New Orleans "The Big Easy"- Is Just That Easy.

Everyone should go to New Orleans at least once, the food, the music, the history, and of course the FUN! New Orleans is close enough that a long weekend is possible for most people living in the US. So why not make a long weekend out of it.  I learned from my last trip not to over pack so with a small roll on bag and good walking shoes I’m off to the airport for my flight. You have two options getting from the airport to the French Quarter. Taxi will cost you about $30.00 plus fuel surcharge and tip for one or two people.  The other is shuttle bus that is about $13.00 per person, the only problem with the shuttle, it will stop at everyone’s hotel along the way to your hotel.

I take a taxi because I want to get to my hotel without it taken too long. I’m staying in the Heart of the French Quarter just blocks from Jackson Square.  After getting settled into my room I’m out the door to see what the Quarter has to offer. I will soon find out there is too much to do I just a long weekend. My first stop is the casino hoping to hit that big jackpot what will set me for life.  An hour later lighter in the pockets I make my way to Jackson Square.  

Jackson Square is the heart of the French Quarter, walking around the square you can fell the pulse of the crowd. Around the square are locals doing their best to sell their goods. As I weaved my way thru the crowd I came upon a line of horse drawn buggies. As the horses waited for pull their passengers thru the quarter on a little sightseeing tour.  I couldn’t resist and climbed aboard, when the buggy was full the horse slowly pulled away for our tour thru history.  Creeping down the street the guide started their speech on the history of Jackson Square. The square was named after President Andrew Jackson after the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. As the buggy creaks down the streets our attention is pointed to this building and that street. Finally we pull up to the Corn Stalk Hotel, our guild tells the story behind the cast iron fence. Looking closely you can see corn stalks, the legend says a French doctor bought the house in the mid 1800’s and brought his young bride from Iowa to live here. So his bride would fell more at home he had the fence made to look like corn stalks.

With my Little Home on the Prairie experience behind me I turn my attention to Bourbon Street.  Bourbon Street is a closed off to cars so you are free to walk down the middle of the street and not have to worry about getting run over.  At night the area the street really gets going. People walking around drinking hand grenades and hurricanes from many shops along the street or from Pat O’Briens.  A big attraction is Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, this shop is a must see.  Marie Laveau is possible the most famous creole woman ever she is buried in Saint Louis Cemetery #1.  Walking down Bourbon Street you can hear Jazz and Blues coming from the many clubs that line the street.  Before the clock could strike midnight and I turn into a pumpkin I return to my hotel to get a good night sleep.

Because I hit the alarm clock snooze button a few too many times I’m running a little late to get to my sightseeing tour. I do make it in time, this morning we are heading to the San Francisco Plantation.  Making our way down the legendary river road, our bus pulls up to the plantation you can see at first glance why it is called the most opulent plantation house in North America. Before we leave the bus our guild reminds us what time we need to be back on the bus. I learned my lesson in London I will not be late. Our guild for the plantation is a charming older lady dressed in her best southern dress.  She takes no time in transporting us back to the golden age of the old south. The house was built in 1854 by a wealthy sugar planter.  We are guided thru several rooms pointing out one of the finest antique collections in the country.  The house is furnished to reflect the way it would look in its glorious heyday during the late 1850’s. At the end of the tour we told the sad news that when the levees were built they took out the plantations front yard and gardens. We had free time to explore the grounds before it was time to load up the bus and head back to New Orleans.

Returning back to the French Quarter early that afternoon, I was on a mission to find food. So I let my nose do the walking down Bourbon Street. It did take long before I was eating in one of the many restaurants that pack the street. I ordered a sample plate it came with a bowl of gumbo, with a plate of crawfish etouffee and jamabalaya. By the time I was through it was all I could do to walk the door of the restaurant. Walking down Bourbon Street its take your time and people watch. There is always the person who has had too much to drink, the one that has on their sunglasses even in the dark of night, or the girl in 5 inch high heels trying to walk down the street.

The next morning I’m up and heading off to Café Du Monde for biegnets. If you have never had biegnets let me tell you a little about them. They taste a little like a doughnut but they are square shaped without the hole and they are covered with powdered sugar. All of this sugar rush will get anyone’s morning started. With a few hours left before I have to head back to the airport I do some last minute shopping around Jackson Square and take a few more pictures. I have learned over the years take more pictures than you think you should. You can always delete them later but you can never go back and take that one that go away.