Travel Log: New Orleans
I’m back today with another Travel Log. Originally I had planned for these to serve as planning resources for anyone interested in visiting the same destination but now, with the pandemic, it feels a bit more reflective and nostalgic. That being said, I do think there are some great travel hacks in here, so whether you’re ready to to start traveling now or still just daydreaming about the future, I hope this recap of my time in New Orleans offers you some inspiration.
Before we get too far into New Orleans, let me give you some background information. My grandparents live in Mobile, Alabama, about a 2 hour drive from New Orleans. It’s usually $300-$500 to fly to Mobile but back in 2015 I discovered Frontier often has flights to New Orleans for $25-75 and from there I can take the Megabus for less than $10 to Alabama. Much more manageable for my budget!
Some people might see this as an exhausting and round about way of getting to their destination but I look at it as an opportunity to travel and explore more. Mixing personal travel into a family visit or work trip has become one of my favorite travel hacks. I have done this on work trips to Chicago and Sydney, I’ve done it while visiting my grandparents in Alabama, and I have even done it while traveling to St. Augustine, Florida for a wedding.
But in February 2019, I managed to combine all three (family, work, and personal) into one trip! First, I asked to have a business trip conclude with my return flight taking me to Mobile, Alabama (instead of back home to Philadelphia). I spent five days with my grandparents and then I took the Megabus for $6.50 to New Orleans. I spent four days exploring and completing research for some articles I was writing before flying back to Philly for $87.30 on Frontier.
Where I Stayed:
Originally I booked a hostel but then a relative of someone I know invited me to stay in their guest house. The home was absolutely gorgeous and relaxing and located in the perfect location for walking most places during the day.
Travel Tip: Don’t be afraid to ask your friends for tips on things to do in your destinations or casually ask if anyone knows someone you could crash with. You never know how it will work out and you don’t have to feel guilty. If people don’t want to host you, they won’t volunteer.
How I Got Around:
I was able to walk to the French Quarter, Bywater and Treme neighborhoods during the day. At night and when heading to further spots, like the Garden District, I took a Lyft or the trolley.
Top 5 Experiences
Save Our Cemeteries Tours
New Orleans has over 40 cemeteries located within the city limits. These elaborate and ornate cemeteries attract the attention of ghost hunting New Orleans visitors, as well as history lovers. During my visit I wanted to learn as much as I could about what makes NOLA cemeteries so unique. Luckily, I discovered Save Our Cemeteries, a non-profit working to "increase the public’s interaction, appreciation and enjoyment of the architectural, historic, and cultural value" of the city’s cemeteries.
Save Our Cemeteries offers a number of fascinating tours that not only tell about the burial customs and history of the cemeteries but also dive into the history of the city. During my time in NOLA, I participated in the St. Louis I & II combination tour and also met with a tour guide who privately took me around to a number of the other cemeteries as I researched my USA Today 10Best.com article, Don’t Leave New Orleans Without Seeing These 10 Cemeteries.
Treme Tour
While I was planning my trip to New Orleans, I discovered that French Quarter Phantoms had won the 10 Best.com Reader’s Choice Award for Best Ghost Tour in the Country and even though I am not normally a fan of ghost tours or anything spooky, for that matter, I decided when in Rome New Orleans…
The first thing that jumped out at me about French Quarter Phantoms is that the company was born out of a desire to give something back to the volunteers after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Then I discovered their tours are based on historical documentation, news stories and police records. I found this intriguing so I decided to check it out (and eventually write a story about the company for USA Today’s 10Best.com. You can check it out here).
But French Quarter Phantoms offers more than just ghost tours, they also offer an award-winning cultural walking tour of the oldest African-American neighborhood in the United States: Treme. Treme, founded by free people of color, is the birthplace of jazz and uniquely helped to shape the civil-rights movement. The tour was awarded National Geographic’s GeoTourism Award, and I cannot recommend it enough!
Lunch at Dooky Chase
Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, located in the historic Treme neighborhood, opened in 1941 as a barroom and sandwich spot. It quickly became a popular meeting place for civil rights leaders, musicians and artists. By the mid to late 1940s, through the inspiration of Dooky Chase Jr.’s wife, Leah, the bar began transitioning to a sit-down restaurant.
Leah, a great supporter of the arts, utilized the restaurant space to showcase African American art. She became known as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine” and went on to cook for many prominent individuals throughout her lifetime, including President Obama, Ray Charles, and Duke Ellington. She even served as the inspiration for the animated Disney movie The Princess and The Frog.
I decided to give the lunch buffet a try for two reasons. First, since this was my first experience with Creole cuisine, I felt like the buffet would give me the opportunity to try a variety of items without having to order and waste a lot. My second reason for selecting the lunch buffet is because I was traveling solo, and I personally find fine dining establishments to be a bit awkward when dining alone at dinner.
Leah passed away a few months after my visit but her incredible legacy lives on at Dooky Chase. And it’s certainly still worth a visit during your New Orleans trip.
Second Line
New Orleans second lines are iconic. Second line parades began as “jazz funerals” where a procession accompanied by a brass band would travel from the church to the cemetery. On the way to the cemetery, they would play slow or mournful spirituals but upon leaving the cemetery, the mourners would shift to celebrating the life of the departed with livelier and more spirited songs. Today Second Lines still occasionally occur with funerals, but they also occur quite frequently, usually on Sundays, for no other reason than to celebrate life.
During my visit, I had the opportunity to attend a very unique second line honoring the New Orleans Saints football team. It was Sunday, February 3rd and the 2019 Super Bowl would be played that evening. And, no, the Saints weren’t playing that day. Two weeks earlier they’d been knocked out of the competition after an incredibly controversial “no-call” call. It seemed like all of New Orleans had committed to boycotting the Super Bowl. The boycott began with a Second Line to mourn/celebrate that season’s Saints and was followed up by bars offering drink specials for customers to come in and “not watch the game” while others were inviting customers to come in and watch the 2010 Super Bowl game (spoiler alert: the Saints won that year).
Dinner and Jazz at 3 Muses
As I am not a big party person, I am happy to not spend too much time on the famed Bourbon Street. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a lively environment, I just prefer a more local experience. That’s why I loved staying right off of Frenchman St. Here you have great spots that are full of culture, still lively and fun but not as commercial or “wasted.”
On my third night, a Saturday, I found myself sitting at the bar of the 3 Muses squeezing in a late dinner before the kitchen closed. Over a year later, I am not exactly sure what I ordered but judging by my pictures it looks like Ms. Moon’s Bulgogi Rice Bowl, fried wontons, and a bowl of mac and cheese. I do specifically remember saying, “It’s all so good! I can’t decide what I want to be the last flavor in my mouth.” I also remember loving the music -- I believe the band that night was called the Shotgun Jazz Band. I don’t actually know anything about music but I love live jazz, especially with a classic NOLA cocktail.
If you’re looking for something delicious to eat while in New Orleans, check out my article on the 10 Most Iconic NOLA Dishes and Where To Try Them.
