The Big Easy

This past weekend, David and I headed to New Orleans, Louisiana! We took off on Thursday for a little vacation. As you can see, vino + Kindles = great start to our weekend! I am reading Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - and its so good!

There was a long list of things we wanted to do in NOLA - eating, eating, and more eating. But, we decided to be really adventurous and see some of the local attractions. A few years ago, I had the treat of spending Father's Day weekend in NOLA with my siblings and parents. We visited the aquarium and took a tour of the post-Katrina neighborhoods. In addition to the aquarium, the Audubon Nature Institute has a zoo and insectarium. David and I chose to explore the insectarium - hey, its a little different and is in the AC!

This is one of the hundreds of varieties of beetles housed there - this one lives under a Plexiglas topper in a table in the little cafe'! He's as long as a dollar bill! Yikes!
A stroll down Canal Street took us by Harrah's....
by the Natchez River boat...
And for a walk along the water.
That night, David and I had dinner at Brennen's. Its a years-old NOLA establishment, famous for its Cajun cuisine. Later, we stopped and had a drink at Dickie Brennen's Bourbon House.

There are tons of antiques shops along the streets of NOLA!
The lobby of our hotel - the Astor Crowne Plaza.
Friday began with Jazz brunch at The Court of Three Sisters - delicious! Afterward, a walk through the French Quarter...

There are a lot of voodoo shops! We took our time walking to visit the famous French Market!
On Friday night, we had dinner at Ralph's on the Park - owned by Ralph Brennen. Are you starting to see a trend? After dinner, we walked across the street from our hotel to the Red Fish Grill, owned by Ralph Brennen too.
On Saturday morning, bright and early, David and I were scooped up from our hotel and taken an hour outside of New Orleans to visit two of the antebellum plantations - Oak Alley and San Fransisco. If you're ever in the NOLA area, this is a must! Its just amazing to see these hundreds-years-old homes and to hear their interesting histories. We were able to learn a lot along the way and to see some of the other sugar cane plantation style homes.
The Mississippi River is across from the entrance to Oak Alley. This home has had many owners, and is now a venue for weddings, a B&B, and tours.
These trees are 300 years old!
Another visitor! He looks happy!

An old sugar cane pot used to boil the cane
The old kitchen and vegetable garden at Oak Alley
Can you imagine waking up in the mornings and looking toward the river down this majestic driveway?

Another plantation along the drive...
And another...
And another - this one has not been restored, obviously.


Our last stop was to visit the San Fransisco Plantation. It was amazing in its detailed architecture and colorful history!


The tour ended about 2pm, and we were starving. So, we had lunch at Dickie Brennen's Oyster House in our hotel - of course.

On Saturday night, we had the pleasure of meeting up with David's cousin Wesley, and his delightful fiance Christy. They were also in town for Christy's birthday, and she was a doll to let us celebrate with her. We had a drink with them at their fabulous hotel, International House, and then headed to Commander's Palace for dinner. CP is owned by Ella, Dottie, Dick and John Brennen. Who would have guessed?!? This family runs NOLA restaurants!
We were so glad to spend an evening with Wesley and Christy, and are thrilled for their wedding in Florida in December. Can't wait to celebrate the happy occasion with them!
We were sad to leave yesterday, but glad to head home. Before we taxied to the airport, we had jazz brunch at Mr. B's - run by Cindy Brennen!

Our hotel is a popular place to stay, and this is what the sidewalk looks like all the time - busy busy busy!