what should i do in New Orleans?

I find myself with a few days to sight see in New Orleans this morning /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

About to go out and see about some coffee and a local pastry /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif but then what? any advice on things I just can't miss? Places that if I don't eat at i'll be sorry later? Stores that have the best flashlights? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Now's your chance to write my itinerary for the next couple of days!

Got in during rush hour last night so of course the wait for a taxi or a shuttle was longer than the actual flight! But I guess the airport here is famous for that. Got to ride in a new MD-88 to get here. I've flown in 2 of those lately and I can say with some certainty that the reading lights on them are a luxeon or other white LED with a very good lens system. They have the telltale beam with the little bit of brown around the edge that proves it's an LED /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Very bright, and nice. Aimed a bit funny though, hard to keep my book under them and setup at such an angle that they glare off the page unless you sit funny. But thats the the LED's fault that the placement of the panels is bad...

Oh, and I watched them load some mail into the plane out my window. A great big box labeled "EXTREME CARE" which they were careful with (was about coffin sized...) but all the other little boxes that didn't have such a label were really thrown around, it was almost funny.

Thanks

I guess that depends on what you are into and where you are staying.

First, take a stroll down Bourbon Street to see where not to go, then turn on St. Ann towards the river and get some Beignets and cafe au Lait at Café du Monde (visiting the Cathedral on the way).

When you are all filled up on Beignets and Cafe au Lait exit Café du Monde and take a right on Decatur. Go down to the French Market for some unique items. Then make your way away from the river zig zagging your way through the streets seeing all the shops and craziness. When you get hungry stop at K-Paul's $$$/Bayona $$$/Cafe Masparo $$/ for lunch then you can head to the river for the moonwalk and riverwalk.

Between the moonwalk and riverwalk you can visit the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and the Imax theater . Go gambling at Harrah's if you like. And for dinner you will be around Emeril's for a BAM! of a good time.

Also, you can't miss the D-Day Museum it is absolutely amazing. In that area there is Julia Street with many incredible art galleries and lots of good eats also.

I'm leaving out a lot, I'll have to think in non-native New Orleanien mode and get back to you. I'll keep adding things as they come to me.

Away from the city there's uptown, mid-city, metairie, bucktown, fat city, and you can even visit me on the westbank!

No good places for flashlights downtown though.

If you are into tours you can take a horse and buggy tour of the city and french quarter, a walking haunted tour of the french quarter, and walking a tour of the cemeteries. If you have never seen above the ground cemeteries it is quite a site!!! Bring a coat though the temps here have been in the 40's - 50's.

Now if you are into partying and a raunchy good time there's a whole different list of things to do. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy23.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/drunk.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/party.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sick.gif

Eat !!
Try Pere Antoine's and you must give Poppy's a try for breakfast!
I get a kick out of Rodrigue's gallery there [the blue dogs] he's an old friend of the family and neat guy.
-w

Man I've eaten at Poppy's while drunk and hungry early in the morning more than I care to remember. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sick.gif Good breakfast though.

The menu at Poppy's cracks me up too...
and they cook under hub caps!!!
I like Praline Connection too...if it is still there, plus there is a place WAYYY up Bourbon...a tiny little corner grocery that has the BEST Po Boys...I think they used to make their own mayo...

hey guys! Thanks a lot. I had breakfast today at the Cafe Bene next door to the police department /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif (at the recommendation of the concierge here after he tried to tell me where every starbucks was within walking distance /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

Gotta wait for my wife to return before we venture out for lunch, but I'll definitely try to get to poppies for breakfast tomorrow. And there look to be a ton of places to eat otherwise. We will sign up for an evening haunted tour, sounds like great fun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

thanks!

You really need to go see the National D-Day Museum.

James, dunno where your musical taste goes to, but New Orleans has something fer ya! I always stop into Snug Harbor on Frenchmen for some great jazz and a light dinner.

If you like funk, try Funky Butt or Donna's, both on N. Rampart. More traditional, there's Preservation Hall on St. Peter. And don't forget House of Blues on Decatur, which has a great fun gospel brunch on the weekends.

Awesome music, and not too expensive, at least compared to here in NY. We went to Smoke in Harlem last weekend for my birthday, that's $20 cover and $10 drink minimum, and that's just one set. Get to Birdland, and the cover's up to $30!

have fun
daloosh

I can't watch Emeril on TV, but his restaurants are quite good, Nola in the French Quarter and Emeril's on Tchoupitoulas.

James,

Sounds like the food and music fronts are covered.

If you have trasnportation, try a drive across Lake Pontchartrain (sp?) to the North Side if you feel a need to get out of the city. (I did for a while.)

I also loved the swamp tour I, my wife, and son went on. We went with Pearl River Eco Tours, http://www.laecotour.com/, into the Honey Island Swamp and had a great time! Our guide, (the owner) was great and very entertaining.

The other thing we really enjoyed was the mansion tours. We went east an hour or so and went to Oak Alley Plantation, http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/, a representative white plantation house, and to Laura Plantation, http://www.lauraplantation.com/, a creole plantation. Both were wonderful.

I'll think of more later.

Bill

OH yeah, bwaits remided me there is a swamp tour just south of New Orleans with Jean Lafitte swamp tours and if you make your way down there you can stop at the Jean Lafitte state park and catch some nature the way cajuns intended it to be.

How long is your stay? There is a small parade downtown on Saturday called Krewe du Vieux. Won't be anything like the big parades, but it will still be fun.

Like daloosh said NOLA is a good restaurant, and if you are in that area ACME Oyster house is also good for some raw lunch or a good po-boy. If you go to ACME notice the oyster eating contest winners. That's a lot of oysters!!!

It's kind of cold for a swamp tour or a boat ride, some of those things are only seasonal that we called, and this aint the season /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

but the rest is great, thanks so much for all the info. We were able to locate a bunch of the rest of them though. Tonight I ate way too much /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

We're going to try to get reservations for Emerils on Friday. Wish us luck.

We're going home on Saturday, so a could more nights to go out and explore.

Thanks guys!
James

Sooooo...

From what you experienced, what would you recommend to a future New Orleans visitor? Is there anything you didn't have time to try that you wanted to?