On Friday, I headed down to New Orleans, LA for my college roommate’s bachelorette party. My connecting flight arrived in NOLA around 2:20 pm. The airport taxi and shuttle lines were crazy. The waiting time appeared to be over an hour. I bought a $20 shuttle ticket to my hotel but didn’t use it after spotting a shorter taxi line at the end of the terminal. TIP: Don’t take the shuttle!
After a 30 minute $33 taxi ride, I arrived at Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter at 4pm. Our home base for the weekend.
Perfectly situated within walking distance to all the bars and amazing food, we didn’t need to take cabs once! The rooms were spacious and beds comfortable. It was a little chilly during our stay but the hotel roof deck was amazing. This is where the gym is located too. While I didn’t use the gym, the equipment looked brand new and the view overlooking the Mississippi River was a great touch.
The hotel is known for having a famous carousel bar. I thought prior to my arrival, there was literally a carousel in the bar. Oh the perils of being a blonde sometimes.
Our first night, we started with drinks at the hotel bar which were delicious. The food looked great but we had a reservation a few blocks away.
Caitlin’s sister, the maid of honor arranged a prix fix menu for our group. I ordered the salmon but asked for the sweet potatoes which were delicious. The real highlight were the small fresh baked biscuits we got prior to our salads. I thought I did not like biscuits but these things changed my mind.
We bar hopped along Bourbon Street after dinner until 3 am! Caitlin was a great sport. Not the tiara wearing kind gal, we got her a small Mardi Gras headdress with a feather and sash. New Orleans seemed to be filled with Bacherlorette and Bachelor parties making it very fun. We finished the night at a bar off of Bourbon Street that was filled with more kids that looked like preppy Tulane college students. They played great music and it was my favorite bar of the weekend but I can’t remember the name of it! There was a $5 cover but well worth it. Most Bourbon Street bars do not have covers.
I could not get over how crowded the streets were. They were almost just as fun people watching as dancing in the bars. I wore flats the entire weekend and was very happy. There is no where to sit at the bars we went to and you are constantly moving. Comfortable shoes were advised and a must. The dress is also VERY casual. I loved this. New Orleans reminded me a little bit of Nashville.
The next morning we headed out to grab brunch at Stanley’s. Everyone told us to go there so I knew there would be a wait which ended up being 90 minutes to 2 hours! We satisfied our hunger by visiting Cafe Du Monde, the famous beignet place that had a 40 minute line for fried dough and coffee.
For me, they were not the show stopper the line led me to believe, but they were good. They tasted exactly like little fried doughs. Each order comes with 3 so everybody in the group got one to try. After some walking around, I decided I loved this little city. It was so cute, decorated in preparation for Mardi Gras next week which we purposely avoided.
The streets were filled with performers who were unassumingly very, very talented. NOLA is known for it’s Jazz music and did not disappoint.
Finally we sat down at Stanley’s and I realized we were in the deep south. There was nothing on the menu that was “Sarah Fit” approved, as if the beignet was. I ordered the obligatory Bloody Mary for bachelorette brunch, a side salad and cup of seafood gumbo which was amazing. I’ve never ordered gumbo before but Stanley’s was a stellar option as rocked my world.
The Bloody Mary was awesome too! After the wait, my hunger had built up and my choices made me a happy girl.
After Brunch it was almost 2 pm and we headed back to Bourbon Street for some day time fun!
More to come later 🙂 …
