Get in touch
If you’re ever thinking about a long weekend getaway, why not take a flight to New Orleans? That’s exactly what I did, filling all three days with a lot of fun and adventure.
New Orleans is a city filled with history, jazz, nightlife, food, culture and a lot more. Best of all it’s very much a walkable city. You can stroll through the historic area, French Quarter, the famous Garden District along with St. Charles Avenue. There’s so much to do, whether you go for the jazz and nightlife, or some adventure, you won’t be disappointed.
Since this was a return visit, we didn’t need to power tour however we wanted to maximize our time there. Just in case you’re itching for a long-weekend getaway, here are a few tips:
To maximize our three days, we decided to take a red eye 12:20 AM (yes that’s in the middle of the night) flight from San Francisco on American Airlines.
Thursday:
We arrived at the airport in plenty of time hoping to get the exit row seats however the ticket agent told us they just gave the last ones away . . . boo. We did pay $25 to check our one bag in; the ticket agent was very courteous and wished us a good time. Our flight time was about 3 hours to Dallas with a 2 hour layover. As we were strolling through Dallas airport looking for a Starbucks in the wee hours, we saw Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth in the terminal. I know he probably gets approached a lot so I chose not to engage.
Our flight took off from Dallas on time; we landed at Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans around 9AM. You have a choice for your 45 minute ride from the airport; you can take a taxi for about $33 or a limo for $58. We chose the limo to give us a chance to stretch out a bit.
For our accommodations, we used some Marriott points and scored three free nights at the Courtyard New Orleans right off of St. Charles Avenue. The location was perfect, quite, not a lot of traffic; safe yet close to downtown and walking distance to the French Quarter. They had all the necessities; high-speed internet, fitness center and Starbucks coffee.
Fortunately, we got a little sleep on the plane so we were ready to go. Our day started out with breakfast at the ocean Villa Restaurant on Royal Street. They served up an awesome French toast and Eggs Benedict. Service was excellent; they gave us some tips of where to go in the Quarter and also invited us back for dinner.
We knew we were going to be tired taking a red eye and going all day, so for Thursday, the only thing we planned was a Ghost and Haunted Story Tour that was to begin around 8PM. So we decided for now to we stroll the Quarter. After only walking a few blocks, we saw a carriage vendor – for $15 bucks a person, why not. It would be a good way to see the Quarter during the day.
Our driver gave us a great tip of a restaurant – Antoine’s which is the oldest family owned restaurant in the country. They will furnish you with all the Lemon Drops you can drink for lunch on the house . . . what a deal! Lunch was delicious having a delicious blackened Salmon.
We continued walking around in the French Quarter, stopping off doing some shopping. At this point we felt it was time to pay a visit to Pat O’ Briens before dinner. We were having such a blast, we ended up passing on dinner and hanging out at Pat O’s for a good portion of the evening. Of course, what’s a trip to New Orleans without a Hurricane cocktail with its 4 oz. of Pat O’ Brines’s Hurricane Rum blended with another 4 oz. of their Hurricane mix . . . yummy.
Next up, meet our tour guide in front of Flanagan’s for our 8PM Ghost tour.
Our tour started promptly at 8PM and took us through a theatrical walking tour on the streets of the French Quarter. We learned about the secret events that took place a long time ago. We visited several sites of documented hauntings – it was a fun filled adventurous evening.
Friday:
We started our morning with a walk down St. Charles paying a visit to Harrah’s casino. We strolled through the casino, didn’t lose a dime and decided to check out a cool Farmers’ Market. The market was filled with vendors, plenty of food and a great jazz band.
Our day continued as we decided to go through the Louisiana Museum. It may just be the largest hurricane exhibition anywhere on the planet. If you choose to visit the museum, beware whether you experienced Katrina personally or not it will bestow an emotional punch. As you walk through the museum you will see footage of the flooding and evacuation to the rebuilding.
It was getting to be happy hour time and we found ourselves standing in front of Jimmy Buffet’s Margarita vile. Those were some might fine Hurricane’s for $4 bucks. They had a good appetizer list at great happy hour prices. There was a three piece band with vocals entertaining in the bar so we hung out there for a while.
Saturday:
On Saturday our day started out by taking public transit to the Garden District for a three-hour walking tour. We didn’t know how long it would take, so we arrived early, walked down to the end of the block and found a Starbucks to chill at. For our walking tour, we were the only ones who showed, so it quickly became a private walking tour. Carla was awesome; she was very informative, taking us through the Garden District pointing out homes owned by Nick Nolte, Sandra Bullock and former Saints QB, Archie Manning.
For Saturday evening, we decided to do a diner booze cruise on the Mississippi. We boarded around 6:30, kicked back with a drink and listened to the Dixieland band performing on the deck. We then sailed away at 7Pm. Our evening would include a full dinner, entertainment and some awesome views along the Mississippi River. We docked back in around 9PM – since the night was young, we decided to check out the Balboa Club that had a great four piece band.
Sunday:
Well, after a trip filled with fun and business, it was an early flight back home leaving New Orleans at 9:50AM for a short flight to Dallas and then on to San Francisco. Our flight was fine; again, we paid the $25 baggage fee, however this time we had exit row seats the whole way through. We touched down in SF the scheduled time of 2:30PM.
