If you Google New Orleans, “The Big Easy”, you’re bound to find hundreds of travel blogs with great itineraries that will fill your allotted time. I could bore you with one more and for our own travel records I’ll document below what we did along with some photos, but I’ve decided instead to focus this entry on the main reason you should vacation in New Orleans LA.
What makes New Orleans so special? Why go? The reason is because New Orleans was settled by people of vastly different cultures and the unique fusion of their traditions and cultures has shaped this US city into one that is like no other. You can see it, and even better, feel it when you’re there.
We laugh at this SNL skit about New Orleans because this couple is “feeling it”.
It sounds corny but New Orleans has a distinct vibe that you feel and experience in…
- The Food. Everyone makes a big deal about the beignets (and yes, they are scrumptious) but there are plenty of delicious restaurants that have amazing food all over this town so you might not even want dessert by the time you finish the meal. Robust, rustic Cajun food is a combination of French and Southern cuisine. Think smoked meats, jambalaya, crawfish, and rice filled sausage called boudin. Creole food is the ultimate in fusion food with African, Native American, and French roots that is later influenced by the Spanish, Germans, Italians, and Caribbean Islanders. Gumbo, shrimp creole, grits are Creole in nature. This melting pot of cuisine is unique and one of the best reasons to visit New Orleans.
- The Drinks. The Sezarac is the official drink of New Orleans and probably the most well known for being “invented” here. In fact, some say it was the world’s first cocktail. Have one or five. They’re yummy and if you want to learn more about the history visit Sezarac House. There are 11 other cocktails mixed first in New Orleans including the Hurricane, the Ramos Gin Fizz and the Brandy Crusta (similar to a sidecar).
- All That Jazz. Just as New Orleans was shaped by people from far-flung cultural backgrounds, jazz emerged from drumlines, opera, blues and ragtime. Jazz is really a byproduct of the city’s diversity in the late 19th and early 20th We took in a wonderful show at Preservation Hall. Jazz often seems decidedly unconcerned with where its been or where its headed but that’s what makes the music so interesting. Witnessing these talented musicians, many of them contracting with multiple groups to string together a career, over the course of one song play perfectly in sync and then bust out and improvised solo without distracting one another from the mission is magical.
- The Architecture. Most people, myself included, see the French colonial influence in New Orleans – the scrolled, metal balconies that wrap around each floor of the building, but many of the building are painted in warm tropical colors and sometimes include stucco which are Spanish influences. Once again, these pre-World War II buildings are a reflection of styles combined to form something new and unique to this region.
- The Residents. The people of New Orleans make it a great place to visit no matter how you spend your time. It’s partly in the French tradition of Mardi-Gras. Partly in the Second Line Parades that Google searches say were originally intended to celebrate the new-found freedom of a departed African slave. Throughout the 20th century, the jazz influence became a way to honor and celebrate the life of a loved one. In fact, today, New Orleans has so many parades (for weddings, funerals, birthdays, holidays, bachelorette parties, etc) that the local news broadcast and New Orleans apps help users to find them, and residents to avoid them. But it’s a lot more than the parties in the city, it’s the joie-de-vie that New Orleans residents bring in every-day interactions. We had a bartender who took our order by starting the conversation very simply with “Whachoo need baby?” Southern hospitality with a hint of long-lost friendship and a dash of sass. What more could you ask for?
These are the reasons to visit “The Big Easy” as no matter what itinerary you follow, you’re bound to enjoy the area as much as we did.
DAY 1
Avoided Mardi Gras in February because we didn’t want that much craziness, but then forgot that March 17th, our first evening in New Orleans was St. Patrick’s Day, so took in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade. New Orleans – any excuse for a party!
DAY 2
Started with a visit to the WWII Museum which is phenomenal! Even if you already know a lot about this era, you’ll learn something new. Did you know that:
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- The casualty rate for American Merchant Marines, who by the end of the war were delivering 204,000 tons of cargo daily, was 1 in 26; while for Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard it was 1 in 56?
- To prevent Hitler from learning about the D-Day plans, Churchill worked on elaborate deception plans that included building phony armies, dummy planes, ships, tanks and jeeps that with the help of motion picture crews were staged to look authentic to German reconnaissance aircraft?
- One of the most unusual deception operations involved hundreds of dummy paratroopers equipped with recordings of gunfire and exploding mortar rounds that were dropped east of the planned D-Day paratrooper drop to confuse the Germans? These were known as “Ruperts” in an operation code-named “Titanic”.
- Main Airborne troops landed in Normandy in specially designed gliders nicknamed “flying coffins”?
- There were nearly 5,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft deployed on June 6th.
Me neither. Fascinating! Bravo! Another well done Smithsonian museum!
We spent our evening eating a wonderful meal and enjoying Bourbon Street.
Rupert
DAY 3
We started with a Voodoo Tour at Louis Armstrong Park. This one (Freetoursbyfoot.com/voodoo-tour) in particular was a great way to learn about the Voodoo religion and its history as the guide dispels many of the Hollywood style myths. Lunch in Louis Armstrong Park followed by the assembly of a Second Line. Rather than mid-afternoon cocktails we took a tour of Sezarac House with some tasting. During the tour we learned that the original Sezarac House was a well known coffee house that served coffee but also ale, brandy and whiskey. People gathered here to exchange information and ideas. The New York stock exchange derives its name from a coffee house or an “exchange”. We followed this tour with dinner, some impressive jazz at Preservation Hall (preservationhall.com) and late night beignets from Cafe Beignet.
Voodoo Tour
Second Line 
Sezarac House 
Preservation Hall 
DAY 4
On our last day we took an early morning walk through the French Quarter to take in the architecture on our way to a St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 Tour (cemeterytourneworleans.com).
French Quarter
Cemetery Tour 
The only thing I wish we’d had more time for was more music and maybe the Mardi Gras Museum. Maybe this will occur during a future visit as New Orleans is just one of those places where spontaneous fun is always just around the corner and you’re likely to find whachoo need.
