The wonderfully made, Cajun cookin’, Bourbon bouncing city of New Orleans
So I could probably write pages about how much I love and appreciate New Orleans, but there just isn’t time in the day to do so. I love New Orleans so much I am scheduled for my fourth visit there this August and have told my mother I’m almost sure I want to get married there (she’s not really loving this idea, but she’ll come around).
It’s the number one place I recommend to people to visit and if they have gotten the pleasure of seeing it then I relish swapping stories over the magic of this city. I always wish I could have visited NOLA (yes I’m a tourist who will scream this on my venture there, while I’m there, and when I reference it in conversation) before Hurricane Katrina mulled it over and made it what we know today. Hurricane Katrina’s impact on the city was so massive it’s still in recovery long after the financiers and media have taken the city and its refugees out of the spotlight. You can see the water line on many of the buildings and even neighborhoods that never fully were rebuilt and instead had to pick up and go elsewhere. I wish I could have seen pre-Katrina because if it was anything more marvelous than the New Orleans I’ve come to enjoy for vacation these past few years, then it was pretty spectacular.
Each visit to New Orleans has been different ranging from my company to the occasion so needless to say each visit has been different. You might think that with so many visits things could be boring or dull, but in actuality it’s just the opposite. For example: my first visit there was for my sorority conference and I was there for 4nights/5days (my longest trip yet) and I remember just being in awe of the city. We did a two-hour double decker bus tour, danced in Louis Armstrong Park, learned that no one wears heels on Bourbon Street, discovered the magic of Hand Grenades and the importance of drinking water in a city whose humidity makes you want to walk around stark naked.
My second trip was much shorter and it was rainy. Rainy, wet, and humid is just torture, but we went on a swamp tour. I HELD A BABY ALLIGATOR. I stayed with 2 friends and a guy in a small hotel courtesy of Groupon and learned despite my reservations that no 3 people in a bed doesn’t work. The last time I was in NOLA to celebrate my 25th birthday which was very memorable and special since I put five of my best friends together. The shenanigans of Bourbon Street, The Coven House (American Horror Story), Air BnB, Absinthe, and new restaurants made it such a crazy experience. No matter how many times I go fun, food, and booze are pretty much the staples of the trip while I bask in the ambience of the city.
New Orleans is so beautiful from the decadent buildings that are painted like cream puffs to seafood so good you don’t care that you will inevitably bloat from the salt intake the next morning. The French Market that is bustling and busy with every tourist trinket you can think of but boast amazing little sit down eateries with locals and conversation you just can’t beat. Even though I’ve been so many times there’s about a billion things I have not done yet like: Go on a plantation tour, visit a museum, see the Uptown neighborhood, go to an authentic crawfish boil (these are seasonal), and the list goes on and on. New Orleans is music, culture and life that goes far beyond the party and peril of the infamous Bourbon Street. If you want to be immersed in a city that is going to welcome you with open arms to all things N’awlins, then this is the place to go.
