Saturday, October 29, 2011

Drury Inn and Suites New Orleans


The Drury Inn & Suites in New Orleans was an absolute pleasure to stay in.  Located on Poydras Street, it is quite close to the French Quarter, Museums and the Riverfront so that you can easily walk to all of these attractions.  However, it is in a very quiet area making it a peaceful getaway from some of the noisier areas of the city.

The hotel's lobby is quite pleasing when you walk in, and the rooms are clean, spacious and comfortable.  The staff was extremely friendly and the room rate comes with a free hot breakfast daily, in addition to a free "happy hour" with free alcohol every night from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM, that also includes some basic foods such as hot dogs, potatoes, mac & cheese, corn chips and chicken tenders. They offer free wi-fi and have a rooftop whirlpool and swimming pool.

Their rates were also very reasonable, especially compared to other hotels in New Orleans.  We'd highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting the city.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Audubon Aquarium of the Americas



On a hot day, rainy day, or even a pleasant day when you just want to get out of the unrelenting New Orleans sun, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas on the riverfront is a perfect location.

On the weekends, the destination can get packed full of families, however, but the tanks are large enough that you mostly won't notice them.

Sharks, sting rays, fishes of all shapes and sizes, sea horses and even penguins fill this Aquarium along the waterfront. The sea horse exhibit is beautifully done, tanks filled with both sea horses and magnificent fish of all colors.

There are two exhibits that the kiddos love, the otters and the penguins. Both the otters and the penguins were evacuated before Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and thusly saved.

The aquarium also has an IMAX theatre that shows educational films that you can purchase with your aquarium ticket, and regular, box office movies, as well. If the line for aquarium tickets is long, head into the IMAX ticket lobby, where you can purchase tickets into the aquarium from their air conditioned lobby with very little waiting.


Thursday, October 27, 2011

The American Sector Restaurant


It's rare to find a good restaurant inside a museum, much less a restaurant by a celebrity chef with good food at good prices, where you need to make a reservation, unless you don't mind sitting at the bar.

But that's exactly what you'll find at The American Sector, a restaurant within New Orleans' National World War II Museum.

The American Sector is a John Besh restaurant, a local who has opened a number of restaurants in New Orleans, and has been featured a number of times on the Food Network.

The American Sector takes American classics, from today and from the 1940's and gives them a southern, John Besh spin.

We tried the Perfect Pig Po'Boy, ham, shoulder and belly, with pickled veggies. Its a huge sandwich, so come hungry! However, our first bite into the sammie was right into a super fatty piece of the belly, not a super appetizing way to start a meal, and that chewy sensation stuck with us through the rest of the meal.


We also tried the local corned beef sandwich on rye bread, which was perfect. The corned beef was tender and cooked perfectly, with a cheese that complemented the beef without taking anything away from it. There was also a sauce on the sandwich that had us begging for more. (Seriously, I kept biting where there looked to be more sauce because I wanted as much of it as possible it was so good!)

Each entree was served with house made chips, which were delectable, and served in tin cans lined with newsprint. Very fitting!

During our meal, one of the waiters announced to the diners gathered that we had a WWII veteran joining them for lunch, which was a nice touch, both that they announced his presence and that he was there.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Cemetery/Voodoo Tour


New Orleans is known for their unique above-ground cemeteries, which were designed to be this way due to the massive amounts of flooding the city gets.  We took a tour through the St. Louis Cemetery #1 with the group Historic New Orleans Tours.  The group met up at the Cafe Beignet on Royal Street and were given a brief history of New Orleans during the walk to the cemetery.

Once we reached the cemetery, the tour guide gave us a good overview of the cemetery's history and then showed us numerous specific graves and gave us the history behind them.  This included the grave of Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo Priestess from the 19th century, which unfortunately had graffiti on it despite being re-painted only weeks earlier.

Another interesting grave was a pyramid shaped one (shown below) that is owned by Nicolas Cage to use as a burial spot for him and his family. It is symbolic of his American Treasure movies and the only gave that is not square.


After the cemetery tour, we were allowed to stop in at a gas station to get water and use the restroom. From there, we were taken to an Mardi Gras Indian gallery, which showed us beautiful Mardi Gras Indian costumes, that each take over a year to make.  This is a very niche part of Mardi Gras that only some people of African descent practice and it makes it all the more intriguing.


From there, we went to a Voodoo temple to hear the Priestess speak and give "words of wisdom".  This portion wasn't very interesting or entertaining as she was really just babbling on.  However, getting to view her voodoo temple was at least something unique to see.


The tour was supposed to last 2 hours, but went to over 2 and a half hours, so be aware that this may occur if you're planning things for later in the day.  Overall, for $20/person, it was well worth it.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World


Mardi Gras. Its a celebration that needs no introduction or explanation. But have you ever thought about where all of those beautiful floats are designed and created?

Look no further than Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World in the Central Business District of New Orleans. Mardi Gras World is one of Blaine Kern's many warehouses of spare Mardi Gras props.


Your tour begins in a room with a small selection of float props and some donated Mardi Gras costumes guests can try on and take photos in and with for great photo memories. Before your tour begins, you'll enjoy some King Cake, a traditional cinnamon roll style cake eaten during carnival in New Orleans.

Then head out into the warehouse and see what's going on! We were lucky enough to watch as a designer worked on a candelabra for a 2012 Mardi Gras float. You'll also see familiar characters as Blaine Kern's works with Disney, Universal, Chick-fil-a and other famous brands.

While Mardi Gras World isn't a far walk from the French Quarter, located just beyond the Convention Center, you can catch the free shuttle that will pick you up from Convention Center Blvd. in front of Harrah's.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Pearl River Eco Tours


When most people visit New Orleans, they never leave the city, which is a shame.  The state of Louisiana has much to offer, including amazing swamps.  We decided to do a Swamp Tour through Historic New Orleans Tours.

They picked us up in a central location on Decatur Street in the French Quarter in a nice van and during the 30 minute drive to the swamp, gave us a nice history of the city and what we saw during the drive, including a focus on Katrina's recovery and Lake Ponchatrain.  The driver was very courteous and friendly throughout.

We arrived at our destination, the Pearl River Eco-Tour company, where we boarded a pontoon boat with about 20 other people and went through the Pearl River in this swamp.  We got to see numerous alligators in their natural habitat and got to watch them eat as well.  In addition we saw various beautiful species of birds, raccoons and interesting, unique plant life.

Beyond the wildlife, we also got to see homes where people live from the river that are only reachable by boat.  This was a very unique look into how these "swamp folk" live.  We also got to see some houses and boats that were destroyed by the devastation of Katrina.

After the tour, our van took us straight to our hotel in New Orleans to finish off a fantastic afternoon.  For $49/person, this was an excellent tour and we'd highly recommend it to everyone!



Sunday, October 23, 2011

Steamboat Natchez


The Steamboat Natchez is the only true steamboat left in New Orleans for passengers to take a cruise on.  The cruise leaves from the Riverfront area of New Orleans for an approximately 1-mile trip north of the port. They run multiple cruises throughout the day, but we decided to take the night time dinner cruise.  During this cruise, you have two options for the time to eat dinner.  You can eat at either 6 PM while the ship is still docked, or at 7:15 PM while the ship is at sail.  We opted for the early dinner to allow us to enjoy the actual cruise more.  The dinner food was decent, but nothing special.


During the cruise, you get a nice view of the New Orleans skyline from the Mississippi River.  In addition, you get to enjoy the music of Dukes of Dixieland, who were phenomenal.  This is a great way to experience New Orleans' Jazz and River history all in one.