New Orleans

Well, we're well into October so I thought I'd post a fun October trip: New Orleans (another great October trip? The Balloon Fiesta). Now, I've been here myself 3 times now (hopefully 4 by the end of the month), and EVERY SINGLE TIME it was over Halloween weekend. That's not an accident. While I'm sure it's fun other times of the year, Halloween in NoLa is a treat.

Getting there

You can find a decent price on a nonstop to New Orleans pretty easy if you keep your eyes open. Southwest will often have a sale, or we have used our AA miles to get here as well. Once you arrive, grab your luggage and stand in the taxi line outside. When it's your turn, grab a taxi (which has flat rates to the French Quarter area), and you'll be in the fun in no time. Check in, grab a beer to go, and head out.

Where We Stay

My former in-laws introduced me to New Orleans and they love staying at Le Richelieu, which is a great spot. Last time we went, that hotel was closed due to COVID so we stayed at Hotel Provincial instead.

It was awesome! We had some weird experiences while we were there, so I Googled the hotel and come to find out, there's rumors that it's haunted. For our stay, one night we were sleeping and woke up to all the lights on in the room. Now, I'm one of those people that cannot sleep with any lights on- I plan to travel with electrical tape to cover any lights the hotel rooms might have. So I know that we did not leave any lights on, let alone every single one of them. Another time we had been out exploring all day and got back, I jumped in the shower and immediately someone was knocking at our door. Chris answered it and it was a hotel employee checking on the room because a fire alarm had been going off in our room. They had apparently been calling our room, but our phone never rang. We hadn't heard the alarm since we walked in, but they were insistent there was an alarm going off and they wanted to enter to see the room. Chris assured them there was no fire and they reluctantly left. Just kinda weird. I'm curious if we'll have any other odd experiences this year. This hotel, and Le Richelieu, are both off Chartres St, a couple blocks off of Bourbon Street. Now, I have stayed on Bourbon Street one time and that was a mistake! The hotel was very very very cute, but we ended up with a room right on Bourbon Street and even though we were at the end of the street, the noise at night still kept me awake. So I would recommend staying a block or two off Bourbon.

Things To Do

Bourbon Street

There's a lot to do in New Orleans. The most popular and easiest is just hanging out on Bourbon Street.

The people watching is fun, the bands in every bar are great, and it's a fun and festive atmosphere.

We have spent plenty of time just walking up and down Bourbon, people watching and jumping into a bar that had a good band. You could spend all night just walking the street without even entering a bar and still have fun. There are plenty of togo windows to buy a drink and you're able to drink it as you walk around.

Chris and I had fun doing that for most of the night one night. 

Tours

There are lots of different tour options in NoLa. You can hop on a horse drawn buggy tour, book a food tour (we're booked for Destination Kitchen this month- I'll report back on it), take a haunted ghost tour such as a Hottest Hell tour. Some are better than others, of course. Last time, we took a haunted pub crawl tour and ended up walking away from it. The tour guide just wasn't very engaging and wasn't a believer in ghosts himself so the tour was just lackluster. But I have high hopes for these that we're booked for this month.

 

I would also recommend a swamp tour! Many will pick you up in the French Quarter and drive you out to the swamps. We did an airboat tour when we went and it was a lot of fun!

 

Eating 

There are a lot of great restaurants in New Orleans. Of course there's Cafe Du Monde for beignets.

Felix's is a great oyster place- make sure to get the charbroiled oysters!

Do fresh somewhere else. When in New Orleans, charbroiled is the only way to go. Some other quintessential New Orleans places are Commander's Palace, Brennan's and many, many more. And while it's not so much an eating spot as a bar, Lafitte's is a must to check out while in the French Quarter.

It is supposedly the oldest structure to be used as a bar in the USA. Clover Grill on Bourbon Street is a 24/7 spot that is perfect for a late night (or anytime) meal.

 

Frenchmen Street

Check out Frenchmen Street one night. The busiest night of the year here will be Halloween, but the live music should make any night memorable.

Unfortunately, the last time we visited everything was still closed due to COVID, but I think it's back and again full of jazz, blues, and reggae. I'm excited to check it out again this year.

 

No matter what you do in New Orleans, you'll have fun. You don't have to do anything but show up and I know you'll still have an entertaining and memorable trip.