New Orleans
- slyeabby
- Apr 19, 2025
- 6 min read
In Mr. White's 9th grade english class, Katie and I scrolled eagerly on an art site to find stickers to adorn our new chromebooks with. I don't know how we happened on a sticker-sized travel poster for New Orleans, Louisiana. I don't know why we bought them. But in that moment, we decided that some day we were going there together.
Nine years later, we made it.
After leaving the River Place, I hopped on i-10 and began the trip to NOLA. Coincidentally, my cousin was on her spring break in Gulf Shores, Alabama at the time so I got to crash her trip for a night along the way. We were right on the coast. It was beautiful. I loved seeing Emily with her people, in her element (that girl loves the sun).
Late the next day, Katie and I met in New Orleans. The day after that, we started exploring.
Our first stop was the Steamboat Natchez for a jazz brunch cruise down the Mississippi. It was our first taste of New Orleans cooking and we were both hooked immediately. It was sort of a buffet/sampler platter situation so we tried a full plate of good stuff. Jambalaya was my favorite. I got it (and gumbo) at least once a day after that first taste on the boat.
The food of NOLA!
The tour was also fun. I learned a lot about the city’s history and enjoyed the jazz. It felt like a good way to start the trip… seeing the crescent city from a boat, then hopping off and actually beginning to maneuver its streets.
We spent a long time in the French Quarter for the rest of the day. We enjoyed music on Jackson Square, Royal Street, Bourbon Street. It was a weekday, but the city was still alive with music and art. We also went to Cafe Du Monde right away. It met every expectation. I’m still dreaming of those beignets.
The French Quarter.
One aspect of the trip that I wasn’t expecting to enjoy as much as I did was learning about Voodoo and its history in the city. Voodoo is freaky… at least that’s what Hollywood had trained me to think. But nonetheless we went to Voodoo Authentica in the Quarter and they were very intentional about educating people on the practice as well as selling their locally made and blessed items. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by how much I loved it. The anthropologist in me is fascinated and awestruck by human religion and spiritual practices; how they work, how they come to be. I learned how New Orleans Voodoo is an African diasporic religion and its practitioners believe in helping themselves and others achieve positive goals and live harmoniously with their gods and nature. I left the store feeling grateful for the information shared.
After shopping and walking for a while, Katie and I headed back to our hostel (super cool spot to stay, by the way) for a nap. For dinner we headed back into the Quarter before meeting our group and guide for a ghost tour and pub crawl. It was hard to live up to the ghost tour I took in Savannah, but it was still fun. Our guide, "Captain T" was a local musician and had good recommendations for finding the best music in the city.
Our group was small and two of them were our age, travelling from Australia, so afterwards we invited them to join us as we walked over to Frenchmen Street, per Captain T's recommendation. Hearing the echoes of the brass band playing on the corner of Frenchmen as we walked that direction was one of the most awesome moments of the whole trip. Katie lit up with excitement. We could've stayed there for hours. And, the next day, we did.
After dancing and enjoying the music, we found another bar with the Australians and walked towards Bourbon Street. We were planning to go out the next night but figured... we're already here, right? Bourbon Street was also alive with music and lights and people, though the music spanned more genres and we wanted jazz. Nonetheless, we eventually ditched the Australians and made our own way along the street.
We wanted to dance so at one point I grabbed a guy for each of us and spun them around. That's how we met the Norwegians. They were sweethearts. We walked more of Bourbon Street with them and then said goodnight and headed back to the hostel, but not before Katie uncovered that their hotel had a pool (she was determined to swim at some point on our trip).
The next morning, we were admittedly hungover. I'd say that's a token of experiencing New Orleans the way its meant to be experienced... sorry Grandma! Still, we had other things to explore. So we had a bloody mary and went to brunch (at one in the afternoon). The Court of Two Sisters was my favorite spot of the trip, at least when it came to food. It was a beautiful historic building with a wisteria-covered patio, a buffet, and live jazz.
Then Katie got the pool plan in motion. We explored the French Quarter with the Norwegians and then went to their hotel courtyard. My favorite part of the day was before we got in the pool, we taught them to play cribbage. Katie and I love that game. The guys for sure thought we were crazy between that and me tackling Katie into the water later in the afternoon, but that's alright. She's my favorite person to be crazy with. We had a blast.
After swimming was checked off the list, Katie and I headed home, relaxed for a bit and made our way back out to Frenchmen Street. We had Po Boys for dinner (yum) and I wanted to try fountain-poured absinthe from Pirate's Alley so we stopped by. It tasted like sugary black licorice, I loved it.
Then it was a (much more chill) night of music and art on Frenchmen. I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, I wish I could be standing on that corner listening to the brass band again.
Our last day in NOLA together was entirely different from the first two. We took a streetcar out to Greenwood Cemetery and New Orleans City Park. Both were beautiful spaces in their own right. We'd learned about burial practices in NOLA on our ghost tour. In the swamp, above-ground tombs are common and allegedly bodies were traditionally cremated by simply being left inside the tomb to endure the Louisiana heat over the course of 366 days. Then they were swept up into some sort of pouch and joined the pile of other family members. Maybe that fact is macabre. I find it fascinating, and maybe a bit comforting, to know your body will share a space with loved ones after it has served its time.
The New Orleans City Park was beautiful. Katie loves botanical gardens so we walked through squares of plants and sculpture blanketed by beautiful live oaks.
The City Park & gardens
That night, my mom met us for dinner. The next leg of my trip was with her, starting with the city I had come to love. The three of us enjoyed a long meal together. Then Katie and I walked back to the hostel.
Much like this trip, Katie and I had talked about getting tattoos together for a long time. We figured, why not commemorate the trip with one? For our last activity in New Orleans, we got semi-matching tattoos-- a "K" and spade for me and an "A" and heart for Katie. They are perfect, simple and special (especially after our cribbage story).
I love you, K.
Momma in NOLA
After dropping Katie off at the airport early in the morning, I climbed into bed with Momma at our VRBO. It was so great to see her. I was just starting to feel the first real pulls of homesickness and then home came to visit me.
We had two days in the city together. I brought her to all of my favorite spots. On our first night we went on a different ghost tour than the one Katie and I had booked. That one was much better. Meri, our guide, was a local with a deep appreciation and kindness for the spirits and stories of New Orleans.
Royal Street, "Touchdown Jesus" (part of the ghost tour), dinosaurs at the art bazaar on Frenchmen Street
Mom was most excited for our second day activity; the National World War II Museum and I was happy to tag along. My mom loves American history. I love watching my mom love American history.
The museum was immensely impressive. We spent six hours there and didn't even make it through every exhibit. The attention to detail and storytelling of each space was so intricate. My favorite exhibits were parallel to each other, depicting an American soldiers' journey from the U.S. to Germany and to Japan, respectively. Even the temperature of the exhibit space changed with the different climates. I would certainly recommend seeing it if you visit NOLA.
After our visit, we were wiped out. So we stopped at Walgreens, got two pints of Blue Bell ice cream (if you know, you know), ordered pizza, and stayed in for the night.
We watched Princess and the Frog, naturally.
Dreams do come true in New Orleans. I couldn't agree more, Tiana.
Onto Texas!
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