Forty the Ultimate “F” Word Part 3

Sitting at Kingfish for dinner my first night in New Orleans with the 5 ladies who happily decided to celebrate with me, I spotted a woman at the table across ours enjoying what looked liked her own birthday dinner. What caught my eye initially was the big balloon that was at her side. The thing was massive and had what looked like blue and gold confetti inside with a long golden tassel anchoring it to the ground. As the balloon continued to twirl back and forth I saw that it had “Happy 40th Birthday” written across in gold letters. How sweet, I thought, this woman sitting right across from me is celebrating her 40th just like I me, with what looked like her closest friends. As the balloon kept turning, I couldn’t believe it when I read “Happy 40th Birthday Winter”?! ! I told my table of friends that I thought (still unbelieving) her balloon read “Happy 40th Birthday Winter”, Jaimie jumped up, ran to the balloon owners table to get a closer look and confirmed, YES a woman named Winter was visiting New Orleans with her closest friends and was indeed celebrating her 40th birthday.

The moment was surreal, it was eerie, it was magical it felt like a wink from the heavens confirming that the rest of the trip would be just like this moment – kismet. It was, it really really was.

I instantly fell in love with New Orleans before I stepped foot out of the airport. At the risk of sounding hippy dippy, there’s a vibe the city gives off. It’s as if the city is saying you belong here, you’re welcome to stay , and while you’re here we’ll feed you, love on you and show you a good time. Who knew a city could say so much right? 😉

This thought was made much more evident by my Uber driver who walked me through the history of living in the city during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He informed me that the city is much different with gentrification having such a strong hold on their historically “urban” neighborhoods. It seems that the amount of Airbnb’s that have sprouted up by young professionals looking to take advantage of the housing market and the cities push for tourist dollars, has made it so that previous residents are finding it difficult to come back and reclaim the lives they had before.

The purpose of our trip outside of celebrating 40th birthdays was to attend the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival which is pretty much like the cities own personal Coachella, only with jazz, blues, rock and gospel artists.

While I’ve been going to these kinds of festivals for what seems like my entire life, nothing could have prepared me for NOLA’s take. SO MUCH FOOD! So many stages of performers. From Bonnie Raitt to Al Green the festival had every genre. I found myself at a gospel tent getting my praise on with a beer in hand :/ which I felt uneasy about between sips of BudLight, however, a look at the crowd put my mind at ease . Practically everyone had beers or cocktails in hand swaying along with me in Jesus name. So I thought, when in Rome…

I think my favorite thing about New Orleans (other than the food, and the fact that you can carry alcohol any and everywhere) was all the cute photo ops! We wanted to soak in Nola life so after the concert we decided to walk to a less congested area to grab an Uber. The walk opened my eyes to the architecture and energy of the city. I’m so happy my friends were game for all of these cute photo moments. We laughed that each moment looked like an album cover.

A stay in the French Quarter in my opinion is mandatory if it’s your first time visiting the city. We were initially going to stay with a friend of a friend, however seeing the proximity from his house to the French Quarter we decided against it. Free room and board just does not trump being in the heart of the city and within walking distance of all the things the city has to offer.

We opted to stay at the Wyndham French Quarter and because we checked in on a Sunday and out that Tuesday, the stay was under $100 a night. Side note- because we chose less popular travel days (Saturday-Tuesday) our expenses were exceptionally less than what we would have normally paid. In total I spent $350.00 for airfare and hotel. What I also loved about this travel hack is that I beat the crowds of tourists and could explore the city like a local.

I feel like the food in New Orleans deserves its own post, but I was too busy eating and appreciating the food to take many pictures. I do however have a list of my must visit eateries.

I got a ton of restaurant recommendations before my trip and wasn’t able to get to all of them, however the ones that I was able to try were legit so I’m going to just assume that they all would have been. If you’re traveling to New Orleans this list should be a good start

The Ruby Slipper Cafe – Brunch

Intercontinental – Trenasse- Dinner

Josephine at the Ace Hotel- Brunch/Evening Cocktails

Morrow’s- Dinner/ cool vibes and good music

KingFish- Dinner/Cocktails – sit at the bar to people watch

Commanders Palace- Jazz Brunch – Make sure to get a reservation they are always busy!

Acme Oyster House- Lunch/Dinner

Dragos- The BEST charbroiled oysters!

Willa Jean- Breakfast/Brunch

Salon by Sucre- Brunch/Happy Hour. This place is open Thursday thru Sunday only

Upperline- Dinner

Sobu-Burlesque Brunch

Dookie Chase – Lunch/Dinner

Cafe Du Monde- Beignet

I wasn’t sure if II wanted to try a walking tour or hop on a boat cruise or see a sematary on our last day in NOLA I just knew I wanted to expreince as much of the city as possible.

After a heavy brunch at The Ruby Slipper Cafe and with hearts set on trying beignet’s , we decided to walk the 6 miles Cafe Du Monde to work off our brunch and take in the city. It was the best decision we’d made.

We stopped along the route taking beautiful picture after beautiful picture, enjoyed music and dance from local street performers, went in and out of specialty shops and had a cocktail or two between souvenir stops.

I kept thinking about how much I appreciated having the kind of travel partners who saw the benefit of random photo shoots as much I do!

I came back from my trip with an even bigger appetite for travel and the realization that while I’ve been trying to get my passport stamps up there’s still so much I have yet to see close to home. I’m already planning my next trip for July and I’m thinking either Savannah Georgia or South Carolina may be on my list.

So tell me, where should I go next? I’d love to know in the comments below!