Hey, I'm going to New Orleans!

[pscates2.0]

Wheee!

Well, it's 50/50, but I should know within a few hours...and it's definitely leaning more toward a "go". I'm escorting a buddy down there for her 6-month gig filling in at a Naval base in the city...she reports in next Monday (if her orders come through).

I'm going for reasons of a two-fold nature: 1) help my friend get down there and situated/provide company and 2) frankly, just to get the hell out of Chattanooga for a few days and do something different! I LOVE driving and going places, and it's been too long a while...

:)

Anyway, we're leaving Saturday (EARLY) and will arrive mid-afternoon (she travels light, thank God...clothes and her iBook will be pretty much it) and we'll have Saturday afternoon/evening and all day/evening Sunday (I'll drive back Monday morning...already cleared it with work).

So tell me what's good there! Places to see, places to eat, things to do. I know the major stuff, but what about some other cooler things that can be seen/done in a day-and-a-half?

Suggestions, comments, ideas, favorite bars/restaurants, tourist sites, tours, landmarks, attractions, etc. are all welcome!

:)

[SKMDC]

i used to have a record store that i supervised in baton rouge and i took my days off in new orleans, i went to jazz & heritage fest (best fest in america) every year until i had children, we plan to resume next year. my wife and i honeymooned there. i love new orleans it's my favorite american city.

i wrote this last year and send it to freinds who are going.
i've edited somewhat here.



things you must do:
STAY IN THE QUARTER (right now it should be cheap)
a penny saved is not a penny earned in this case. cabs, crime, no fun outside the quarter.
ROYAL ORLEANS (http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/default.asp?h_id=17) led zeppelin wrote a song about it.

cafe dumonde (http://www.cafedumonde.com/)
carbs are important after a night hurricanes at....
pat o'briens (http://www.patobriens.com/) get fresh made not the pre-made ones.

if you have to eat cheap the rest of the time you're there, splurge and eat at a nice 5 star place at least once.
i suggest COMMANDER'S PALACE (http://www.commanderspalace.com/)

have lunch at K PAULS (http://www.kpauls.com/) it's a less wait time than at dinner, you eat family style, but i've never had less than a fantastic conversation with someone there, and last time we were there the guy at the next table got to eat with the bass player from spinal tap.

take the graveyard tour. i haven't done this in a while, a friend just took the BLOODY MARY'S (http://www.bloodymarystours.com/tours-moonlight.html) and raved about it.

i've always been an early riser, i used to walk the quarter early in the morning with a cigar (i now run, instead of smoke) and it's the most fascinating place, restaurants getting deliveries, street cleaning, people unshuttering the shotgun shacks.

give your leftover food to homeless person. (i think the homeless in NOLA may have the highest cholesterol in the country.

do not go to the voodoo museum, or if you must sit in the back and count how many people say "is that it? what a rip-off!"

and karatemonkey's ban of the new orleans (only) house of blues is STILL in effect.

it might be too hot but the AUDOBON ZOO (http://www.auduboninstitute.org/zoo/) is nice, and they have albino alligators.
it's also a good reason to take the ST. CHARLES STREETCAR (http://www.inetours.com/New_Orleans/St_Charles_Streetcar.html)
where you can also tour some of the houses in the famous garden district.

tons of music.
TIPITINA'S (http://www.tipitinas.com/calendar.asp) saturday looks good. a fais do do, cajun music, dancing, accordion music and cold blackened voodoo or a dixie and you'll be fine.

that's all i got.

[pscates2.0]

Well that's enough...I only have 36 hours!

Thanks. ;)

[SKMDC]

Well that's enough...I only have 36 hours!

Thanks. ;)
you can pack a whole lotta livin' in 36 hours.
forget the hotel don't sleep! ;)

[iBrowse]

I love New Orleans, I make sure I get a Hurricane from Pat O'briens each time I'm there, soooo good. I suggest taking a ghost tour, that was fun. Also, check out the cemeteries down there, very cool.

[FFL]

SKMD, I lived there for four years, been to JazzFest 14 times, and couldn't have said it much better myself.

Tipitina's (don't miss this one!), Cafe Du Monde (late night, ideally), Pat O'Brian's, K-Pauls, take a Streetcar (don't let anyone hear you calling it a "trolley") that's goin' Uptown (Doobie Brothers - Black Water (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/doobie-brothers/42465.html)), stop in and walk around the Garden District, then up to Audobon Park & Zoo, and the Tulane & Loyola campuses on the other side of the street.

If you make it that far uptown, take the streetcar a mile or so further to where it takes a big right turn, and stop in at Cooter Browns (http://www.cooterbrowns.com/main.html) - 400 bottled beers, 75 on tap, best raw oysters and pub food kitchen Uptown (gotta try the Cheese Fries!), and last but not least - as of the last time I was there (January), they have free Wi-Fi broadband!

Oh yeah, and gotta add Mother's (http://new.orleans.diningguide.net/data/d100217.htm) to the list of cheap food places not to be missed.

