Exploring the Vibrant Heart & Soul of New Orleans...

Hey guys!! So, if you're here, then you've probably peeped my recent trip I posted on my social media to NOLA & wanna know ALL about it, OR you're considering booking a trip to NOLA, orrrr even better...You've officially made the decision to book a trip to NOLA! Whatever your reasoning, I say kudos to you (!!!), because it is definitely a win-win scenario, and should definitely be on your bucket list if you, like myself, appreciate the finer things in life, such as, enriched culture, soulful music, & AHH-MAZING food!

So, we all have a special place in our hearts that we love to go to because it has us beaming from ear-to-ear, like a kid in a candy store, making us feel alive! For me, one of those special places, is New Orleans, Louisiana. If you want a quick synopsis of what this beautiful city has to offer, then be sure to read on!

Now, if you've recently been keeping up with my socials, then you'd know that I just came back from visiting the BIG Easy for the second time, for my birthday, and had a blast! And, in this blog post, I'm going to share with you my, newly learned, knowledge, my recommendations, & my full-blown itinerary, so that you can make the most of your time there too! So, get ready for some hot Louisiana tea!

My Quick Guide To New Orleans

Photo Credit: Nyejah Bold Photography

WHAT TO DO

Walk around the French Quarter. Even better if you book your hotel within the French Quarter or within walking distance of the French Quarter. This way, you're right in the middle of all the action...Close to many activities that you'll probably want to check out (make sure to check out all the Tripadvisor tours I booked below)...And you'll most definitely save on cab fares. Basically, the French Quarter is where it's AT and where you'll wanna be!

If you're a history & culture enthusiast, like myself, then you'll enjoy the plethora of art, historical, cultural, food, & haunted-based tours this city has to offer! I wasn't bold enough to do the haunted tours, nor the voodoo tours this time around, but best believe that I ABSOLUTELY took advantage of the street art, historical, & food based tours.

Perhaps, I'll be courageous enough to do the cemetery, haunted, & voodoo tours next time. I don't know...We'll shall see. My biggest concern is bringing back bad energy with me. New Orleans is very much a vibrant, energetic city, however it comes with a dark past...Hence the notion that the city has an extremely thin veil with the spiritual realm, and is notorious for its plentiful amount of haunted homes & buildings. So...THAT part can be a bit off-putting for someone like me, who believe that these things do indeed exist. There are just way too many stories for one not to be aware that there is definitely SOMETHING a bit more to this city (if you know you know...).

On my trip 10 years ago, I did happen to book an alligator tour via the hotel concierge (I stayed at the Crowne Plaza that time), and that was pretty cool too! For this trip, I booked most of my tours via Trip Advisor and I've listed everything I did below:

Royal Horse Carriage Tour

You'll take a trip down memory lane as you're whisked away on a horse-carriage ride with historical recounts of the city of New Orleans. To be honest, there was a FULL-blown storm & flood-watch-warning in effect during my carriage ride, which left us soaked from head to toe on my birthday haha (!!!), but we made the best of it. I highly suggest monitoring the weather closely. The forecast did say rain, but that is a hit or miss with NOLA, and it was too late to cancel my booking without losing monies, so I figured let's just hope it doesn't rain for our booking. BUT, it did rain and it rained HARD haha!! But now, I know what to do for next time! I'll just book the tour while traveling & not so far in advance.

Street Art Walking Tour featuring Banksy

If you're an art head like myself (especially street art), then you'll thoroughly enjoy this tour. It is a 2-hour walking tour through what is known as the 8th ward, with a pretty funny tour guide, if you get Mike. If you're a rather fit person, then you should be fine with the walk. Just make sure to grab a bottle of water, especially, if it is hot, which it more than likely will be, & an umbrella (!!!) because you just never know in Louisiana.

Ti Jon: Craft Your Own Cologne

This was by far one of my most favorite activities I've ever booked on a trip, because I'm low-key kind-of a nerd, who likes learning new things and how things works hehe. So, I thought it'd be cool to plan out a NOLA birthday itinerary where I did out-of-the-box activities that would make lasting memories, and crafting my own fragrance at Ti Jon definitely did that! We were provided full-on white lab coats and were taught the process of making perfumes & colognes. The class includes the creation of 3 different perfume/cologne mixtures with a selection of your favorite scent, at the end. The perfume (or cologne for guys) is then bottled and labeled with a personalized fragrance name that you choose. I named my scent "Creole Lady" because it was giving comfy & cozy with a little bit of spice. It definitely was such a cool, unique, & fun experience. Plus, how awesome is it to not only make your own fragrance, but to say you did it in NOLA!

