Hubby and I arrived last Wednesday evening and we are leaving tomorrow morning. He’s here for some training for his job. He was able to have lunch with me each day (except for Sunday) during a break and dinner each night.

Here’s a list of things that we’ve lived through, seen, bought, visited, places we’ve eaten and other random things. Let me know in the comments if you want any links or names of any of the places or things that are mentioned.

I’m not a city mouse, I’m a country mouse. Visiting a city here and there for a few days or a week doesn’t bother me, but, I know that I’m happy out in the boonies. So, please keep that in mind as you read all of this entry!

Wednesday – We arrived in the airport. I had reserved a shuttle to take us to the hotel. No one rents a car in the area, at least not anyone we know. The shuttle was great, we had a very talkative driver that’s always lived in the area. He gave us a great mini-tour as we drove the 12 or so miles to our hotel on Canal Street which is in the French Quarter. We now have seen the rebuilding after Katrina in person. We’ve seen the City of the Dead through the windows. We know where the Superdome is, Tulane and Loyola. We tipped him $5 for our bags, most people just gave him a buck. It was worth it though, he was really nice as well.

After checking in we went out to explore a little bit and found House of Blues just down Decatur street. Our server, Josh, was totally a blast and very helpful for things we were asking about. I really enjoyed the food there and so did hubby. It’s an awesome place and I hope to get some photos of the inside before we leave.

Thursday – The next day I set off to explore the area. I had a few hours before meeting hubby for lunch. I took my camera and started off towards the Mississippi River. I found a few things that I was looking for, the streetcar station, Riverwalk, a steamboat and a ferry and the Aquarium. I walked into Riverwalk for a while…it’s an indoor mall. I did buy a few things, but, it’s very repetitive here with the same hats/t-shirts/masks/beads. I found a great silver shop (Silver Salon and they give military discounts!) and I bought a pretty bracelet, some Fleur de Lis earrings and later when I went back the other day a ring and a necklace charm.  The prices are extremely reasonable…I was a little shocked at how low they were. I found some really cute Voodoo Watchover dolls at Destination New Orleans. They also have salt water taffy in a box with a postcard attached. The food court is on the top level, near the end of the mall. It’s not set up like a traditional mall in that sense. The only thing I can figure out is because the riverboat cruises embark/disembark right there as well as the convention center. There’s also the food and drink museum, that charges a lot of money and a very expensive gift shop. It’s a nice long walk from the food court back to the hotel, especially when hubby was waiting for lunch! That afternoon I gambled a little at Harrah’s. We ate dinner at Popeye’s! It’s the first time that I have eaten there in a long, long time. The first Popeye’s is in the area, but it wasn’t this one. It was really good! It’s located on Canal Street between Chartres and Royal.

Friday – We ate lunch at Subway and it was a good meal. It’s on Royal St. within the first block off of Canal. We saw two people almost get hit by a streetcar! Seriously I knew that he wouldn’t hit them, but, they weren’t paying attention and just were walking without looking. He rang the bell a few times to move them off of the tracks. I’m sure it’s not the first time he’s done that. I walked around down Decatur and went to the French Market. I took photos at Jackson Square of everything including Joan of Arc! I also went to the Canal Street Shops. I went to Starbucks and bought an iced tea, visited JT Kids, which is really overpriced, looked and found one thing at Ann Taylor (not Loft, that’s in Riverwalk). I also saw a few places that were way out of my price range, Saks Fifth Avenue for one. Even on sale I cannot afford a dress n there. Friday night we walked down Bourbon Street. Wow, that’s something to see! I saw a lot of strip clubs, fake cops called “Party Patrol” that should be stopped, I also saw a lot of drunks and street people. We ate at Crescent City Brewhouse. It was okay. It’s a micro brewery, so hubby wanted to try it out and see how the beer was. It was okay. The food was okay. I’ve had much better and much worse. I ordered a steak, it was a little chewy and the green beans and Au gratin potatoes were undercooked. There’s a lot of different places to try, so, unless you are set on this place, skip it.