If Tipitina's doesn't do it for you, The Maple Leaf Bar (http://www.digitalcity.com/neworleans/entertainment/venue.adp?vid=26275) is a good choice also.

Except for (maybe) Preservation Hall, and The Howlin Wolf, The Funky Butt, and (sometimes) the House of Blues, you should pretty much ignore anything musical in the French Quarter - it's all cliched, regurgitated, tourist trap crap.

http://nola.com/music/ is a good link to find out more about what's going on with local music. It's a tough time of year for that - the best local acts like The Funky Meters, the Neville Brothers, The Radiators, The Iguanas, Cowboy Mouth, and more, are all out of town on tour. The Radiators, for example, are in South Florida for the weekend.... :)

Hey, this got kinda long - well SKMD, I guess I had some stuff to add, after all!

[FFL]

you can pack a whole lotta livin' in 36 hours.
forget the hotel don't sleep! ;)
Any hotel time besides showering, getting dressed, and 2 hours of sleep per night is a criminal waste! :smokey:

[FFL]

and cold blackened voodoo or a dixie and you'll be fine.


Abita Amber!

[FFL]

and karatemonkey's ban of the new orleans (only) house of blues is STILL in effect.


Ah yes... the House of Rules!
Fuck 'em - haven't been there in 8 years myself, and only 3 times in my life (as opposed to many hundreds of great nights at Tipitinas). I'd still go for a great band, though....

[SKMDC]

i almost punched a waiter there.

[crazychester]

A couple of years back, a friend of mine went to the States for work. I wanted a pair of (very expensive) professional Tap shoes that a teacher I'd done some classes with had recommended to me but they weren't available in Oz. So I got her to pick me up a pair at the Capezio store in New York.

She was then going to New Orleans and I suggested to her that she should take said Tap shoes out and about with her so they could soak up the Jazz vibe. So she's wandered down Bourbon Street accosting startled Americans and getting them to pose for photos with my Tap shoes in front of various landmarks.

At some point she has found a store with a sign on the front (probably from the olden days) that said "NO TAP SHOES ALLOWED" and went on to state that anyone found wearing Tap shoes would be fined. The possibility of gaol might have been mentioned too but I don't know where the photo is right now.

Anyway scatesy here's a challenge for ya. If you can find that store (not sure if it's on Bourbon Street or not but I think it's in that area), photograph the sign and post it here, I promise to use at least one smiley every time I post on this board!

Alright, it's not much of an offer but it's the best I can do at short notice. And besides, you know what a sacrifice this will be for me.

[SKMDC]

it's not uncommon to see someone tap-dancing on the street for tips.
when there were big lines at K-Pauls (before they took reservations) there was always street cabaret.

[pscates2.0]

I'll give it a shot, chet. ;)

Just found out, a small change of plans (but good ones): instead of driving MY car down, following Veronica, I'm riding down with her and we found a CHEAP flight from New Orleans Sunday at 6pm back to Nashville, and we've already purchased a ticket and I've already reserved/paid for a shuttle van seat from Nashville back to Chattanooga Sunday night (a two hour trip).

So I'm only going to be in New Orleans roughly 24 hours (from about 5pm Saturday to 5pm Sunday, but I'll see what I can get done in that time! But, apparently, New Orleans - like Nashville - is a Southwest hub and plane tickets between the two can frequently be found for $69. So throughout the summer, and on into fall, I'll get my butt down there (long 3-day weekends and whatnot), when I can explore a bit more.

skmdc, I've already copied and saved your "must see/do" list, so it'll get used for sure. Maybe not all this weekend, but within the next 6 months! It wasn't posted in vain, trust me.

:)

Cool. I get to go to a neat city AND ride a plane this weekend. Beats staying home and mowing the yard!

:p

I'm leaving the PowerBook, but the iPod is DEFINITELY going...should make for a bearable, nicer plane ride.

[crazychester]

I'll give it a shot, chet. ;)

Of course, if you fail in your quest I will feel perfectly justified never, ever using smilies again.

However, I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know I have been diligently pronouncing it "Nue Orlins" in my head while reading this thread.

As opposed to the way it's actually spelt.

(Nope, no smilies till I get my pic.)

[SKMDC]

Of course, if you fail in your quest I will feel perfectly justified never, ever using smilies again.

However, I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know I have been diligently pronouncing it "Nue Orlins" in my head while reading this thread.

As opposed to the way it's actually spelt.

(Nope, no smilies till I get my pic.)

don't pronounce the new, it's more like gnarlins, like it's one word.
by the way pscates have a good time.

BON TON ROULET!

[pscates2.0]

Well, Bon Jovi to you too!

[FFL]

Actually, it's locally pronounced more like "nawlins"
definitely all one word, no "R" sound at all

and

"Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulet" is of course French for "let the good times roll", and pronounced "La-ZEY le bon ton ru-LEY", with an accent that's about half French and half Deep South, if you can imagine such a thing.

One of many unofficial mottos...