Creole Louisiana: French Quarter Walking Tour

This tour included a wealth of knowledge about the creole people of New Orleans, and the subtle nuances of what it means to be considered creole, cajun, & everything in-between. And so, it was interesting learning the distinctions of what that means to various groups of people. My tour guide, Lawson, presumed that I was a Louisiane given my surname. But, I informed him that I am actually the daughter of Haitian immigrants, which would largely explain my French-based last name, Blanc.

He then proceeded to discuss the major historical connections Haitian people have with Louisiana, particularly, the city of New Orleans, which subsequently came as a result of the Haitian Revolution. The large migration of Haitians to NOLA after the Haitian Revolution, heavily impacted the city in so many ways. More specifically, you'll notice the strong cultural influences in the food, music, & various traditions. This would explain how much of the food I ate, was, uncannily, similar to what I grew up eating at home! Even desserts were extremely similar to Haitian desserts. For example, pralines are a famous dessert in Louisiana and Haitians consume a sweet called tablet.

Additionally, he mentioned how the Louisiana Purchase would not have been made possible without the Haitian people, and how numerous historical accounts, offhandedly, leave-out that important component. Not only was it refreshing to learn subject matter with more historical accuracy, but to also hear a tour guide acknowledge a group of people who are often overlooked and portrayed as everything, but the strong, savvy, resourceful, courageous, & resilient, people they actually are.

Lawson, also asked what "creole" meant to me, and I said that I speak Haitian creole, and so for me, creole is a dialect. He actually spoke Louisiana creole with me for a good portion of the tour and I was able to understand most of what he was saying, which I thought was pretty cool. He eluded that the majority of people today, might comprehend the creole label to be what an individual like Beyoncé embodies due to her physical features, however you'll learn that in NOLA the term creole goes far beyond that. I don't want to give too too much away, but just know you'll learn a lot more than what I've already shared, so definitely book it if you're interested in learning a more niched & accurate historical narrative!

New Orleans School of Cooking: Hands-on Cooking Class

If you're like me, then you're an ultimate foodie haha!! All the tours were great and one-of-a-kind experiences! It's a little difficult to narrow it down to 1 favorite, but if I had to, then it would definitely be New Orleans School of Cooking hands down (Chef Lynn was awesome!!). I learned new recipes & new skills in the kitchen, which was great! Your instructor will narrate some NOLA history, then you'll created 3 different dishes (you get to select which ones you want based on which days you book). You'll be grouped into pairs and be designated an entire cooking station equipped with a stove, kitchen tools, & ingredients. After cooking your 3-course meal, you'll sit down with all your classmates as you break bread and get to know each other, while enjoying the prepared brunch or dinner. We opted for dinner and made gumbo, shrimp & grits, & banana foster crepes, and O.M.G. everything was so-SO good! I can't wait to share some of these recipes with you in my IG mini-series "Curated Cocktails, Cuisine, & Culture."

Listen...I believe that a lifetime is STILL not enough time to check out all the New Orleans restaurants serving deliciously, decadent foods, BUT I think I did a pretty damn good job with my selections this time, and I'm excited to share them all with you!

Historical Walking Food Tour

I should have probably read the fine print with this tour, because why'd I think it'd be bite-sized portions of food y'all?! Haha!! This tour, which was narrated by Dr. Gumbo, was 3-hours of walking and eating what I consider to be full-sized meals. Don't get me wrong, the meals were delicious, and I literally had what I considered the best dessert I've ever eaten in my life, on this tour, which is definitely saying a lot for this foodie with a bit of a sweeth tooth. The dessert was banana foster bread pudding by the way!

Ultimately, these tours were awesome, fun, experiences that I'll never forget, and that I'd do again in a heartbeat during my next visit to NOLA.

Lastly, when we weren't actively, partaking in the tours, we were walking around, exploring nearby areas like the French Market, Frenchmen Street, Garden District, & Magazine Street, and hitting up the best-kept-secret, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, which brings me to my next topic....Where to eat?!

WHAT TO EAT

Listen...I believe that a lifetime is still not enough time to check out all the New Orleans restaurants serving deliciously, decadent foods, BUT I think I did a pretty damn good job with my selections this time, and I'm excited to share them all with you! Oh yea...BIG disclaimer, if you like to indulge in good ole fashioned, southern meals, then you'll 1000% gain a few pounds on this trip! So, don't say that I didn't warn ya! Make sure to bring your appetite & stretchy pants!

