Happy New Year

We had so much fun in New Orleans with Justin’s Dad and Stepmom (Doug and Jane).  You have seen them many times on this blog, we are travel buddies!

We started New Year’s Eve like this:

And ended it like this:

Baahaha!

Let me back up a little.  We left Kansas City Wednesday afternoon.

Blood Mary’s to get us in the spirit!

We got settled in at the hotel (Hilton Garden Inn) and had a drink at the hotel bar.

Then we headed to Bourbon Street

We ate dinner at Deanie’s.  I enjoyed every bite of the onion ring appetizer and broiled fish with green beans for my meal.

Thursday I got the day going (and the salt moving) with an hour of cardio.  I started off on the elliptical, then did some running and incline walking on the treadmill and finished off on a recumbent bike.  It was a great way to start the day.  After a quick shower, I was ready for some FRIED CHICKEN at Willie Mae’s Scotch House!

If you go to New Orleans, you HAVE to go to Willie Mae’s.  Their chicken is rated #1 in the nation!

The rest of the afternoon was spent down by the river walking around and shopping.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous the whole time we were there…..70’s during the day and mid 50’s at night.

A trip to New Orleans wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Café du Monde for beignets.

Before dinner, we stopped by the first hotel we stayed at 3 years ago to check in with our favorite bartender, Leyla.  It’s become an annual thing to check in with her when we are in town.  She always has great recommendations and stories!

Dinner was at Drago’s.  Oh. My. Gosh.  Another must try place!  We enjoyed the charbroiled oysters for an appetizer and then Justin got a whole lobster and I got the lobster salad for dinner.

We definitely drank a little too much that night and did a lot of walking around, ending up at a total dive bar.

We actually managed to get going fairly early on Friday, grabbed breakfast at a great little place called Commerce and then hopped on the trolley headed to the Garden District.

That was a wonderful day.  The Garden District is so quiet and beautiful. We walked by Sandra Bullock’s house and Lafayette Cemetery.  We had drinks and sweet potato fries at a restaurant with sidewalk seating and I ate a Macaroon!

Justin and I were definitely ready for a nap after all that walking, so we headed back to the hotel.  Once rested, we all headed to Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse for some seriously good food! 

By Friday night, pretty much everyone is in town for the festivities, Bourbon gets shut down and the police take to horseback for patrol.  It is such a sight to see and the energy is palpable.

Saturday, New Year’s Eve, I started the day with another hour of cardio.  I had downloaded Scrabble onto my Nook and so I did 5 miles on the elliptical while playing Scrabble!

It was also Doug and Jane’s wedding anniversary and we enjoyed breakfast at Oceana’s. 

Justin, Jane and I all enjoyed crepes.  I think we all could have shared ONE!

After breakfast, we took a long walk down to Lafitte’s.

For lunch, we planted ourselves on a balcony for several hours and watched Bourbon fill with people!

We sat there so long, Justin and I were ready to eat again by the time we left.  Street dogs!

New Year’s Eve dinner was at Antoine’s.  It is a beautiful, elegant place but the food was just good. Not spectacular, but good.  I left my camera in the room so the only pictures I took were with my cell phone and it was of Justin and Jane’s after dinner drinks!

We brought in the new year a little different then past years in NOLA.  We bought our own alcohol and headed to the roof top of our hotel!  We could see Bourbon Street in the distance and fireworks all around and it sure was nice to hop in the elevator and head back to our room instead of fighting that crowd when we were ready to call it a night!

Happy New Year, Friends!