New Orleans

Jon and I made a short trip to New Orleans.  We had a great time.

It was our first time attempting to park in the public parking lots.  It was a pretty smooth drive in to the parking lot.  I thought it would be more of a challege to find a place to park, but it was not difficult at all.

Once we got the car parked, we had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe.  It was my second time eating at a Hard Rock, my first time being in San Diego on our honeymoon.  I have walked past the place countless times, but had never eaten there.  I always wanted to eat there, but just never got around to it.

After lunch we went for a walk around the French Quarter.  We started by making our way to the French Market.  It pretty much had the same old junk that they always sell.

We made our way back to the car, so we could get checked into the hotel where we spent the night.  We stayed at the Place d' Armes.  I chose this hotel, because it had gotten really good reviews on Trip Advisor.  It was #9 of the top ten hotels in New Orleans.  It was also in a great location.

The pictures and the website looked great, but it was very disappointing in real life.  The person working behind the desk was quite unfriendly.  We didn't really notice anything else, until it was time for us to go to sleep.  The bed was very uncomfortable and the pillows were lumpy.  I've never been so uncomfortable in a hotel.

I was reminded why I like to stick with major hotel chains.  My most favorite being Embassy Suites, but it is a bit pricey.  We really just needed a place to sleep and bathe.  It was in a great location, but that was really the only good thing about this hotel.

Last night we went on a Ghosts and Spirits Tour, which was fun.  I've been on better ghost tours, but I figured we'd give this one a try.  I was glad that Jon enjoyed it, because he was really excited about it.  We are going to go on another one with a different company next time.

After the tour, we had dinner at Fiorella's Cafe.  My family and I have eaten at this place for many years.  It is now under new management, so it is not the same.  I was sad, because I miss the old Fiorella's.  The food was so much better back then, however the atmosphere is much better now.

After dinner, we decided to go on back to the hotel.  We were tired, after a long day of walking.

This morning, we got up and had breakfast.  We checked out of the "hotel from hell" and brought our things to the car.

We rode the streetcar to the Riverwalk Marketplace.  There were still some cool shops there, but many of the old favorites are now gone.

We took a walk down Canal St. to Chartres St. and stopped in Crescent City Books.  This was a fun stop for both of us.  It's a really fun shop.  Our favorite out of the three bookstores we visited today.

We walked a little ways down Bourbon St., then found our way to Royal St.  We had lunch at one of my favorite places, Mona Lisa Cafe.  We had a great lunch!

After lunch, we walked around the French Market again.  I found some sunglasses.  Unfortunately, they are no longer 2 pairs for $5.00.  Many vendors are selling knock-off's of designer sunglasses, which does not interest me.  I want a pair of sunglasses that does not have these "wannabe" designer logos.  I was happy to find a pair of black cat eye's for $5.00.  They are perfect!

We had a great afternoon just walking around and enjoying the sights.  We stopped by Central Grocery and got a muffaletta to take back with us to Baton Rouge for dinner.

We made it home safely.  It was a great trip!