Most of us arrived on Thursday so we headed to the Ritz Carlton in the French Quarter to check in and get settled. Once we were settled we made our way through the quarter to an amazing dinner at Irene's, a wonderfully fun Italian place. Jeremy had actually flown into town to meet friends from Memphis for the Widespread concert the following night, so he accompanied us to dinner too. The food was wonderful and we had a blast! We ended up staying for about 3 hours because our waiter made a deal with us that they would keep filling our wine glasses if we just stayed and entertained them.
After dinner it was off to Bourbon Street to have a hurricane at the famous Patty O'Brien's. When we finished up on our hurricanes we headed back to the hotel to rest up for our big day ahead.
The next morning, as we all struggled to pull ourselves out of bed, complaining about how we will NEVER drink a hurricanes again, we finally got it together and headed for some breakfast at Cafe Du Monde for some coffee and famous beignets. Unfortunately a lot of other people had the same idea and there was not a table insight. So we wandered across the street to grab breakfast across from Jackson Square.
After breakfast we set out for the Oak Alley Plantation Tour, which was beautiful. As we walked up the Oak Alley you felt as if you were suddenly whisked back in time, it felt like Gone with the Wind. We also learned it was the house featured in the movie, Interview with a Vampire. Because we arrived at the end of the day the plantation was nearly empty, so we could quietly stroll the grounds and imagine what life was like back in that time. It somehow felt poetic to read about the stories and "monetary values" of the slaves that once lived at the plantation all the while thinking about how we were about to elect Barack Obama the president of this country. I could not help but think, how far we have come, although much further we can go!!!
When we arrived back to the hotel it was time to begin the Halloween costumes process. After a quick elevator ride, with Lebron James, who was in town for the game the next day. We decided to order in so we could dedicate a lot of time to getting ourselves together for the night ahead. As we played with our costumes and I did makeup and hair for the group, we enjoyed champagne that arrived as a gift from Kerri's girlfriend Allyson and another bottle that arrived from the Ritz. We also nippled on a fantastic chocolate cake sent to the room by Kendra. As the clock rounded 11:15pm we finally headed out to experience NOLA Halloween.
Halloween in New Orleans is like nothing I have ever experienced or even imagined. Because I have been to Mardi Gras in NOLA I was prepared for the craziness I experienced then, although I was surprised how different Halloween was. It felt a bit like what I would expect Carnival to feel like. Imagine thousands of people in the street with the most imaginative costumes you have ever seen. You just walk the entire night and only pop into the bars to simply get your cocktails to go. I was very happy we ventured off Bourbon Street and headed to Frenchman, which was much better. Frenchman is all locals so the environment is a lot more welcoming and the costumes, much better!!
After our feet literally could not take anymore we headed back to our hotel to turn in for the night.
In the morning we hoofed it over to The Court of Two Sister's for their famous jazz brunch. We sat around and recapped on the night before and laughed about all the amazing costumes we had seen. It was wonderful to sit out in the beautiful, humidity free weather and enjoy mimosa's and brunch.
After breakfast we set out on a lovely day of shopping, which is an absolute must in NOLA. Hitting the French Market first to pick up some yummy candles. Then next popping into famous stores like Trashy Diva to look at all their beautiful vintage designs, then off to try on diamonds at Kerri's favorite jeweler and lastly trying on amazing one of a kind hats at Fleur De Paris. After a long day of shopping we scurried back to the hotel to clean up for our last dinner.
On a recommendation from my Uncle's partner, Fred, who is a NOLA native, we ventured out of the quarter and into the garden district to a restaurant called Jacques Imo. In my opinion this was hands down the best dinner of the trip. The restaurant is so unique and truly gives you a Nawlins feel. It was the perfect dinner to wrap up the perfect ladies weekend!!!
1 comment:
So much fun - love your post!
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