It was a journey….. A journey across four states in 5 days. I’ve called it the Grand Road trip for it was precisely that. Day 1 my roommate and I spent the night in Georgia. Day 2 was Alabama (which is my last post), Day 3 was Mississipi and then we arrived in New Orleans later that afternoon. I’ve already posted about the Little River Canyon in Alabama and will eventually post a tidbit on Biloxi Mississipi, but I feel compelled to share our journey in New Orleans next.
We were very conscious when it came to our spending on the trip. First off, we split the cost of gas and rooms so in all (after souvenirs) it came to about $300 for a 5 day excursion. Tip number one would be to check out Air bnb. Our nightly stays, came to about $50 and then we split that in half even further reducing our price. We were quite pleased with our hosts and their overall friendliness. You can look over reviews from past visitors before making the final decision of your host home.
The other bit of advice would be use public trasit. We used an app that allowed us to to track where we needed to get off at and when we need to change trollies or buses to reach our final destiation. I would recommend getting a Jazzy pass if you plan on stay 2 or more days. It eliminates the need for carrying extra change and will save you some cash. Finding parking is a pain, so I highly recommend taking this route.
What I really loved about New Orleans was the architecture, the food, and the Jazz. Here is a snap shot from us entering the French Quarter.
There were plenty of carriage rides offered. In my personal opinion, one of the most fun parts, was taking a bus tour. We got to hear about the culture and history. We passed Sandra Bullock’s home and Robert Mannings home which was pretty thrilling. We heard about the houses that had their own horror stories. We listened to Jazz music on the bus. We then went and got New Orleans famous Beignets.
Beignet recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/french-quarter-beignets-recipe-2014039
Here is a view from our entrance into the Jackson Square.
I really enjoyed getting to see a show taking place near the street.
In addition to the various sites, we got to learn first hand the story behind the canals that failed in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina.
I highly recommend visiting the Presbytere museum in Jackson Square. It explains and gives live footage of what was experienced during hurricane Katrina. Admission is $6 and worth every penny. When we went, the upstairs was dedicated to Marti Gras. http://louisianastatemuseum.org/museums/the-presbytere/
We got to take a tour of a local cemetery and believe it or not cemeteries are a major attraction in New Orleans.
An additional attraction we came across was the Lou Armstrong park. It was dedicated to Lou Armstrong who was one of the most influential of men in the Jazz movement. http://www.neworleansonline.com/directory/location.php?locationID=1341
I hope you enjoyed this tour of New Orleans! It so happened that they were celebrating their 300th anniversary while we were there. Next month, I will write up an entry on the food in New Orleans which I must say was one of my favorite parts.
