I Want A Baby Alligator

If you missed part 1 and part 2 of my NOLA recap, you should go read them and catch yourself up!

Day 4 of our NOLA trip included a Swamp Tour and a Plantation Tour. There are lots of different companies and tour options and we chose to work with Cajun Pride Swamp Tours. They were great. The shuttle picked us up at our hotel and our driver told us a lot about the history of the city while we drove out to the swamp. 

Our swamp tour guide was amazing. He knew so much about the land, the swamp, and the animals. I am a sucker for educational tours and we learned so much! The alligators in the swamp totally knew what was up. They were following the boat around because they knew they would get fed.

 Our guide stood out on the ledge of the boat and called the alligators over. It turns out that alligators really like marshmallows. Our guide attracted them over to the boat with the marshmallows and then fed them raw chicken bits. The alligators were jumping out of the water to get the food!

 We even got to hold a baby alligator while on the tour. Jess also held the snake...I did not! I can’t think of the best way to describe how the alligator felt…almost leathery. He definitely wasn't slimy like I was expecting.

After the swamp tour, we went to Oak Alley Plantation for a tour. Oak Alley is so gorgeous – it’s exactly what you envision when you think of a plantation. There is a HUGE white house with all the bells and whistles, ladies dressed in period clothing, and the most AMAZNG tree lined driveway that you’ll ever see in your entire life. You’re probably thinking that there is no way anyone could be excited about trees, but seriously, check out these trees…

Other than another night out on Bourbon Street with a couple of Hand Grenades, that pretty much wrapped up our trip to NOLA. Much like Vegas...4 days was plenty! I do want to go back and do a few things we missed though - especially the cemetery tours and Mardi Gras museum. 

So…2 months later…I’ll wrap up this 3 part recap :) Thanks for reading my sporadic posts!

Have you been to New Orleans?

What is one city you really want to visit?

NOLA Part Dos

You can check out the recap of the first part of our trip here.

After a full day of walking in uncomfortable shoes, Jess and I woke up on Monday morning and decided to take the bus to get to our next few NOLA activities. It was threatening rain, but that didn’t stop us from heading to the ZOO! We bought ponchos (which I really wish I had a picture of because we looked ridiculous) and spend a few hours checking out the animals. After the zoo, we decided to take the famous St. Charles Streetcar back to the city. It was pretty neat, but we were freaking out because we had a tour to get to and we probably could have walked back to the city faster!

Thanks, Google Images for the pic!

We made it back just in time to get to the start of our next tour…at the Old New Orleans Rum Distillery!  You know those Hand Grenades that I keep talking about? And the famous Hurricanes (which I did not like btw)? There are lots of recipes floating around the internet but the REAL drinks both have very secret recipes. We did find out though, that both recipes are made with Old New Orleans Rum.

After the rum tour, we went to dinner at Crescent City Brewhouse. Their beer was fantastic, but we were not in love with our food. Never fear though, dessert was FANTASTIC! We FINALLY go to go to Café Du Monde and try out those famous beniengts. Basically, benignets are labs of fried,doughy deliciousness covered in powdered sugar. Our only regret is not ordering a tall glass of milk…there’s always next time! 

Jess has a future career as a hand model

We crashed early on Monday because we (a) were exhausted and (b) had to get up early to be ready for our SWAMP TOUR!

I was planning on telling you all about it in this post, but my lunch hour is over and I suppose I should get back to work…

Before I go....Who else loves fried dough covered in sugar as much as I do?

TO BE CONTINUED

FRIEND-TASTIC trip to NOLA

August 1^st was a good day. I was FINALLY finished with summer classes and packing my bags to head to New Orleans! I met my BFF/college roommate/bridesmaid Jess for a 5 day whirlwind vacation. We hadn’t seen each other for an ENTIRE YEAR which is way to long.

After a friend-tastic reunion at the airport, we dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed to Bourbon Street for a Hand Grenade. One of the first things we saw was a wedding parading down the road, which instantly made me want a wedding parade down the streets of Louisville (JenVern – make it happen!). 

We made it to Jackson Square and walked around looking at the scenery and art displays. We also got some great pictures of St Louis Cathedral. 

After exploring and wandering up and down Bourbon Street for a while, we suddenly realized exactly how much alcohol is in those wonderful hand grenades and walked into the nearest restaurant for some food. I can’t even begin to explain Bourbon Street on Saturday night…it is everything you see in the movies! Jess and I loaded up on some beads (no mom, we didn’t take our tops off!). Turns out, drunk college guys will throw beads at everyone! If you weren’t careful, you could get knocked out by giant flying beads!

We woke up on Sunday and decided to go to the famous Café Du Monde for some beniegts. The line was so long that we promptly turned and went next door to Stanley Restaurant for a DELICIOUS breakfast and tons of coffee. The St. Louis Cathedral was open on Sunday morning so we got to go inside. It was insanely beautiful.

Because we are nerds, we spent the day exploring the Aquarium and went to an IMAX film. After the IMAX we walked down to Magazine Street. Magazine Street is known for antique shops and boutiques. The walk was much longer than we expected, but we justified the calorie loss with plans for a few more hand grenades that night! 

On Sunday night, we went on a Haunted History Tour through the City. It was a two hour walking tour and I highly recommend it for anyone traveling to New Orleans. The tour far exceeded our expectations. The guide spared us cheesy ghost stories and instead shared with us with the creepy, weird, REAL history stories of the city. New Orleans is an old city and there is so much history. We visited the LaLaurie mansion and heard tales of the torture that happened inside, we learned a little about the ancient art of VooDoo, and stopped into the oldest bar in America for a Voodoo Daiquiri and stories of pirates and smugglers! Our guide said that people often capture spirits in their picture of this door. Jess and I didn't see anything....can you?

Days 1 and 2 were exhausting BUT so much fun! 

Have you been to New Orleans?

What was your favorite part of your trip?