Spanish fountain near the riverwalk
This was our first 3 day weekend after starting my new job and we knew we needed to make it good. So we got a couple of friends together for a road trip down to New Orleans.
-(side thought. Ever since we were dating in Wisconsin the weather always got bad when we made plans. On our honeymoon in Hawaii there was a hurricane on the big island, and earthquake, and we were put under a tsunami warning for about 12 hours. Just a short history from us.)
The day before leaving for New Orleans I received numerous warnings on it being a dangerous city (no worries, we had a great and safe time). What people did not warn us about was that New Orleans was to be put under a tropical storm warning! No Hurricane, just a tropical storm, so after short consideration we decided to continue down south despite the warning.
New Orleans style wedding. Everyone just leaves the church and marches around the French Quarter with a small band!
Of course we were about half way through Mississippi when the heat in the car was getting a little too intense and my back seat passenger (Hanna) needed to put the window down to cool off. However, the motor on the automatic window just happened to die so as we were traveling to this "dangerous" city with a Tropical Storm warning, our back window would be stuck in the down position. Our remedy? Just incase people were not sure where we were from we decided to feed the redneck stereotype of Arkansas by putting a plastic tarp over the window with ducktape. We were definately a sorry sight to see. However despite our setbacks we did make it to New Orleans and had a great time.
We stayed right in the middle of the French Market at the Historic French Market Inn.
Looking down the French Quarter
It was an excellent choice, well priced and right in the middle of everything. We could walk across the parking lot across the street and have a look at the Mississippi River. If we walked south we were at the River Walk and convention Center (excellent shopping if your into that) and a casino. We quickly made our $20 donation to the city at the casino losing everything in about 20 minutes. How embarassing. Or we could walk north and be surrounded with live Jazz music at night and open shops and markets during the day. Only 3 blocks west and we were on the infamous Bourbon Street. A great party scene. To be honest we were not prepared the the amount of strip clubs on bourbon street, we were more interested in the Jazz and having a few drinks so we found our favorite . . . a piano bar.
Of course there was more to do in New Orleans but a 3 day weekend and 8 hour car drive only allows for so much. So we headed back and despite the multiple warnings, we never felt threatened, and we never recieved any rain from this tropical storm which eventually just died out. So there was a new state to cross off the list and one more adventure from our year in Arkansas.
Central Location
Historic French Market Inn was a great experience for us. Inside its a little confusing to find your room, and the staff failed to give us good directions how to get there. But it has a great historic feel. The courtyards inside the hotel are beautiful and is a great place to relax and talk with friend and other travelers. It was in a central location so we were able to walk anywhere within the French Quarter that we wanted to get to so we never needed our car.
It is a little more pricy but if you get a group like we did (a group of 4 in a 2 bedroom) it is definately more affordable and can help you have a good experience so everyone can walk home from bourbon street :)
