Wednesday, April 22, 2015

New Orleans Adventure

Hello my friends, I'm back from New Orleans with some photos and stories to tell you.  My older sister Roberta and my younger sister Denise and I flew out on Tuesday April 14th - we had to be at the airport at 4 am!  Our plane took off at 5:30 and we flew for 3 hours to Phoenix, changed planes and flew 2.5 hours to New Orleans.  We got a taxi to the French Quarter and were settled in our rooms in the early afternoon.  We awaited the arrival of my daughter Amy as we had dinner reservations at 7:30 pm.  The Magnolias were just starting to bloom on the tree in our hotel courtyard!  We stayed in a historic hotel called Place d'Armes in the French Quarter - right adjacent from Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral.  What a wonderful place!


This hotel has three courtyards!  This is the center one that I passed through each time I went to my room.  It's so tropical here.  We did have a fair bit of rain while were were there, but we also had dry times and it all worked out.


This is the fountain.


This is the pool courtyard.  


When I opened our room I was enchanted by the brick walls and high ceilings!  I really enjoyed staying here.  We stayed in this hotel the last time we visited 15 years ago and loved it then.  I shared the room with my daughter Amy.


The room had 3 tall casement windows - the man who brought my luggage up told me that we had to open the window and use a little slide lock and that was how you went out onto the balcony!  This was our view across the street.  There was a charming dress shop below this balcony.


I turned my head and was happy to see Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral - and then the bells begun to ring the hour.  Joy!  On the right is Muriel's Restaurant where it's customers can bring their drinks out on the balcony to enjoy the scene.  It was raining on our arrival so the streets were fairly empty.


My daughter arrived and got settled in and then we walked to Tujaques (pronounced "two jacks") across from Cafe Du Monde for dinner.


I expected to have crawfish étouffée, but it wasn't on the menu!  So I had a small beef tenderloin covered with a garlic puree, atop garlic mashed potatoes and squash.  Yum!


Roberta ordered a dessert for us all to share - a banana bread pudding with a bourbon glaze.  It was so soft and fluffy and delicious!


We all headed to bed after a nice visit with plans to meet up for coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde in the morning.  Just a block and a half from our hotel!


Would you like to join us?  The coffee is French Roast with Chicory, blended with hot milk to make Cafe Au Lait.  The beignets are hot rectangles of pastry dough dropped in hot oil, brought out and doused with copious amounts of powdered sugar.  Yum yum!


Want a closer look?  :-)


You walk in, wait for a table to vacate, swoop in and wait for a server.  This place is heaven.  It's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except on Christmas Day and if a hurricane passes too close.


What a fun town - horse drawn carriages can be heard clip clopping by at all hours.  My one regret is that we never got around to a horse and carriage ride.. but we did plenty of other things!


All of the balconies have beautiful wrought iron railings.


We decided to head to Pat O'Briens Bar as this was my daughter Amy's first visit here and I wanted to show her this great place.  So, off to Bourbon Street we went.


And there it is, this unassuming facade.  But inside is the most beautiful and welcoming courtyard!  Just beyond it is Preservation Hall where jazz musicians jam each night.  You can listen from the sidewalk as they play inside.


We were there when it opened at noon and got a great table by the fountain.  At night there is a gas fire out of the top of the fountain which is pretty neat to see!


What would you like?  4 Hurricane's please!  This is the quintessential drink of the French Quarter!  It is a fruit punch with 4.. yes 4 shots of 150 proof rum.  :-)


Now my dear friends.. I don't drink much.. at.. all.   BUT.. I sipped this down.  And we had a good old time chatting around the table and by the fountain.


Cheers!


Lookie at the pretty water drops.. :-)


The hallway entering Pat O'Briens has all these old rifles hung on the ceiling.


My daughter Amy is why we are all here.  She was going to visit here with her husband on a business trip but found out it would be very short so decided to stay home.  I said.. why don't we go on a mother-daughter trip here?  So we planned to do it and she asked if her two aunties wanted to join us, they did so the plan was made!  So, cheers to Amy!  She's such a devoted mother and wife that and this was her first "girl's trip".  I think she had fun.


I had to make 5 files of photos to share so I didn't overload you with this one.  So, I will put up the next one soon.  We are heading to the beach the day after tomorrow.  Dayle spent the whole week cleaning and prepping the trailer/caravan for the trip, isn't he a doll?  I hope you enjoyed visiting New Orleans with me!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

23 comments:

  1. What a wonderful place to visit, I am certainly enjoying the trip along with you.

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  2. Oh my gosh! What a fancinating looking place! I am so glad that you had such a great time!
    You can certainly tell that you all are sisters!