Saturday – I found the Tourism building, it’s on the right of Jackson Square in the middle of stores. He pointed me in the direction of great places to visit and gave me some maps, coupons and made me feel safer by telling me that no one here was going to jack my camera. I took a lot of photos on Bourbon Street, which looks totally different during the day by the way. I also took some photos down at the water, including some of the steamboats and of the streetcars. We ate at Arby’s for lunch. Been a long time since I’ve had their food. I had a pecan chicken sandwich. This is located on Canal street and you cannot miss it as it has a red canopy and two levels for the restaurant. It’s the biggest Arby’s I’ve ever seen. Saturday night we ate at Deja Vu restaurant and bar. This is a dive place, but, it’s really good for a few reasons. It’s located at the corner of Dauphine Street and Conti. Dauphine is one street past Bourbon if you are heading up from Decatur away from the water. You must be 21 or older to enter this place, so, no kids! The server was cool, Karen, the music was great, 80′s! It’s a bar, so there was smoking, which is unusual as there’s a clean air law in Louisiana. I can only guess because it was a bar, maybe. We had burgers and they were really good. A lot of locals come here!

Sunday – I went to the WWII museum and walked around for about two hours. I took the streetcar, the green line, which is the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world. I took photos while in the car, it is super cool with the wooden seats. The museum is within walking distance of the hotel, about 9 blocks, but, I couldn’t leave without riding on a streetcar! I received a military discount at the museum, took a lot of photos. It’s great if you are into history and want to kill a couple of hours. There were some areas that I didn’t feel comfortable viewing, such as the concentration camp video, there’s a sign that tells you it’s not family friendly. All in all it was worth the trip. There’s an excellent display outside the ticket area, still inside the museum, just like another part of it. There are planes and Jeeps when you walk into the museum as well as the Higgins boat, which was created by Andrew Higgins who is from New Orleans. That’s why the museum, which is part of the Smithsonian’s affiliations program, is here in New Orleans. There are a lot of movies, I’m serious there were a lot of them and a lot of personal accounts as well. I had lunch at Riverwalk, Messina’s, which is great Mexican food. Loved the taco salad! We walked around Decatur street and the French Market as well as checking out the Jax shopping area before heading to Huck Finn’s for dinner. This is a sports bar located at the corner of Decatur and Iberville. It was okay, it was cold, so it was warm inside. Hubby and I watched part of the game on the big screens. The door at the front of the restaurant was left open a few times when people came in or left. The hostess was too busy talking to her friends to close it. I closed it once, during my meal and someone else closed it before me. The service was slow. The fries were good as was my steak wrap. Hubby had the chicken and bacon sandwich and said it was good. Hubby ordered a Miller, which was in a plastic (think beer party) cup, I had a water in one of those glasses that reminds me of Pizza Hut back in the day. The check was slow to get to us and back to us after we gave the credit card, which always makes me wonder. All in all, 50% chance we would go back there.

Monday – I walked down Royal to see all the antique stores that have been closed when I’ve been down there before. Stay away from the shop with the fairies and dolls in the window, the guy that runs it was a little creepy and nosy. A lot of questions isn’t what I’m looking for when I shop. I found Faulker’s House, it’s a bookstore now. Tons and tons of books. It’s located in Pirate’s Alley which is between St. Peter, Royal and Chartres and next to St. Louis Cathedral. Visit this location during the day, usually after 4 or so you will see drunk people and they may or may not be urinating in the alley. Hubby and I walked to Subway to get some lunch. I have to say that they are really nice in there and always get our order right and quickly! I just hung out in the hotel, started packing while waiting for hubby to get finished with his last day of training. Monday night we went back to House of Blues, we were served by Josh and hubby snapped a photo of he and I. The food there is great. I had rosemary chicken and hubby had a club sandwich. The total was under $30 and that’s with one beer.

I bought a real Louisiana cookbook that I had seen everywhere, in the gift shop at the hotel. It’s pretty thick and was about $22, so I didn’t want to lug it around everywhere. It’s called “Talk About Good” and it has a yellow cover. It was written by women in the Jr. League. Everyone that I talked with about cookbooks recommended this one, so I bought it!

I couldn’t find any salt and pepper shakers that I really loved. I wanted to buy some, I will look at the airport on the way home. But no big deal if I cannot find some…I’m sure they are on eBay.

I purchased a New Orleans hoodie in raspberry at the gift shop at our hotel. It was very reasonable and I hadn’t seen any like that in any of the stores.

All in all it was a good trip. If he has a chance to do training here again, I will come along and know what’s in the area already.