New Orleans has always been high on my US list and as my UK working holiday visa ended on the 31st of August, an “exit trip” was inevitable. It also happened that the girls from back home were doing a Caribbean/US trip and they would be in New Orleans at the time I was meeting them.
British Airways has a direct flight from London to New Orleans which made it easy to get here. I arrived around 7:30pm and I caught a Lyft to the hotel, got ready and met the girls out on Bourbon Street.
We had a great night out drinking the local drinks and cocktails (hurricanes, fish bowls and shark attacks to name a few) and it was so nice to catch up and experience NOLA nightlife together!
The next day, I was not feeling flash but we went to the French Quarter and went to Central Grocery and Deli for the famous muffuletta. These are filled with different types of sliced meat, cheese and olives and were delicious!
Nearby is Cafe Du Monde which is famous for the beignets. The line to eat in was super long so we opted for the take away line.
As I wasn’t feeling well and as the heat was getting to me, Liz and I went to the outlet to get some air conditioning and go shopping.
For lunch, we headed to Mr B’s Bistro and we shared the deep fried oysters and tried the shrimp grit – both NOLA classics which were nice.
We walked around the French Quarter, watched the Decadence parade and headed to Louis Armstrong Park.
We went to the Preservation Hall to see a live jazz show. We lined up around 30 minutes before the 5pm show and we were the last ones to get in. I would suggest to line up at least 45 minutes beforehand. Tickets are $20 in cash at the door.
For dinner, we went to Boil Seafood House and had a seafood feast! We shared hared the chargrilled oysters, raw oysters, prawns, crawfish, mussels, crabs, garlic pasta, corn, potatoes and mushrooms – all of this costing us only $31 each between the 6 of us!
Afterwards, we headed to Frenchman Street for some live jazz and had a couple of drinks before walking back through Bourbon Street. Liz, Darcie and I stopped by Crescent City Pizza for a slice of pizza. I got the “chizzaburger” which was a cheeseburger flavour one which was on point!
The next morning, Liz and I went to The Ruby Slipper Cafe for breakfast. We got the “Southern” breakfast which had biscuit and grit which probably isn’t what I would usually get but was interesting and felt fitting since we were down south.
Next, we went to Saint Louis Cemetery Number One. It costs $20 for a guided tour and it’s the only way you can get in. The tour was super insightful and we learnt a lot about the city and how it’s evolved as well as the famous people who are buried in the cemetery.
We then met the other girls and went to Coops Place for fried chicken which was really good. After, we went to Cafe Beignet for beignets.
We decided to go to Walmart to buy a few things. I love that everything in the states is supersized including cereal (at a glance, I thought it was dog food haha)
For our last night’s dinner, we went to Felix Restaurant and Oyster Bar. We shared the chargrilled oysters, fried soft shell crab, prawns and seafood grit.
New Orleans is such a lively, bustling and fun city! I’d definitely like to come back as I feel like there is still so much to do there and because we only touched the surface of the food scene!
Day In, Day Out 