Ruby Slippers

Day No. 1 - We started off at one of my fave breakfast/brunch spots called Ruby Slippers. I ate at this restaurant 10 years ago, as a recommended spot by a friend/New Orleans native, and to this day, I still think of how delicious the crab cake egg benedicts were! Funny enough, I went with my mouth already salivating, and was informed by our waitress that the dish is seasonal only and wasn't currently in season (even though last time I went was during the same week of my birthday :-/). Needless to say, I was pretty bummed about that, but I quickly found another menu item to satiate my appetite, which was the Trifecta, which included a trio of their signature egg benedicts, along with a "Hello Sunshine" cocktail. This was our only real meal for Day #1 (outside of a banana on the way to the airport) because we literally landed dropped off luggage and went to go eat (priorities y'all....priorities haha!!), so this meal filled us up for the rest of the day.

Oh yes (!!!), I initially always thought that there was only one Ruby Slippers, but there is actually a chain of restaurants, all owned by the same family. Not that it matters too much, but just to give it more context...My 1st visit to Ruby Slippers was on Canal Street, and my 2nd visit was at the one on Decatur and both were equally delicious! My overall food rating: 5/5 

Man oh man...!!! When the locals tell you the hidden gems...YOU LISTEN! Ya hear me?! Haha!!

Lil Dizzy's Café

Day No. 2 - Now my birthday fell on Day No. 2, which was a Monday, and so, I thought that meant no long lines and shorter wait times, but boy was I wrong! The wait wasn't too crazy though, but any wait time is a bit annoying for someone who hates waiting haha!! Especially, in the midst of a torrential downpour (Don't worry they had outdoor seating with a wood awning) haha. We waited approx 35 minutes, and we had arrived at approximately 11:30 am. Needless to say, this longtime staple in New Orleans, called Lil Dizzy's Café, is now another brunch spot favorite for me for sure.

Oh yes (!!!), I should mention a slight disclaimer that this restaurant isn't the most glamourous, but personally, I find those to be the best ones! You get a protein and 2 sides, so I went with Crabcakes, Mac & Cheese, & Collard Greens, and this creole soul food DID NOT DISAPPOINT! And, like Ruby Slipper's...This restaurant kept up us full for most of the day. My overall food rating: 5/5.

St. John

Day No. 2 - Since it was my birthday, I wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner, and St. John came up in one of my searches for the best restaurants. So I thought why not, however I'd say out of all the restaurants we went to (and we went to several), this one had the least southern hospitality vibes. So I didn't feel so welcomed...Our waitress just seemed to be bothered to wait 1 more table for the night. Then she said, "the bar wants to know if they can close, or would you want a drink." I don't know, but that was extremely off-putting for me, as we had literally JUST sat down. She must've heard me grumble something, because her disposition changed shortly afterwards and then she was overly nice. I will say, I booked the last reservation for 8:30 pm and the restaurant closed at 9:00 pm., but don't have an 8:30 pm option if that's how you're going to act...I noted it was my birthday on the reservation by the way, but this restaurant, albeit nice was definitely not the vibes. Again, I think the more fancy a restaurant is, the less stellar the food tends to be.

I ordered the gumbo, which was too thin & watery for me (I prefer a heartier consistency for my gumbos & soups; it shouldn't be giving broth vibes haha). So, personally, I felt it lacked in flavor...For my entree, I ordered the Creole Beef Daube, which tasted reallyyy good! I ordered The Bright Side for my cocktail, and it left a LOT to be desired. I didn't have room for dessert cause I was stuffed from my entree & honestly wanted to leave cause the vibes wasn't giving haha!! My overall food rating: 3.95/5 (it would have been a 3.75, but my Creole Beef Daube entree brought it up to a 3.95/5).

Cafe Beignet

Day No. 3 - 10 years ago I went to Café Du Monde, and I had no complaints. However, this time I wanted to try a different beignet café to see if there was any difference that I would instantly notice, and I'd say that Cafe Beignet tasted pretty much the same to me. I ate an andouille omelette and it was decent. Nothing to write home about, but the beignets were good. My overall food rating: 3.95/5 

Loretta's Authentic Pralines

Day No. 3 & 4 - Man oh man...!!! When the locals tell you the hidden gems...YOU LISTEN! Ya here me?! Haha!! I definitely let my sweet tooth get the best of me on this trip. I wish I had known about Loretta's prior to going to Café Beignet, but then again, I wouldn't be able to notice the difference in flavor if I hadn't tried both (Yea...yea...I know that I'm rationalizing breaking my healthy regime, but you only live once! haha!!) Loretta's is one of those best kept secrets that should be OUT! They have an array of decadent beignets, which include savory & sweet. I tried the crab beignets, and it was so nice I had to go twice! I wanted to try the crawfish, but they weren't in season :-/. So I'll have to add that to my list for next time! My overall food rating: 5/5.

