As soon as we arrived in NOLA, honestly, I had doubts. Definitely the city underwent major changes post-Katrina. Have I built it up so much in my head for all these years only to be disappointed? Will Von enjoy it as much as I did 15 years ago? As soon as we started walking around the French Quarter, all the wonderful memories from my 21st birthday came back to me and soon found myself in love with the same city, and with the man that I love to boot. 5 things to love about NOLA: While there are too many things to love about the city, I will try to list down my top 5: 1. Glorious, glorious food! As soon as we had checked-in at our hotel, our first order of business was Café Du Monde along Decatur Street. I waited 15 years to try their Beignets and Café Au Lait again, and I couldn’t wait for another hour. What can I say. Extreme happiness. We arrived there just before lunch and naturally, had to wait in line for no more than 30 minutes. Many people say it’s a tourist trap because of the long lines, but for good reason. Counting all the beignets we ate throughout the duration of our trip, including Café Du Monde's competitor, Cafe Beignet, we had a grand total of 18. Seriously, I thought we ate too much beignets that time. But as soon as we left, I regretted not eating more. Hmm... I wonder if there’s any place in NOLA that sells bad beignets. NOLA is also the home of world-famous Creole cuisine and although I’m not a fan of Gumbo and spicy foods, I did enjoy other NOLA favourites like po'boys and awesome seafood dishes. We decided to try Deanie’s Seafood Restaurant, just across our hotel Courtyard Inn by Marriott at Iberville in the French Quarter, and everything we ate was yummy! Softshell Crab Po'Boy and Barbecue Seafood Pasta - yummy! If you're a fan of the movie Chef, you would know that NOLA is one of the cities mentioned in the movie with a great food scene. It really is! 2. Ghost Tours Being an old city in the US, New Orleans has seen its fair share of tragedies such as massive fires, Yellow fever epidemic in the 1800s, and most recently, Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Along with its history of being populated with convicts and pirates upon its establishment, no wonder it is considered the most Haunted City in America. But this is also the reason why tourists flock to this charming city. The thrill of joining Ghost tours, visiting old cemeteries, and staying in haunted hotels. Eek! While we passed up on visiting a cemetery, and we're too scared to stay in a haunted hotel (I had to cancel a couple of hotel reservations after reading reviews about ghostly sightings!), we couldn't pass up on joining a Nightly Ghost Tour. I joined a Ghost Tour during my first visit but it was still thrilling to join one this time as it was also Von's first time. Some of the stories were also new to me and definitely gave us the creeps! The most famous haunted house in the French Quarter - the LaLaurie Mansion, the home of some of the most atrocious stories about slavery and torture; The house of Jacques St. Germain - the legendary New Orleans vampire - the house that inspired Anne Rice to write about Lestat. To add to the city's charm, we also visited a few days before Halloween so the spooky decorations were in hyper mode. * * * Read: Last part of our New Orleans trip. For more pictures from our trip, do check out our US Gallery. Enjoy!
2 Comments
Teresita cayetano quibral
5/28/2019 07:22:15 pm
In love w NOLA all over again
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Raina
5/31/2019 10:27:40 pm
So nice to go there again, Mommy and bring the kids naman! Despite being a party city, I’m surprised there are a lot of family-oriented and child-friendly activities. :)
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