New Orleans, LA America’s most interesting city is one of my favorite locations and I can’t wait to go back! There was literally so many things to do, but not enough time in the week that we stayed there. I still have a pamphlet of a tour that we put a deposit down on and didn’t make it because we were so busy! Good thing it was only a $10 deposit! I’ll probably hoard the pamphlet for a year, daydreaming of when ill get to us see the beautiful city again.
The place we stayed at we rented from Air bnb. (This was my second time using that website, and I already booked another vacation Oct 2018, to Tybee Island. ) Our location and price was perfect. About 15 minutes at most in between everything we visited. It was amazing because for a distance that should of took us 4 minutes to drive too, it took us about 20 minutes. That’s how busy the city was!
We volunteered to dog walk at Villalobos rescue center. It is the rescue center on Animal Planet (Pitbulls & Parolees). The times for dog walking are at 8 a.m., 230 p.m., and 7 p.m. We did the 7 p.m. one and got done around 9 p. m. There is no appointments necessary for dog walking, you just show up. For more information click here.
Molasses(on the left) and Thick( on the right) are the dogs we walked. They are the dogs in the very first episode of Pitbulls & Paroles. Both were very sweet dogs, who I wish I could of took home with me.
Bourbon street is insane!! It’s insanely busy! I don’t know if it’s called it already, but I felt like its the city that never sleeps. I honestly don’t think Bourbon street closes. There’s two bars called Paradise Isle on each end of bourbon street, and the same t-shirt shop next to it. Therefor you constantly think you’re going the right way when you see the store. Both ways down the road look the exact same! Paradise Island has a drink called “Shark Attack”, I highly recommend it!
I recommend doing tours of the city! There are always tons of them everywhere that can be booked! We did a 5 in 1 tour that met at a Voodoo shop by Bourbon street. During the tour we had a restroom break at Lafitte’s Blacksmith bar, which was built in 1761. The only electric lighting in the building was around the bar. The building was a blacksmith shop, but was said to hide the truth of the owner’s Jean Lafitte nefarious needs. Apparently there was a bar in it when he owned it, therefor making it one of the oldest bars in the Crescent City. Sometimes the cries from sobbing woman, or even haunting from Mr. Lafitte himself have been reported.
The Coyote Ugly bar that I hula Hooped at! 🙂
Parking is no joke there. Make sure you pay your meters! We got a boot because we were late getting there and we accidentally typed in the plate number wrong by one letter! So please pay for parking! Honesty, I’d recommend taking a Uber or the Trolly if possible.
Lafayette Cemetery is where some of the scenes from The Originals were filmed. We were unsuccessful at scooping out the exact locations though. The trip was still a success because the place was beautiful and I got a lot of great shots.
I did however get some cool photos of a black cat. Which we did encounter two all black cats during our stay in New Orleans. Once here in the cemetery, the other at the house we were staying at. It was only there for about a hour with us one night on the back porch. Can you spot the black cat in all the photos?
Royal Street was probably one of my favorites things we did. Bars everywhere had Jazz playing, and even in the streets people were playing Jazz. The Axeman, a seriel killer from 1919 who was never caught, always said he’d spare the lives of the people who played jazz from their homes. The American Horror story season three had the Axeman in the show.
While on Royal street go to beenie.bella.braids by Ms Lyn to get your hair braided or wrapped! I got a wrap! It is 19 inches long! I went on this trip at the beginning on November, and I still have my wrap. Still in perfect condition! 🙂 Royal street had artists galore. I think one of my favorite things about the city is the talent.
Also in the area, is the famous Cafe Du Monde. Great place to stop in and have a quick breakfast & coffee. All they serve is coffee and delicious beignets. Now You See Me, So Undercover, and Runaway Jury have all been filmed at Cafe Du Monde. It is also mentioned in the song ” The Wino and I Know,” by Jimmy Buffet.
The Audubon Zoo and Aquarium we got a Groupon deal, so make sure to check for that if you do decide to do it! The Zoo was not as huge as I expected. I am from the St. Louis Zoo that is free and GIGANTIC. I still think it’s good to go because it helps support the animals.
The Audubon Aquarium was definitely worth it! I got some fantastic shots as well! I was excited to see Dory and Calvin (Finding Nemo)! The Green Moray Eel was intriguing to watch.
Of course the one thing you almost have to do when you go to Louisiana is to go on a swamp tour! That is another thing we ended up finding a deal on groupon! Below is a photo of a graveyard from the New Orleans hurricane of 1915 that we saw on the tour. It was a catergory 4 hurricane that killed 275 peopled and caused 13 million (1915 US dollars) in damage.
New Orleans was a great escape. I recommend it for a bachelorette or bachlor party weekend, birthday celebration, or girls weekend. I think it does lean more towards on a party city, then for a family vacation. Hope this helps some people with their visit in NOLA!
Have you been to any of the places above? What was your favorite?
Hello Kaydee 