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  3. New Orleans looks like a fun place to visit Teresa. What a lovely hotel you stayed in. The coffee shop and bar look like fab resting holes, I'm so glad you got some Mum and Daughter time......the times I have with my own girlie are very special indeed. Looking forward to seeing more of your trip. Welcome home x

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  4. I've said it before, I'll say it again, he's a good man! It looks like you had a really wonderful trip, the hotel is sensational. All those gorgeous balconies and green plants everywhere. It's definitely somewhere I'd love to visit. In the meantime I'm really enjoying your photos. Glad you had such a good time and a safe trip. CJ xx

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  5. I loved the tour of New Orleans. Gosh the streets are narrow - are they one-way streets? Those buildings remind me of old movies for some reason. How lovely for you to have had a real girls only holiday, and it sounds like you had a ball. The hotel room is gorgeous too. Look forward to your next post with more pics. xox

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  6. Your daughter is beautiful!!!
    What a fun recap for those of us at home.
    Love the way all the plants ooh lush!

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  7. What a wonderful trip for all of you! I loved seeing all the sites. Thank you.

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  8. Love your trip so far! What a wonderful bunch of ladies! So much fun and laughter! I think I would love the "Hurricane" drink! xoRobin

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  9. Yes, I did enjoy visiting New Orleans with you through this neat post and narrative, Teresa! It is a place I have never been. I Google imaged St. Louis Cathedral and found it so interesting....and could imagine you hearing the bell from there with joy! Your hotel room and the whole area is beautiful!!! And the water droplets in the fountain photo...perfect! I loved seeing you, your sisters, and Amy together enjoying each other in a happy memorable time in an amazing location and I look forward to your next post :-) xx

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  10. Oh I so enjoyed visiting New Orleans with you Teresa. I'm with Gracie, it's a place I've never been before. I think we had some of the same rain. The Gulf of Mexico was pretty stormy, both when we left port and arrived back on Sunday. South of there though, the weather was wonderful. I love your hotel room and can just imagine the history contained in it. You all look like you're having a wonderful, wonderful time. More pictures and commentary please. You do such a great job of it. (Much better than mine.)
    Oh...I got a hotel room for next week so I'll not have to rush back on the road toward home. Dennis thought 12 hours of driving was too much for me in one day. Silly guy! :-)
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  11. I've never been to New Orleans but have always loved the idea of visiting. I'm so glad you and Amy wre able to arrange this Girls' trip with your sisters. It looks like everyone had a great time.

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  12. Oh I enjoyed the first stage of our visit to New Orleans - how I would love to go. Your daughter was very sweet suggesting it - a lovely looking young woman. Dayle was good getting everything ready for you. My DH is much the same - we are lucky. Had a wonderful week weather wise here. look forward to next stage of the trip. Hugs Anne x

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  13. Wow, what a trip. I bet you all could have used another couple of days there. Looks like there was loads of things to see & do. And you were in very good company with your daughter & sister's.
    Love the area, balcony's, fountain and oh boy the drinks look inviting!
    Happy to see you all had a beignet or two. Thanks for the close up!

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  14. So lucky to have sisters to share things with! New Orleans looks amazing - now on my "to visit" list. Love that courtyard! Greetings from sunny Scotland.
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  15. Oh my goodness, what lovely pictures! Thanks so much for sharing with us. I am pretty sure this is the only way I am going to see New Orleans. What a gorgeous place!! I absolutely love the railings on those buildings. Gorgeous! You have a lovely daughter, and I'm glad she got some "me time". :)

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  16. Glad you're back. I adore your hotel room. Beautiful brick walls.

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  17. Wow wonderful Teresa and I did enjoy seeing everything....and I know I would LOVE that drink xoxo

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  18. What a wonderful trip, Teresa! I so enjoyed seeing all your lovely photos....such beautiful buildings, and I especially loved the balconies. How lovely that you had the company of your daughter and your sisters....what a great time!
    Wishing you a happy weekend.
    Helen xox

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  19. It looks like it was a fantastic trip I am so glad you had a wonderful time with your sisters and your darling Amy. As you know I have always wanted to go, it seems so close to me yet it is far enough away that it isn't an easy trip. I love the history of the place, it is just gorgeous.
    Can't wait to see more and glad you are home safe and sound, well at least for a day or two.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  20. So glad you had a good time in NOLA. Living in the New Orleans area, I sometimes forget how beautiful and special the city is. I love seeing it through the eyes of someone that doesn't live here. Your are so lucky to be able to share this experience with your daughter and sisters. I can hardly wait to read your next installment.

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  21. It looks like a wonderful visit so far! I have always wanted to visit New Orleans. Most of all, I want to eat beignets at Cafe du Monde. Thanks for taking me there with you. I'm glad you had a good trip and I look forward to seeing more. :)

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  22. Oh, I did enjoy it very much! When I saw you had posted "part deaux" today, I skipped down so I could read them in order. I missed this when you posted it. Can't wait to read the next one...off I go!

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  23. I am doing the same as Pammy Sue. Reading the first post, first. What a wonderful job you did capturing the true essence of New Orleans! We sat in the exact same spot on the patio of Pat O'Brians' for our Hurricane's! But it was night, and we enjoyed the gas lit fountain so much!!! We never sat at Cafe Du'Monde this time, because my brother had a car and went in each morning and brought the beignets back for us. Yum. We spent a lot of time at Tujacques sp?, too. But on the bar side! I had a shot of Fireball with my brother!!! Whew!!!! I am not a drinker either!!!!! Your hotel looks enchanting!!!! I can't wait to read more!
    XO Kris

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