We were contacted by a very good friend of ours. We have known him since high school, and he was in our wedding party. He called to tell us his girlfriend accepted his marriage proposal. As a celebration they were going to New Orleans and they wanted us to go.
Tracy the person she is said yes and quickly made arrangements before I even knew about it.
Our original literary was to meet John and Stephanie Thursday night for dinner. Well it did not go as planned. Our flight was to leave at 2:55 and arrive at 4:50. While we were in the shuttle from the parking lot to terminal, we received a text the flight was delayed. It was delayed again telling us the plane was on its way. At 4:45 it was announced flight was cancelled and it never left Denver. We quickly headed to ticket counter to find the next flight to New Orleans. We were informed the next flight was not until Tuesday. Sigh
While waiting at the ticket line Tracy met a college student from Ohio that was to meet his girlfriend in New Orleans. Well you guessed it, we all loaded in my truck and off we were heading to New Orleans at 7 PM. We arrived at 3 AM bug eyed and ready for bed.
We stayed at Holiday in Express on St. Charles. Construction was completed in January, so the place was up to date and very clean. Staff was fantastic. We never had breakfast there because our friends were at another hotel a few blocks away. But each morning there was a crowd in the dining area and there were some great smells as we walked by.
Our first breakfast was at Mothers Restaurant .There was a long line when we arrived, but within 30 minutes we were placing our order. You order first, find a table, and the staff will deliver your food. This place was established in 1938 and they are known for their ham. Breakfast was great! Yes, the ham is awesome also. We enjoyed it so much we went a 2nd time.
We decided to spend the day at the WWII Museum . Once we purchased our tickets, we ran into Nick Mueller who is the founder of the museum. Was he full of information about the place! We were there for over five hours and I do not believe we saw half. The museum is divided into sections of the war. Europe, Germany, Japan, etc. Each section describes when and how it started in that area all the way to the end. We went through the aerospace section. Went up four floors to see the top of the planes. So much information on the Germany side. We also watched a 4D movie about the war. So much we did not know about the war.
Dinner time
We had reservations at Emeril’s Delmonico just around the corner from the hotel. /Quick shower and off we went. If I am understanding this correctly, Emeril purchased this place in 1997 and the building has been around since 1895. This restaurant is a place to go once or twice a year. I had Veal, Tracy and the rest had steak. Food was over the top. Our first trip to New Orleans many years ago we had Bananas Foster. I had to have it again. Our waiter was spot on with everything. When he found out we were celebrating the proposal, he brought champagne for all of us.
By the time we left, Tracy and I were exhausted from being without sleep and were hitting the food coma experience.
When we travel we usually ask hotel staff where they eat their meals. Where they would take someone out to dinner. 99% of the time it is a success. That morning Tracy asked and Willa Jean was suggested.
Don’t get this wrong, their food is very good. But it is not what we like. Willa Jean is what I call a foo foo place. For breakfast we like typical breakfast. We did order coffee and a pastry dish to share. Both were very good, but not for us common folk.
We decided on Street Car Café. Little gem within walking distance of everything. All of us had eggs with some type of meat. Most had grits, not me. I am a hash brown guy. We talked to our waitress about what to do around the place. She had a few suggestions. We mentioned a Beignet and she said they had the best in town. We just HAD to give it a try. I think it was just as good or better than Café Du Monde.
We decided to talk a tour through the Cemetery. While walking that direction we heard a very strange noise that lasted for about ten seconds. We found out after the cemetery tour it was the building that collapsed. I did not take pictures of the building out of respect because they were still pulling people out. Such a sad sight to see.
We learned a lot about the cemetery. The cemetery was quite large at one time. The pyramid at the entrance used to be the center of the cemetery. Did you know the tradition was to leave the crypt open for 24 hours after placing the body to make sure the person was really dead? At night a person would check to make sure each person. They called it the graveyard shift.
The crypts were not built because the sea level is so high like I believed. It was more about space surrounding the church. With the type of weather in New Orleans, the body decomposes extremely fast. Within a year most of the body is gone as well as the casket. The crypts are ten feet long. When it was time to place another person in the crypt, they would push the remains to the back. At the back there was is a hole and the remains would fall to the ground. And that is where you get the term, won’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.
We spent the rest of the day walking around the French Quarter. We watched street performers that were all over the place. We found the market which looks like it used to be the train station. I bet Tracy and Stephanie went into 20 stores. John and I just tagged along.
Our last lunch was at The original Pierre Masperos . Our waitress was Mary was incredible. She was a ton of fun. She said she had been there for 16 years.
There is so much to do around New Orleans. We did not get a chance to ride the trolley car which travels all over town. There are cooking schools that we found at the end of our last day. The architecture is very interesting. I was told the Omni Hotel is the highest point. You can go to the top floor and look into the surrounding buildings and see their squares. You see, the buildings are built backwards. Because crime was so high back then, they build the homes and building facing in. You see the back side of the buildings walking around. Inside the square, some are extremely ornate.
New Orleans was a great experience. So much history. So much to see. We do plan on going back. And this trip we didn’t even get a chance to experience the night life!