We never go somewhere to specifically celebrate New Year Eve, because itself sounds crazy already. A couple friends of ours and I have been talking about making a trip to New Orleans for a long, long time, and when we planed our Christmas trip back home, we looked at each other and asked: why not flying down for New Orleans and spend the NYE there?
So here comes the NYE trip. We flew from Nashville, and the other couple flew from Seattle.
When you check in at a 4-start hotel in downtown at 6pm, and was told your room was still not ready due to the entire hotel has been booked up and cleaning has been running behind because of late check-outs, you'll get a hint of what city is like!
So here we are, sipping Sazerac in a fancy hotel lobby which was crowded like JFK.
Once we were all settled in and ready to hit town, another disappointment. The highly rated crawfish place - Three Legged Dog - told us they were out of crawfish that night. THAT NIGHT. Mr. Brownie was so chill and started getting the drinks on.
And New Orleans streets at night were so charming.
Until we got to THE Bourbon Street. And it was not New Year Eve yet.....!
Walking into Fritzel's from the hustle and bustle felt like falling into a different world. Musicians were cheerful and tunes felt like indescribable flowers blooming in front of the ears.
The following day started with a piece of quietness in the Feds Museum, where they buzz you in and then scan you. Apparently, it was the first floor of the Feds branch in New Orleans, and during our visit we saw staff coming in and out of the building. To us, it was very worth visiting!
On the way to get beignet, we found ourselves in a party crowd AGAIN. Then we realized it was Sugar Bowl parade. Wait, what is Sugar Bowl?
I had to stop to snip this picture...of an overflowing trash can at 12pm. Party city's cleaning crew gotta keep it up!
You can't go to New Orleans without a visit to Cafe Du Monte, right? Even though 100% of the gift shops sell Cafe Du Monte's beignet mix in a box, nothing tastes like fresh beignet out of the fryer.
Our friends went on a food tour a couple of days ago, and were very much impressed by Dat Dog, so we went back to get more hot dogs. Big variety, awesome taco fries with guac on top and cute outdoor seatings. Go there!
We booked our NYE at The Riverview Room; there are a few options out there, with various locations, targeted groups, coverage (meal, open bar, etc) to accommodate different people's preferences, so do some research! It turned out to be a really lovely night - non-stop music from the awesome live band, Mr. and Mrs. Brownies' fancy dance moves, delicious Tom Collins, dazzling fireworks over Mississippi River and all the wishes to 2019!
On the last day of the trip, we did an airboat swamp tour - essentially you hop on to a kind of boat that uses fans entirely above the water to power, and you are on the journey of hunting down some alligators in the swamp.
Our guide "did you see the gator?"
Us "where?"
Our guide "on the tree trunk!"
Us "where on the tree trunk?"
Our guide "towards the end?!?!"
10 seconds later...
Us "Ahhhhh! We see it!"
Below were the other two gators that our guide found. Haha!
Do you know, New Orleans has the longest bridge (above water) in the entire world? 24 miles long with 8 miles that you can't see any sign of the land. And here we come - Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.
It was so foggy that we thought we'd have 20 miles that we couldn't see any sign of land. LOL
After crossing the lake, we went to Old Rail Brewery for our last meal before hopping on the plane back.... and... it was probably one of the best meals we've had in New Orleans! Check out this brisket burger with beer battered onion rings.
Wing, shrimp tamale, fish and chips, pork belly with kimchi were all spot on.
We ordered fried boudin - a popular souther dish of pork, sausage and rice mixture then battered up and fried crispy.
Now it's time to head back and shed those holiday pounds! Happy New Year everyone!