Even after all of my travels in my short life thus far, I say with confidence that New Orleans was one of the coolest, most culturally rich cities I’ve ever been to, particularly in the U.S. Our first good decision: deciding to visit the city for the first time during Jazz Fest. Besides the fact that the festival itself was such an awesome time, (i.e. seeing No Doubt perform “I’m Just A Girl” and letting our angsty inner teenager surface, or watching Sir Elton John perform “Tiny Dancer” as an airplane wrote “Hugs” in the sky, to name a few highlights…) the city was bustling with visitors far and wide all with the goal of enjoying an amazing music festival and taking in all of what this amazing city has to offer. Our next good decision: staying in an Airbnb on North Rampart Street, which is about a three minute walk to Frenchmen Street and a ten minute walk to the heart of the French Quarter. Having such a centrally located home-base provided a perfect launching pad for pretty much any activity we felt like doing. I highly recommend staying in the Marigny/Bywater area over the French Quarter, as Frenchmen and the whole district has more of an authentic feel.
Frenchmen Street: Prepare to be mesmerized by this street full of pure magical bliss. There’s a jazz/blues club every few feet, incredible food everywhere you turn, and street musicians at every corner. We wandered into Bamboula’s where we snacked on fried green tomatoes and shrimp, and a fried oyster Po Boy while listening to a killer blues band jam out. Although I highly recommend stopping in here, I’m pretty sure you can wander into any music club and eat amazing food and listen to amazing music. I didn’t end up stopping into the Spotted Cat, but heard it was a great place to check out some local music. There are also pockets of artists displaying their jewelry, art and other beautiful giftable items under string lights. I swear I could wander up and down this street for hours. I came back to this street during the day just to see what it would be like without the energy of the night, and although it was on the quiet side, I stumbled upon the Louisiana Music Factory where a local jazz band was playing a showcase. This is a well-known record store in the area that sells all of the music that this insanely talented city creates. It was a cool experience to listen to a live six-piece jazz band perform as I perused the store for records.
Bourbon Street: One bad decision: drinking their famous daiquiris and not refusing any jello shots all night…come to find out, that stuff is made with Everclear. Sugar+150 proof alcohol=no good. Learn from my mistakes and don’t be fooled by these delicious slushy treats, they’ll get you! Overall, my experience on Bourbon was nothing short than amazing. Danielle and I wandered down the street, deciding which bar we would stop in based on what song was playing as we walked by. We danced the night away and couldn’t have had more fun.
The French Quarter: Have I mentioned how gorgeous the city is? The architecture is so unique, with the many colorful creole cottages lining the streets. Walking the streets and observing all the old French/Caribbean style homes in itself is a “to do.” Just a few days prior, we were advised by a local to check out MRB Bar & Grill and try traditional style NOLA crawfish. As you can see from the image below, we took this advise very seriously.
Next we stopped at the one and only Cafe Du Monde for coffee and their infamous French beignets (deep friend French donuts). If you weren’t planning to stop here for a beignet and coffee, I kindly ask you to peek at the photo below and reconsider.
While wandering the French Quarter, we came across Jackson Square, a lively square full of street musicians, artists, and lots and lots of psychics. This beautiful square is a very historic part of the city, as this is where in 1803 Louisiana was declared United States Territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
Sadly, Danielle had to leave to catch a flight, but I had a few more hours before my time in NOLA came to an end, and for my last stop, I made my way to the French Market where I spent my time perusing the multiple stalls of clothing, jewelry, accessories, trinkets, art, and of course, lots and lots of food. I stopped to try alligator jerky, and was pleasantly surprised by how tasty it was.
And so another weekend trip came to an end, but it will certainly not be my last time visiting. New Orleans is a very special place; from the food, to the music and art to the fun nightlife, I will surely be back!
