New Orleans, Louisiana

As we headed towards New Orleans we hit some really cold weather.  At one point the front of the RV actually had a sheet of ice above the windscreen as the rain froze on contact.  This was quite a contrast to the weather we had had only a few weeks ago in beautiful Mexico.  In fact I think it was the first rain we'd seen in about 6 weeks!

We had managed to secure two nights in a prime RV park which was very convenient for the French Quarter of New Orleans.  The French Quarter is a popular and very touristy area of the city, with beautiful old buildings and ornate architecture.

We wrapped up warm and headed out early evening onto the icy cold, but surprisingly lively streets.  So many shops, galleries, bars and restaurants to choose from!  With hungry bellies we searched out a nice looking restaurant.  Busy is always a good sign in my experience, but the theory didn't quite hold up on this occasion!

There were only a few free tables left and the front of house led us only a few steps inside the doorway, to a table in quite close proximity to a guy that was sitting on his own.  I sat closest to him with my back to him.  We ordered some drinks; their special cocktail of the day, an interesting warm cinnamon spiced rum – that certainly warmed me up!

We ordered from a set menu – starters and mains, including a couple of versions of Gumbo, a New Orleans signature dish.  The guy behind us had started coughing a little.  He seemed a popular fellow with the all the staff and we overheard several members of staff greet him like a long lost friend.

He started to cough a little more and someone brought him a drink and gave him some free food.  Unfortunately by the time my main meal arrived, he was coughing his guts up and the sound of all his snotty phlegm being sucked up and down his throat was enough to paralyze me whilst I dry heaved into my napkin with watery eyes.

Wow, that was a meal out never to be forgotten for all the wrong reasons.  I knew we had made a mistake when we passed up on dining in another restaurant that came highly recommended on TripAdvisor as a “must-do”.

For one reason or another we had had a pretty shitty day, and the whole gagging experience was just the icing on the cake!  We left the restaurant, took a few photos and headed back to the RV park to chill in the hot tub.  Tomorrow would be a better day!

We woke to a chilly but sunny clear day and headed out to explore the city and take a walk along the Mississippi river.  First things first, yes you guessed it, more food was required!   It was heading towards lunch time, and I had scoped out another Man Vs. Food venue.

"Mother’s" is a café primarily serving "Po-Boys", a generously-filled Louisiana variety of sandwich served on French bread and dipped in gravy.  Adam had their signature dish, a meat filled Po-Boy with ham and beef, and I ordered a chicken salad.  The chicken salad had no less than a full lettuce at the bottom, and a mountain of tender grilled chicken breast on top.

After I had been eating for about 10 minutes, my plate was only just starting to look like it had a normal portion on it!  But we battled on valiantly, and finished the lot like the conscientious hard working people we are.

Next we walked on to the Garden District, New Orleans' historic neighbourhood. Originally this area was a plantation that was divided into lots and sold.  It was developed in the mid 1800s, offering luxurious homes and gardens to the rising mercantile elite.  It's reminiscent of the King William Historic District we had visited days before in San Antonio and quite a contrast to the stacked townhouses of the French Quarter.

Anybody watch "American Horror Story - Coven"?  We walked past the house who's frontage is portrayed as the witches' house.  These houses are just stunning!  The Lafayette Cemetery was also reminiscent of the graveyard scenes in the programme too.

We had walked our little legs off by the time we got back to the French Quarter, so obviously the only way to ease that is with a drink!  We hit a lively bar around 4pm with happy hour deals going on, everyone in there from age 18-70 seemed to be downing beers and shots and singing with the DJ.  We soon got into the spirit of things after getting chatting to a girl in her early 20’s who had just got a job going round the bar all night and selling shots (and being allowed to get pissed whilst she did it).  She was obviously good at her job because 10 minutes later we were buying overpriced bright blue test tubes off her, that weren’t even the volume of a 25ml regular shot. 

Later we staggered off towards the upmarket and recommended Court Of Two Sisters restaurant that we had regrettably taken a pass on the previous evening.  The food and service was awesome, and they had a gorgeous open fire which suited me just fine!

After our fabulous meal we hit the bars again, drawn in by the talented live bands in several venues.  There wasn't really much authentic southern soul being sung.  They were mainly singing well-known classic upbeat songs (Bon Jovi, Journey, etc).  I love the fact that there was no admission price on the door and you could wander from venue to venue and enjoy all their music!  I was certainly in the party mood and probably had a few too many drinks….that’s just what happens when you give me shots at 5pm!

We had planned to see some more of the city the following day, but unfortunately my head wasn't in the mood!  New Orleans is the kind of place where you can spend all day wandering different streets and avenues, fascinated by the unique houses and shops, then stay out all night afterwards and party your ass off - even on a Thursday night!  I can only begin to imagine what it’s like for the Mardi Gras!  Awesome :)