Abita beer (since the plan was to go to the brewery, but you can only fit so much into a weekend). Upon finishing our dinner (way earlier than the previous day), we took a drive down St. Charles Street (one of the main streetcar lines, hello "A Streetcar Named Desire!"), and couldn't believe how many beads were still hanging in the trees from Mardi Gras! We lastly passed by one of the Garden District mansions used in American Horror Story: Coven, which was really cool since it was so heavily featured in the season.

Beads in the trees!

"Coven" mansion

Since it was our last night in New Orleans, we decided to do it up big and stay out super late again. To get mentally and physically prepared, Jasna and I napped for a half hour, and both polished off a Monster Ultra Blue (my daily life line). We were ready to party again! We headed back to Bourbon Street to begin our night at Pat O'Brien's for some real Hurricanes. MUCH better experience this time around. The bartender actually mixed our drinks, and they were fantastic! We even got the hurricane glasses we had missed in San Antonio!

Hurricane

Pat O'Brien's selfie

Balcony view

We headed back to Tropical Isle for another Hand Grenade after Pat O's, because we were in the mood for something sweet after our Hurricanes. We ended up at one of the other three locations (from what we gathered, was the original). We sat and people watched for a bit again, enjoyed another live band, and then it was on to the next bar. First, we made a pit stop - to pick me out a tutu!! I saw a number of girls with them throughout the course of our time there, and I thought it would be fun to get one and reminisce of my days as a ballerina! :) I picked out one in the traditional Mardi Gras colors, with glitter in it. I love it, and received tons of compliments! Jasna and I started to get hungry again, so we popped over to Willie's Chicken Shop, where we had chicken strips and daiquiris. I don't know if it was because we were tipsy or if the food was that good, but we thoroughly enjoyed our chicken (and the sauce is amazing!).  Once we polished off our food and daqs at Willie's, we trekked over to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, which happens to be the oldest bar in America (est. in the 1700s). Great way to end our night, and wonderful atmosphere.

For our last half day in New Orleans, we wanted to do brunch on a balcony. We were trying to pick a place with a cool view, so we ended up at Tableau, which is right off of Jackson Square. Jasna and I both went with mimosas and Croque Madames for our brunch. Everything was fantastic, and the view was so nice! I will definitely go back, maybe even for supper, since they offer a dinner menu as well.

Mimosas!

Jackson Square

Croque Madame

We took one last stroll around the French Quarter, went into a few more stores, then headed back to Houston. I must say, we had an amazing time in New Orleans, and I cannot wait to go back!

Bourbon during the day

Streetcar on Canal