NOLA

On Friday, February 15 Kevin and I (and my mom!) flew to New Orleans. About a week before we left, Kevin and I joked with my mom about joining us for the long weekend (Monday was President’s Day). The joking quickly turned into us looking at available flights to book with frequent flyer miles and the flight was immediately booked when we realized the tickets were reasonably priced. Unfortunately, we were unable to book mom on the same flights as us, but we were able to book her on a very similar itinerary. Mom picked us up around 4:45am and we parked our car at the airport. Our flight left at 6:20am and Mom’s left at 7:15am. Kevin and I had a layover in Atlanta and mom had a layover in Denver. We all arrived in New Orleans around 2:15pm. Our great long-time family friend, Alice, picked us up from the airport and dropped Kevin and I off at our hotel, The Sheraton. It was really sentimental for me to stay at the Sheraton because my dad helped open the Sheraton before I was even born! Kevin and I went up to our room (on the 46^th floor) and quickly went out to the French Quarter. Mom was staying at Alice’s house that evening so they didn’t stick around the French Quarter with us. Our first stop was Pat O’Brien’s. We each enjoyed a Hurricane in the courtyard and then started our search for dinner. We decided to go to The Camellia Grill. When I was a kid, my parents used to take me to the Camellia Grill uptown and I always ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. This dinner was no different, other than being located in the French Quarter instead of uptown. While we were eating dinner, mom texted and informed us that she had made reservations for us to eat lunch at Commander’s Palace on Saturday. This is a very famous restaurant in New Orleans and they have a strict dress code. Kevin did not have anything appropriate he could wear to brunch, so we had to go shopping. We went to J. Crew in Canal Place to get Kevin a button down shirt he could wear. It was getting a bit chilly (I never thought I would be cold in New Orleans) so we went back to the hotel. We ended up falling asleep pretty early.

The Streetcar on the corner of Canal and Bourbon.

My first Hurricane of the trip! 

Love this place!

Delicious! 

We woke up around 7:30am on Saturday morning and got ready for work. We finished work and were back at the hotel by 11am. We showered, packed our bags, and checked-out of the room around 12:30pm. Mom and Alice picked us up and we took the scenic route to brunch. Our reservation was not until 1:30 so we drove through my parents’ old neighborhood and then walked through the Lafayette Cemetery. Brunch at Commander’s Palace was amazing! The food was delicious and the service was spectacular! I started my meal with Turtle Soup, then had Beef and Eggs with Crawfish Etouffee, and finished the course with the best Bread Pudding I have ever had. One of my favorite parts of the meal was the “to-go” package. They wrap any leftover food in aluminum foil and shape the foil into creative designs. Some of the designs we received were swans, ducks, baskets and snails. My mom always hoped to bring me to Commander’s Palace and it was so special to have this experience with her! After brunch we drove to our new hotel, the Lamothe House on Esplanade. Mom and Alice had one room in the main building and Kevin and I had another room outside. We settled into our rooms and Kevin and I walked back to the French Quarter. Mom and Alice went to see the play, Venus in Fur, so we met up with them much later in the evening. Kevin and I somehow ended up at Pat O’Brien’s again and we met up with my child-hood friend, Paul, and his girlfriend, Ashley. Paul is like a brother to me, so it is always so fun to spend time with him! The initial plan was to go to the Piano Bar at Pat O’Brien’s, but it was packed. Instead, we ended up sitting in the Courtyard and enjoying some Hurricane’s! Once we reached our limit on Hurricane’s, we briefly walked up and down Bourbon Street before meeting Mom and Alice (Alice is Paul’s mom) at Café du Monde. There is nothing better than soaking up some alcohol with beignets! We walked back to the hotel around midnight!

The view of the Mississippi River from our hotel room.

The famous Commander's Palace! Chef's like Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme are two alumni who have worked here. 

My delicious brunch: Turtle soup, Beef and Eggs, Bread Pudding and a Duck and Swan to-go!

Our wonderful company for brunch: Alice, Ashley, Paul, Kevin, Mom and I. 

Back at the Pat O'Brien's Courtyard.

Our delicious Beignet's.

Mom, Me, and Kevin at Cafe du Monde. Mom was a mess with the powdered sugar!

My brother from another mother, Paul!

We got a slow start on Sunday. We ate lunch at Felix’s Oyster House in the French Quarter and then spent a couple of hours walking and shopping in the French Quarter. We got back to the hotel around 5:00pm and relaxed for a little while before heading to R&O’s for Crawfish! I really am not too keen on seafood, but there is something special about eating boiled crawfish! I was so happy! After dinner, Alice dropped Mom, Kevin, and I off on Bourbon Street. We went to a drag show and back to Pat O’Brien’s before walking back to the hotel. We feel asleep around 11:30pm.

Mom and her Oyster's at Felix's

2lbs of crawfish!

"Get in my Belly!" Yes, my mother taught me not to play with my food, but it is impossible to do when eating crawfish!

Mom's Hurricane at Pat O'Brien's.

We woke up around 9am on Monday morning and walked back to the French Quarter to buy some yarn. We found an incredible yarn store the day before and Kevin and I were really excited to go back. We ate lunch at Port of Call, a very famous steak and burger restaurant in New Orleans, and then went to the airport. We were so sad to leave. 3 days is just not enough time in NOLA. It was an incredible weekend and so special to spend it with mom and our great local friends! We can’t wait to go back! 

This is the yarn we bought in New Orleans and mom knitted this incredible scarf for us!

Best burger joint in New Orleans!

YUMMMM!!