Well, everyone else has blogged about it already (Brian, when are you getting a blog?), but I thought I’d go ahead and post more detail about the just finished trip to New Orleans with Chris, James, Layton, Brian, Ian and myself. Ian had a good point, while it’s great to use blogs as a tool to communicate what you’re up to with other people, it’s also a “web log”, a journal, a diary for myself so I can write down the details and recall them later (as we all know otherwise I’ll forget).

So, we headed out on standby Thursday evening. That was the first time Ian and I have been bumped on a flight to the next one. The flights were surprisingly busy for a hot humid weekend in New Orleans, but that doesn’t slow anyone down. We considered going home and getting a last minute ticket on Southwest, but we stuck it out to the next flight. Grabbed an overpriced so-so burger at Friday’s in the airport and luckily made first class on the next flight! So I had a few glasses of wine courtesy of American.
There in New Orleans we had a bite of food (2nd dinner as hobbits would say) at the Gumbo Shop. If you want good Cajun/Creole, go there! Yum Then, on to the gay bars for some music, drinks, and chatting with everyone. A few people stayed up til 5 (and broke a glass!) but I passed out at 2.

Friday was a fun, relaxing day. We ate at Coop’s, a local place our concierge at the Place D’Armes recommended, for lunch and I had some delectable crawfish & tasso alfredo. Tasso is a Cajun ham, and Coop’s smoked their own. I don’t know what spices are used to make it, but their Tasso was delicious!! Pat O’Brien’s and some hurricanes helped the humid afternoon hours slip away. I’ll breeze past dinner at Fiorella’s. Poor service, so-so food. You can skip it!

Saturday I still had a craving for breakfast (at 11) after our complimentary croissant and juice at the hotel (with a sweet older black female hostess that wouldn’t let you lift a finger!), so we headed to Cafe Du Monde. The line was too long, so we went to the infamous Clover Grill for breakfast. This place is greasy, and as Earl, the large but effeminate black man behind the counter will say “guhrl, if you’re in a hurry you best leave, this is NOT fast food”. We probably would have been through Cafe Du Monde faster, but Clover Grill is sort of turning into a tradition with us, and it’s quite an experience. It’s a classic diner with a few tables and stools at the bar. They cook your food right there. It was delicious, if greasy. Eggs (scrambled of course), grits, sausage, and toast.

We visited the Aquarium of the Americas on Saturday, which is an excellent aquarium there on the riverwalk of New Orleans. It had informative,interactive exhibits and so many different forms of sea life: fish, turtles, sharks, everything! The sea dragon is a bizarre relative of the sea horse. The picture doesn’t do it justice, it floats around and literally looks like a piece of floating kelp. The 3-D sharks movie afterwards was nice but not amazing.

(A pause here as I let fussy Nigel who hasn’t been petted in 3 days up in my lap — and let him block my monitor!)

Also, had a muffaletta at the Central Grocery (supposed home of the muffaletta), and it was the best one I’ve ever had! The cold cuts were top notch, and the olive spread had a nice balance of garlic, olives, olive oil, and other seasonings. Even Ian, who NEVER likes olives, enjoyed it. I was shocked, let’s just say. Dinner was at Angeli’s. I had a grilled chicken salad. Pleasant place with good food, but not really distinctively New Orleans. Still, if you’re in the mood for a break from Cajun, a good place.

Finally, we made it back today (first class) and unpacked and have just been relaxing at home (so nice after a vacation — even on a relaxing one, you still need time at home to relax as well!). The hotel we stayed at Place D’Armes, is a wonderful old hotel, with a nice pool, excellent staff, and a great location near the gay bars, Bourbon Street in general, Jackson Square, basically everything! Reasonable prices. Highly recommended.

So, there’s New Orleans for you if you actually read this far! It’s a fun city, especially with a group of friends. Go there, stay in the French Quarter where it’s all at so you don’t have to drive. Drink, enjoy the food and music, and appreciate the beautiful old buildings. Oh, and hold your nose when the smell is bad!