I have been begging for a weekend getaway to New Orleans for a while now. I am absolutely fascinated by the food, the streets, the culture, everything New Orleans. My husband and I snuck out a few years ago and went on a secret road trip to New Orleans and Florida, and we always said we’d have to redo NOLA. It was so much fun! This year we finally did and had such a memorable time. By the end of the trip we were exhausted. We needed a vacation after our vacation!
The reason for this spontaneous getaway was my 25th birthday. My husband surprised me with this trip that we did not expect to take at all! With all the house expenses this year, we didn’t think a trip anywhere would be the “adult” thing to do, but he planned the trip as a birthday gift and it really was the best gift ever. Not to mention he’s the best at gift giving. 🙂
So we left on a Friday morning and made it there just in time for a late lunch. Well, we skipped lunch and got ready for dinner instead! We stayed at The Catahoula Boutique Hotel, and I honestly can’t think of a trendier hotel. They had a gorgeous rooftop bar, a sweet coffee shop, and every single corner was styled perfectly. Not to mention the people that work here are SO sweet and caring that they made it so much harder to leave!
The very first cocktail we had was at the rooftop bar in our hotel, and mmm… yes. Like I said earlier, they have a gorgeous rooftop bar and to top it off, their drinks were on point. We got there during happy hour and made sure it wouldn’t be the last time we took advantage. They had a nice selection of cocktails and light appetizers, perfect! We each enjoyed a specialty cocktail and I really wish I would have written down the names because they were so good!
After getting a drink in our system, we headed towards French Quarter in search of oysters and some real food. We ended up at Royal House Oyster Bar (go figure) where we enjoyed oysters and dinner with a view of Royal St. This is also where we first spotted people parading around in red lingerie and dresses. Both men and women. We didn’t know what on earth was going on, but later figured out the Red Dress Run was going on that weekend! We didn’t plan to participate in this, but enjoyed seeing (for the most part) the fun outfits throughout the weekend. 🙂
So Saturday was quite an eventful day. We woke up early and had breakfast tacos and a latte at the coffee bar in our hotel. This is in the same location as Piscobar, where they have a tasty and carefully curated menu of cocktails. (Will talk about this later!) Anyway, it was so nice to walk out of our room and immediately enjoy coffee in a cozy atmosphere.
So after breakfast, we made our way to the Lafayette Cemetery where we were scheduled to meet for a tour around the historic homes in the area. We took the trolley there and realized we were about an hour early (a first, lol) so we headed towards Magazine St, and found ourselves right in front of Coquette, this trendy bistro with a pretty bar. As you might imagine, we enjoyed a couple of their brunch cocktails and then made our way back to our tour! The tour we took was in the Garden District, where we learned a whole lot about the history of the homes in the area and the Lafayette Cemetery, and of course took a bunch of pictures!
After the tour, we headed back towards Canal street in search of Oysters (again). We stopped at Acme Oyster House for their famous charbroiled oysters and some fried shrimp. My goodness, we couldn’t eat the oysters fast enough! I prefer raw oysters, but these charbroiled were super tasty. If ever in the area, this place is a must! Don’t let the long line outside intimidate you, I promise it’s worth it. 🙂
We headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then kept the party going at their rooftop bar. There was blasting music and we just couldn’t resist stopping by for a cocktail. We got our cocktail and somehow even danced to bachata before taking off to dinner. So about the bachata… the DJ started off the night by saying she wanted us to feel included in her mix, so to feel free and request WHATEVER song. Some people couldn’t handle it, I guess, and requested 4 Shakira songs back to back, and let me tell you, I am everything but a Shakira fan. I can stand her music, but after song #3, I was ready to leave. lol. Luckily, the playlist shifted to Despacito and then some other Latin songs that got me up and dancing. I’m so serious. We were dancing merengue and bachata, something completely unexpected, and it was great.
We headed to Burbon St. after that and then had dinner at Bourbon House where we had more oysters. Gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever had as many oysters as what we had in those 24ish hours of being there. But no worries, we also had real food! We ended our evening at Pat O’ Brien’s piano bar. Another must if you go to New Orleans and don’t feel like walking around like a drunken zombie down Bourbon St. We are definitely going back!
Sunday’s plans were much more relaxed. We started our day with brunch at The Court of Two Sisters, an iconic restaurant we were lucky to visit. We sat outside and enjoyed live jazz while drinking some peach Bellini drinks. It was soo dreamy!
After brunch we headed back to our room to freshen up and then right back out for a drink at Piscobar. My husband had been wanting to try this bar out from the moment we walked in to our hotel. It is definitely not your regular hotel bar. Their menu features several drinks that are pisco based (think pisco sour). We had a couple of drinks and then shared a “Pisco Fizz Yourself”, which was a pink foamy drink. It was so delicious and cute! I really wish we would have stopped here before! I would have loved to try more of the drinks on their menu.
We decided to go for a walk around Canal St and Jackson Square after our mid evening boost, and visited some of the shops in the area.
To end the evening we attended a jazz concert at the Preservation Hall. It was very intimate and special, so intimate that they had a very strict “no photographs” policy during the concert. I followed the rule so there are no pictures to share! 🙂
ps. we enjoyed desert at Café Du Monde regularly during our trip.
We were set to check out of our room on Monday morning and head back to Dallas in the afternoon. On the last day we went to the French Market, had a few drinks, ate a Po’ boy and just shopped around. We were tired of walking, but felt like there were so many things we still had to see! Doesn’t it feel that way when you go on any trip?
Overall this trip went better than I imagined. We were able to explore the city in beautiful weather and were able to eat oysters to our bodies’ content. hehe. The options for food, drink and entertainment were endless that I felt like we still had plenty left to experience. So with that being said, we will for sure be visiting back!
Thank you so much for reading and if you have any suggestions for places or comments, leave a comment below! I’d love to hear your feedback! 🙂
love,
more pictures… 🙂
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