We wanted to get an early start this morning, because today’s the day we get into New Orleans! There are so many well-known tourist areas here that are necessary, but we made sure to make enough time for the more local places as well. We drove through the morning and stopped in Orange, TX (border of Texas and Louisiana) for some lunch at The Hut. If you’ve been following our blog, you’d know that you have to trust food spots in little huts…there was a line forming before it opened so we knew it’d be great. I got a pulled pork sandwich and Joey got a chopped brisket sandwich. We agreed that it was one of the best pulled pork sandwiches we had ever had… we even saved room for their homemade banana pudding….YUMMY!
We could tell we hit Louisiana after driving by miles and miles of sugar cane fields and smelling the sweet burning of the cane. We got to our hotel in New Orleans by about 3PM, and settled in to a beautiful view of the historic French Quarter.
Since we arrived during the day, we thought it would be a good opportunity to take the car out and drive around the different neighborhoods that are bit further than walking distance. We drove through the Garden District, down Magazine Street to the beautiful Tulane University, and through the closer Riverside Walk. My favorite part of this drive was seeing all the beautiful colonial and French style homes, but Joey loved the nearby views of the Mississippi River and old growth trees.
After our incredible drive around the city, we parked back at the hotel. Our hotel is perfectly located on the corner of the French Quarter, so we were able to take a short walk down Canal Street to Bourbon Street and join the ongoing party!
We walked through Jackson Square and had dinner at Crescent City Brewery, where we enjoyed some authentic gumbo and crawfish mac and cheese, of course paired with a flight of some local samplers! Both dishes were amazing, and we’re definitely glad we waited until we got to New Orleans to try any gumbo!
After dinner we walked to Frenchmen Street to check out the Art Garden Market, where local artists sell their handmade work! Everyone’s craft was so unique, but we had to choose and ended up talking with an electrician turned artist who uses electrical materials, such as copper wire, to fashion different pieces! We had to get our own little piece of New Orleans!
We walked back to Bourbon Street to partake in the festivities, and it was an awesome time! We of course had to get the famous hand grenade drink from Tropical Isle and a Hurricane drink from Pat O’Brien’s (known to the locals as Pat O’s)…both equally strong and unique!
After a couple of drinks and bouncing from one bar to the next, we decided to call it a night! We were exhausted from dancing the night away to the beautiful sounds of New Orleans. Tomorrow we’re heading to our final state, Florida! We’re going to float our way down the natural lazy river at Ginnie Springs, where we’re camping for the night…so stay posted!