Dat Dog

Day No. 4 - Dat Dog came upon my several searches for best NOLA restaurants and I had the opportunity to check it out during a late night craving. I visited the one on Frenchmen Street, which is popular for having live bands playing throughout the day & night. The fact that Jazz Fest began the next day made the street more lively than usual, which was quite a delight. I'd say the wait for the hot dogs was pretty long, so I was expecting to be WOWED, however....I would say it was definitely giving MID. I mean it was good, but not mind-blowing, and the size was that of a regular-sized sausage. I mean, yes, it had all the fixings, but still if I'm waiting THAT long for a dog then it's gotta be a little bigger than the standard size. But, to each his own. I ordered the Rougarou, which is alligator sausage. I also ordered a Hurricane cocktail, which was bomb! My overall food rating: 3.75/5.

WHERE TO STAY

A decade ago, I stayed at the Crowne Plaza on Canal Street, and honestly it was rated as a 5-star hotel at the time. But, personally, I ended up giving it a 3.5 out of 5 stars for my stay. Mainly, for the moldy odor that came with our room :-/. Hopefully, they have since worked on that. I mean it's a whole decade later haha.

This time, I opted for different hotel, and so I booked my stay at the Hyatt Centric French Quarter. I also wanted the hotel that I booked to have a balcony in which I could potentially see some of the parades marching down the street. Well, I should have done more research with the hotels (even though I searched for days :-/) because, come to find out...The balcony in the type of room that I had booked, faced either the courtyard of the hotel or the hotel pool. I then later found out that the king suites with the balconies are the room types that face faced Dauphine Street...Sighsss...I guess there is always next time for the picturesque balcony.

Ultimately, I'd say that the recent hotel renovations were beautifully, designed. Particularly, the lobby and bar area. However, I feel as though the rooms still needed some updates. Certain bedroom amenities seemed a little outdated, and others were nonexistent like there being no microwave, so there was no way to heat up your delicious leftovers, unless you went downstairs and asked the kitchen staff, which I wasn't going to be doing all of that haha. My

overall hotel-stay rating: 3.5/5

WHAT TO AVOID

As with traveling anywhere, you'll want to just stay vigilant and make smart decisions. Avoid falling for tourist traps, which in NOLA, usually includes a man walking up to you and telling you that he likes your shoes and then asking you, "I bet I know where you got them shoes." Basically, it's a scam for him to promote his "shoe-shining" skills and make a quick buck.

Luckily, I've never been asked, although I'm usually wearing sandals and walk with a mean New York mug, so there's that haha!! But, just say you're a local and keep it moving if you don't wanna be bothered.

Oh YES! And, be extremely careful if anyone asks you to bump elbows with them. Just don't do it! As mentioned earlier, this city is infamous for being one of thee most haunted cities in the world. Now, I know that many people don't believe in hauntings & what not, but know that just because YOU have never seen nor experienced supernatural occurrences, doesn't mean that they do not exist. Just be alert, and BE CAREFUL with who you engage with. As in, don't just be going to to any random fortune teller shop or table in Jackson Square to get your palm read simply because you think it would be cute moment for IG. It's REAL out here in these New Orleans streets! Don't say I didn't warn ya!

Additionally, be careful when walking streets at night. Try to stay where you see more people and lights. Be careful when getting tipsy and walking around day OR night. I don't want to sound like a buzzkill here or scare you..I want you to have fun and you will!!! BUT, just be attentive & awar, and try to travel with someone if you can. If you are traveling alone, especially, for my women, never EVER say that you're alone. You can simply say your friend, boyfriend, or whatever is in a nearby store or on his way now from the hotel. Like I said, just make smart decisions!

HOW TO PLAN

So, confession...I already told you that I am low-key a nerd, but the actual truth, is that I am a full-blown nerd, who always plans out her vacays to the T! I am an Event Planner after-all :-). I always create a travel itinerary for every single trip...No matter how short or long the getaway is. No, it's NOT to suck the fun out of everything haha, but rather to provide some structure, so that I'm not wandering aimlessly or missing out on opportunities to carpe diem! And, honestly we have a BLAST every.single.time! With an itinerary, you maximize your time. Especially, since it all flies by so quick when you're having a fun time! So, you have full permission to steal mine below and make any necessary adjustments haha!!

Well, there you have it guys! My recent NOLA experience with all the tea! I hope this post helped or inspired you to look into going and booking your trip! Keep an eye out for the latest blog posts & IG series, which will feature some delicious recipes that I learned during my stay!

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