NOLA

Every once in a while Chris gets a burst of spontaneity and decides we need a weekend getaway - this time the destination was New Orleans! Chris' previous trip there was cut short by a hurricane & I had never been before so it was a great plan! We caught a Friday afternoon flight and were there before dinner. There was not alot of advance planning, but just enough. I had scoped out online some of the best restaurants and oyster bars to keep us busy while we were there. Friday night we hit up Acme's Oyster Bar. The key was getting there early before the line was out the door. We hit it just in time! I dined on po-boys, raw oysters & char grilled oysters. It was delish! After dinner we walked around the french quarter & then found a place for dessert. Chris had his fave bananas foster & I had pecan pie. Yummy! Saturday morning we had reservations at The New Orleans Cooking School. A friend had recommend it and boy was she right on! This may have my favorite part of the trip! I highly recommend this to anyone visiting NOLA. Lots of great food & great cooking tips. You sit at large round tables with random people - which of course Chris loved! We had a fun group! I think Chris' favorite part of this experience was the bread pudding and pralines! The boy is probably 50% sugar. They also serve Abita beer which is brewed locally and quite good. That afternoon we shopped & stopped by Pat O'Briens to have our token hurricane. They have many wonderful art galleries and great local shops. When our lunch wore off we grabbed a few more oysters and some local beer at Desire Oyster Bar. Our waitress there was a very knowledgeable local and we really enjoyed her company! I found a new beer to love - Abita's purple haze! So tasty! After some bar hopping we met up with Brad & Emily McKenzie (Baton Rouge residents). We had made plans for dinner with the McKenzie's at K Pauls restaurant. K Paul has many local specialties on the menu. Chris & Brad opted for the rabbit - I had a taste. It just seems wrong to eat rabbit. Any who we had an amazing time with them - as usual! We wish they loved a little closer so we could do this on a regular basis. Thanks again for making the drive over! Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast at Cafe du Monde, because well its not a trip to New Orleans if you don't. After hearing all the hype about it I can honestly say we weren't that impressed. I think I'll stick with donuts & Starbucks next time. So after waiting in line for a not so wonderful breakfast we set out to find a real one :) Finally we found one at Oceana Grill. With full tummies we set out to ride the cable cars to see the garden district. The homes were AMAZING! Architecture from many different areas are represented. The cable cars were a perfect solution for the rainy afternoon. After that is was time to head home. Fantastic weekend getaway!