The Dianderthal gang (me and my oldest and youngest) took another trip to the Big Easy this summer. Not sure if this is going to be an annual thing, but if it becomes so, there will be plenty new for me to see and do for years to come, along with necessary re-visits. Here are the 2018 highlights:
Q&C Hotel
Things got off to a rocky start with a delayed flight out of LAX. Instead of arriving around 11:00 pm, we got in at 1:00ish, and to our hotel, the Q&C between the Business District and the Quarter, after 2:00 am. Ready for a good night’s rest, our hotel had given away our room (*note to self – next time, call when arriving late evening), offering a space at a sister hotel two blocks down. Which seemed like a deal we could handle, until, at 9:00 am, construction noise (seemingly right next door and above and below) woke us, pushing us out for breakfast and sightseeing a couple hours earlier than we’d planned (when checking in, we weren’t told why we might need the earplugs left on the nightstand).
Once we finally settled in at the Q&C that afternoon (we weren’t charged for our raucous, half-night stay down the street), things perked up. Billed as boutique, Q&C delivered in charm and comfort, both of their lobbies (the hotel has two separate buildings) offering us a space to commune, relax, and people watch in between outings.
Red Dress Run
Coincidentally, we arrived on the weekend of the city’s Red Dress Run, an annual fundraising event for local agencies where participants, donned in red dresses of all kinds, make a boozy one-mile run that finishes on Bourbon Street. All weekend, we came across runners…more accurately, partyers…of all sorts celebrating in red. A fun idea for a girlfriends trip that supports a good cause. Just have to watch the course for regurgitation – get to the front of the starting line if you really plan to run.
Shopping on Magazine
This would have been a more successful experience without my travel companions (my kids didn’t inherit my shopping genes), but I did what I could to enjoy our time on Magazine, patronizing the quaint shops, cafes, and spots along the way. My best finds included a new pair of running shoes from Varsity Sports and a couple of picture books from The French Library. I also supped up a tasty, flaky breakfast croissant at La Boulangerie. To my kids’ relief, our Magazine Street adventure was cut short by a torrential downpour just as we’d sat to enjoy sno-balls from Imperial Woodpecker. To escape the rain, we enjoyed Ethiopian tea at Café Abyssinia, then took the streetcar back to our hotel to rest and ready for our evening out.
NOLA Magnificence
We couldn’t visit the city without taking in some things quintessentially New Orleans. Bourbon Street (with remnants of Red Dressed runners). St. Louis Cathedral. Historic cemeteries. The French Market and Café Du Monde. Live jazz on Frenchmen at The Maison. Rides on the streetcar. A haunted tour of the Quarter. And the Drake “Kiki” house. A good introduction to the city for my oldest, who was enjoying her first trip there.
Great Eats, Of Course
Q&C’s HotelBar, in our hotel’s lobby, hooked me because of its convenience (especially with the blustery weather), sumptuous sandwiches, and wondrous French fries and dipping sauce. The French 75 & Fries Happy Hour special proved particularly tempting. More than once. More than thrice.
We only went into the Creole House because, as we stood on a corner thinking about what we wanted to do, the skies opened up and began dumping buckets of water on us. We wanted a place to stay dry. And we were hungry. And Creole House stood literally 20 feet from our rainy corner. The risk, of eating blindly (if you don’t know this about me, I spend a good percentage of my life researching restaurants, going over menus and reading reviews), paid off. Months later, I still crave the succulent, creamy flavors and textures assembled in my Bayou Bowl, with potatoes, crab cakes, and a runny egg. The kids, too, were well pleased with their entrees.
My favorite beverage of the trip was the Purple Drank at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. The original bar on Bourbon Street (and proclaimed as the oldest bar in these United States), Lafitte’s was the rest stop on our haunted walking tour. The tour guide recommended Purple Drank (formally known as Voodoo Daiquiri), an alcohol-laced slushie that won in many ways on such a humid day. I returned the next day for another, and will buy a couple few more the next time I’m in the city.
Our last dinner during our visit was at nearby Trenasse, a pick of my oldest child. Though already full from a full day of eating, I said yes to dessert, ordering the Heaven & Earth cake, composed of chocolate, berries, and ice cream. It was a delicious way to say goodbye.
This trip proved that it’s really hard to go wrong in The Big Easy. Although it is difficult to do right (thanks, Purple Drank).