Debauchery (aka our New Orleams trip report)

Josh and I have successfully returned from our weekend away in New Orleans and my liver (or my waistline for that matter) may never be the same. That city is all about some drinking...like from what I could gather that's what you do...all day, every day! For a couple of grown ups seeking a getaway, this was a nice break from reality, although we definitely did the Big Easy in a tamer way than some of the younger revelers around us. Here's a little glimpse into how we drank our way through our extended weekend.
We arrived in New Orleans Thursday night. After checking into the newly restored Roosevelt hotel (great choice of where to stay by the way...close enough to walk to all the action, but peaceful when you want it to be), we hit the pavement and explored Bourbon Street. We wandered into a random bar, and this is where I realized New Orleans doesn't play around...at 4 in the afternoon, the fog machines, DJ, and shots were in full effect. We only stayed for a a couple rounds of drinks before heading back to the hotel to get ready for our dinner reservation at The Pelican Club. Dinner was good...I wouldn't call it excellent...and then we wandered across the street to the famous Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone.

 The bar rotates, which makes it kind of fun. It was also there that I tried a Ramos Fizz, an old time New Orleans staple from what I understand. At this point, I had already had a wonderful combination of beer, wine, champagne, vodka, and gin...in other words, it was time for this
girl to call it a night!
On Friday we woke up surprisingly chipper and ready to explore. We started off our morning
with a walk to Cafe du Monde for some bengiets and cafe au laids...DELICIOUS.

 With tons of fried dough and sugar consumed, we set out to explore the French Quarter, Jackson Square, theFrench Market, and the riverfront. We saw it all, and then decided to take a horse
carriage tour, which actually was a really nice way to see things we probably wouldn't
have...like brad and angles house (my close personal friends)

the tour guy swears it is more impressive from the inside...

After our little ride, it was time for lunch at Coops Place. Of course, lunch meant it was time to start drinking again, so we headed to Pat O'Brians for the famous hurricane. It was an absolutely goregous day, so sitting out in their courtyard was perfect...really gave me that"we're on vacation" feeling.

 With the day in full gear now, we found ourselves back on Bourbon Street. We got some dinner at Acme Oyster House (casual, fun, and pretty good food) and then went over to Harrahs casino (Josh's request). After a few hours of roulette and blackjack, we were 500 dollars richer (woot woot) and totally done for so back to the hotel we went.
Saturday morning was not as pretty of a start as the day before (more for my lovely husband than me who still has not learned his boundaries with alcohol at age 34...oh well). By the time we did get going, everyone in the city seemed to be preparing for the St. Patricks Day parade. Our plan for the day was to take a streetcar over to the Garden District and explore the mansions and shopping. Well, the parade put a major kink in that plan...the streetcar wasn't running so we huddled on to a packed bus, the main blocks of the Garden District were blocked off and already lined with parade parties, and we had no idea where we were. Finally, we got off and had lunch at the Superior Grill...a local friend of mine had mentioned it, and thank goodness she did because it literally saved our doomed trip to the Garden District! After lunch, we still tried to walk around, but I just felt like a lame-o with no green on and no drink ( some of you may be thinking "seize the day" and just join in the fun, and we thought about it, but we had a nice dinner planned and didn't want to ruin it) so we took a cab back to our hotel and regrouped. We were pretty exhausted but didn't want to waste what was left of our vacation, so we headed back to Pat O'Briens for some drinks. After a couple hours of that, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner at Dickie Brennans Steakhouse. Josh loves steakhouses, so he always tries to find the BEST one wherever we are...this one ranked pretty high (according to him), and they earned brownie points from me with their lovely dessert presentation.

After dinner, we went back to our hotel bar for a couple drinks and then headed up early because our flight was fairly early the next day.

All in all, I would say New Orleans is definitely a city you need to head to with a lot of energy. It is tons of walking and tons of drinking. The Garden District, from what I could tell, is beautiful...tree lined streets, balconies, etc that scream southern charm. But Bourbon Street and it's surrounding areas are dirty, smelly, and loud...but totally enjoyable after you have a few drinks in you. Just don't attempt it sober:)