After being thrown back into our daily routines of never-ending-laundry, chauffeuring school drop offs, and past due grocery shopping, we are really missing our weekend away in NOLA. Four days away from the kids was much needed after a summer chalked full of sleepless summer nights traveling every other weekend. Although it was work sponsored, it was also highly planned and anticipated weekend getaway for us. We typically do staycations, but after the parenting work we put in this summer, we thought we deserved a true getaway. New Orleans has made it to our favorite places traveled list. Between the history, the food, and the architecture, you can see why this made the list after just one visit.
I made the comment of how I failed to plan anything for this trip, when Matthew pulled up a spreadsheet on his phone and said, I got it. There have been very few times during our relationship Matthew has truly surprised me, in fact there have only been three. His marriage proposal, my 30th birthday party in Mexico, and this trip. I mean he used excel guys… that deserves a round of applause right there. He had each planned out by what we were going to eat for each meal, and what activities and tours we were going to squeeze in between them. Our weekend was consumed of food comas and mind explosions, so here’s a breakdown of our trip.
STAY
There are SO many hotels to choose from in New Orleans but I really wanted one that gave us a proper southern swoon, so we chose Maison de la Luz. The luxury hotel was both quaint and grand. The details were incredible, I’m telling you, everything was chosen perfectly in this boutique hotel. If you want every piece of furniture in your own home and every corner brings inspiration, then I find that a win of a hotel. The staff was amazing and super helpful. They also had a little open bar for you to make yourself drinks and fresh hot cookies every evening. The location was also incredible, close to all the hot spots but a nice distance away from the craziness of Bourbon street. We rarely traveled further than a mile from the hotel and experienced so much of New Orleans. Highly recommend the Maison De La Luz and booking here.
ACTIVITIES
There is SO much we didn’t get to but we tried not to over do it since our lives are already busier than most. We decided to choose an activity a day starting off with the Vue Museum which was an incredible experience of New Orleans. Highly recommend as you learn SO much but in a totally new perspective. With interactive technology you get a history lesson of New Orleans and the 360 degree views from and indoor/ outdoor 30 something floors high! It’s really indescribable, so you’ll just have to check it out for yourself. Another tour that we did was the Jamnola. This was more like an art museum with a twist of culture and history. I couldn’t believe how many tours we could have done that looked really awesome like the WWII tour, swamp tours, haunted tours, food tours. Options are endless! We’ll have to come back for the rest!
We walked almost everywhere since surprisingly everything is close. We of course walked down Bourbon Street. It hadn’t even hit 5pm yet and it was wild. The people watching was 10/10 and the street performers were incredible which gave us a night full of entertainment! We didn’t drink on this trip but literally everyone told us to try a “Hurricane” drink which apparently is all the rave. It honestly looked like a college hangover but I could be wrong. We also walked around the Garden District and I could have spent a whole day there if it didn’t feel like 115 degrees outside. At the end of our trip we took a very unique gondola ride around City Park where we got a romantic ride with views of the museum’s art and beautiful lagoons. Robert was our guide and he had quite a story. If you really want to make it a date night, bring food and drinks and Robert has you covered on documenting the perfect shot!
FOOD
District Donut – the most amazing spicy honey chicken biscuit sandwich and cinnamon roll that tasted like creme brûlée on top.
Cafe Du Monde – Our first beignet and it was good but the people said Cafe Beignet was better.
Cafe Beignet – It was better.
The Bourbon House – Best charbroiled oysters hands down. They were so fresh and it felt like we could suck on the shell afterwards, it was so flavorful.
Ruby Slipper – The eggs Benedict were so good especially the shrimp one but Matthew’s spicy chicken on french toast was out of this world. The french toast actually tasted like mini churros. SO Good but make sure you get a reservation or get there early! Long wait.
Parkway Bakery – Someone told us it was the best po boys and they were massive and delicious. So quaint and authentic to NOLA. Their famous po boy with brisket was next level.
Mondays – Came here for the sweet potato beignets and they did not disappoint. Also Monday’s hibiscus lemonade was fire.
Willie’s Chicken Shack – It was the only thing open at the time but the chicken was very tasty.
Dragos – Lots of people claim they have the best oysters and they definitely had flavor but not the best. It felt like they re-used the oyster shells and they tasted burnt. The oyster themselves had so many chards of shell in them. They were also HEAVY on the butter which I’m surprised to say this… it was too much butter.
Morrows – Also amazing charbroiled oysters but not the best. We loved the lamb there though!
Shop our outfits from the trip here!
Matthew and I had a time and did so much but only scratched the surface of NOLA so we’ll be back!
p.s. check out our last couples getaway trip local!