So if you’re thinking about a quick getaway from the Bay Area, be sure to keep New Orleans as an option . . . you won’t be disappointed!
New Orleans is a city filled with history, jazz, nightlife, food, culture and a lot more. Best of all it’s very much a walkable city. You can stroll through the historic area, French Quarter, the famous Garden District along with St. Charles Avenue. There’s so much to do, whether you go for the jazz and nightlife, or some adventure, you won’t be disappointed.
Since this was a return visit, we didn’t need to power tour however we wanted to maximize our time there. Just in case you’re itching for a long-weekend getaway, here are a few tips:
To maximize our three days, we decided to take a red eye 12:20 AM (yes that’s in the middle of the night) flight from San Francisco on American Airlines.
Thursday:
We arrived at the airport in plenty of time hoping to get the exit row seats however the ticket agent told us they just gave the last ones away . . . boo. We did pay $25 to check our one bag in; the ticket agent was very courteous and wished us a good time. Our flight time was about 3 hours to Dallas with a 2 hour layover. As we were strolling through Dallas airport looking for a Starbucks in the wee hours, we saw Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth in the terminal. I know he probably gets approached a lot so I chose not to engage.
Our flight took off from Dallas on time; we landed at Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans around 9AM. You have a choice for your 45 minute ride from the airport; you can take a taxi for about $33 or a limo for $58. We chose the limo to give us a chance to stretch out a bit.
For our accommodations, we used some Marriott points and scored three free nights at the Courtyard New Orleans right off of St. Charles Avenue. The location was perfect, quite, not a lot of traffic; safe yet close to downtown and walking distance to the French Quarter. They had all the necessities; high-speed internet, fitness center and Starbucks coffee.
Fortunately, we got a little sleep on the plane so we were ready to go. Our day started out with breakfast at the ocean Villa Restaurant on Royal Street. They served up an awesome French toast and Eggs Benedict. Service was excellent; they gave us some tips of where to go in the Quarter and also invited us back for dinner.
We knew we were going to be tired taking a red eye and going all day, so for Thursday, the only thing we planned was a Ghost and Haunted Story Tour that was to begin around 8PM. So we decided for now to we stroll the Quarter. After only walking a few blocks, we saw a carriage vendor – for $15 bucks a person, why not. It would be a good way to see the Quarter during the day.
Our driver gave us a great tip of a restaurant – Antoine’s which is the oldest family owned restaurant in the country. They will furnish you with all the Lemon Drops you can drink for lunch on the house . . . what a deal! Lunch was delicious having a delicious blackened Salmon.
We continued walking around in the French Quarter, stopping off doing some shopping. At this point we felt it was time to pay a visit to Pat O’ Briens before dinner. We were having such a blast, we ended up passing on dinner and hanging out at Pat O’s for a good portion of the evening. Of course, what’s a trip to New Orleans without a Hurricane cocktail with its 4 oz. of Pat O’ Brines’s Hurricane Rum blended with another 4 oz. of their Hurricane mix . . . yummy.
Next up, meet our tour guide in front of Flanagan’s for our 8PM Ghost tour.
Our tour started promptly at 8PM and took us through a theatrical walking tour on the streets of the French Quarter. We learned about the secret events that took place a long time ago. We visited several sites of documented hauntings – it was a fun filled adventurous evening.
Friday:
We started our morning with a walk down St. Charles paying a visit to Harrah’s casino. We strolled through the casino, didn’t lose a dime and decided to check out a cool Farmers’ Market. The market was filled with vendors, plenty of food and a great jazz band.
Our day continued as we decided to go through the Louisiana Museum. It may just be the largest hurricane exhibition anywhere on the planet. If you choose to visit the museum, beware whether you experienced Katrina personally or not it will bestow an emotional punch. As you walk through the museum you will see footage of the flooding and evacuation to the rebuilding.
It was getting to be happy hour time and we found ourselves standing in front of Jimmy Buffet’s Margarita vile. Those were some might fine Hurricane’s for $4 bucks. They had a good appetizer list at great happy hour prices. There was a three piece band with vocals entertaining in the bar so we hung out there for a while.
Saturday:
On Saturday our day started out by taking public transit to the Garden District for a three-hour walking tour. We didn’t know how long it would take, so we arrived early, walked down to the end of the block and found a Starbucks to chill at. For our walking tour, we were the only ones who showed, so it quickly became a private walking tour. Carla was awesome; she was very informative, taking us through the Garden District pointing out homes owned by Nick Nolte, Sandra Bullock and former Saints QB, Archie Manning.
For Saturday evening, we decided to do a diner booze cruise on the Mississippi. We boarded around 6:30, kicked back with a drink and listened to the Dixieland band performing on the deck. We then sailed away at 7Pm. Our evening would include a full dinner, entertainment and some awesome views along the Mississippi River. We docked back in around 9PM – since the night was young, we decided to check out the Balboa Club that had a great four piece band.
Sunday:
Well, after a trip filled with fun and business, it was an early flight back home leaving New Orleans at 9:50AM for a short flight to Dallas and then on to San Francisco. Our flight was fine; again, we paid the $25 baggage fee, however this time we had exit row seats the whole way through. We touched down in SF the scheduled time of 2:30PM.
So if you’re thinking about a quick getaway from the Bay Area, be sure to keep New Orleans as an option . . . you won’t be disappointed!
