New Orleans

I am an Indian born female currently residing in the US. Although, I have traveled many places including Canada and South Africa, this is my first attempt to write a travel blog. I decided to write my own blog because every time I plan a travel, I face the same problems; where to live, what to see etc etc. I do not claim to be an expert but hope I can help like minded travelers by sharing my experiences.

Before I start narrating my stories, just a quick disclaimer that I am not receiving any monetary benefits for the vacation rentals or other places I would be listing in my blog. They are listed here purely for informational purpose because I did stay and visit these places.

I went to New Orleans with my husband in January 2014. the first problem, as always, was where to stay. I am a vegetarian and like to cook my own meals with selective outside eating (if there are local vegetarian options available). Hence, we avoid booking hotels and motels and always book a vacation rental to have access to a kitchen. We stayed in a vacation home only a couple of blocks from French Quarter (heart of New Orleans). Following is the link to the place where we stayed.

http://www.vrbo.com/336501#

The vacation home was exactly as depicted in the pictures, very clean and only a few blocks from the French Quarter. It also had a kitchen which is my first priority with any vacation rental. It had two bedrooms and 1 bathroom, ideal for up to 4 people. Although, we had rented a car because we wanted the flexibility, French Quarter is at a walking distance for fit people and a short taxi ride away if you have trouble walking.

The owner of this place is extremely nice and kind. Keep reading the blog to know more about his kindness.

The first 2 days my husband and I walked to the French Quarters and explored the beauty and history of New Orleans. It is so different from any other state I have visited in the US. There were so many Jazz players playing on the street, numerous art galleries, carefree tourists milling in and out of craft shops and the whole experience was just out of the world.

French Quarter

Street Jazz

We never plan the sight seeing in advance and, hence, did not know what to do for the remaining days. As we were researching, we found out about the numerous plantations in Louisiana. Once we decided to visit the plantations, our dilemma shifted to which one, as there are so many of them. After much research on the internet, scouring numerous blogs, we decided to visit two of them; Nottoway Plantation and Laura Plantation.

1) Nottoway Plantation: It is a beautiful plantation with amazing gardens. We loved the guided tour as it explained the history and the fine points of architecture which you otherwise wouldn't know to notice. The guide was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable and entertained questions from the audience about the plantation.

http://www.nottoway.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottoway_Plantation

Nottoway Plantation Home

2) Laura Plantation: It was different because it was a Creole plantation with very different architecture and history. We took a guided tour on this one as well. The female guide knew the plantation very well and had a very witty and humorous way of story telling. Unfortunately, because I am writing this almost after 6 months, I do not remember the names of the guides.

http://www.lauraplantation.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Plantation

Laura Plantation

After we had checked the plantations off the list, we were wondering what to do with our remaining days. As my husband was surfing the internet, he came across the website of free walking tours on foot. They cover many cities and New Orleans is one of them. We decided to take the tour. The tours are really free and the guides earn money on the tips they receive after the tour is over.

As we took the tour, we realized there was so much we had missed and did not explore when we walked through the French Quarter on the first 2 days. I was extremely disappointed with myself. We had one more day left and we decided to cover all the places we learnt about during the walking tour. Some of the places we had originally missed were the Cabildo, apothecary museum, the cemetery, the church etc.

I certainly recommend taking the free walking tours because it would really help you understand French Quarters. Our guide was Joanne who is of Australian descent but has made New Orleans her home.

http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/new-orleans-tours/

We also did a free walking tour of the St. Louis Cemetery where we saw Nicholas Cage's pyramid shaped tomb to be used in the future besides other historic tombs.

Nicholas Cage's Future Tomb

As luck would have it, there was a snow storm in New Jersey the next day and our flight was cancelled. To my pleasant surprise, we got 1.5 additional days to cover what we had missed in New Orleans. Sure, we had to take an extra day off from office but, hey who cares, a day in New Orleans is better than my dreary office in New York. This is where our host's kindness came into picture. He was so nice and gave us a day's extension in one of his other homes when he heard about our flight being cancelled.

As far as the local cuisine goes, meat eaters will find lot of variety. I was lucky I got to eat the vegetarian Jambalaya. We loved Cafe Du Monde which is the most popular cafe in New Orleans. NOLA was slightly chilly in January and a cup of chicory coffee and hot Beignets at Cafe Du Monde were the absolute best thing you could do. We went there 4 times during our whole trip and the best thing is it is open 24 hours.

Cafe Du Monde

For drinks there are plenty of places on the Bourbon street. We really liked Pat O' Brien and their hurricane drink. They also let you keep the big stylish glass (in which you had your drink) as a souvenir.

Pat O' Brien

Finally, it was time for us to come back but not without the promise to return someday in the future.

Thanks for reading my blog and if my reviews and experiences helped you during your travel, then please do not forget to comment.