I'd never been to Louisiana, so I was pretty excited to find out our cruise departed from New Orleans. The only down side was that we were really only going to get part of a day to explore the city. Of course it wasn't even a fraction of enough time, but we made the best of it.
After checking into the Intercontinental Hotel, we set out to find dinner. My Husband had read about this place and we were not disappointed. I don't remember which sandwich I had, but it was great and the kids were thrilled about having pancakes and bacon for dinner! Afterward, most of the group was ready to go back to the hotel, but not me. Luckily my brother-in-law was up for a little exploring. We decided to head over to Bourbon St...
Crazy would be an understatement - and it wasn't even Mardi Gras. I was glad we sent the kids back to the hotel - I'm not sure how I would have explained the "Barely Legal" club to my eight year-old son, or why he couldn't go into a bar to dance to Gangham Style. My brother-in-law and I walked around for a while listening to the music and people watching, (we were especially amused by the couple who were pushing an infant in a stroller while wearing T-shirts that said, "Drunk #1" and "Drunk #2.") We walked until we found this nice little spot with live music and fresh baked goods.
We didn't stay long - just long enough to pick up a few beignets for breakfast. (After watching the Princess and the Frog - I had to try one.) As the night life on Bourbon Street started to wind up, we were winding down so we walked back to the hotel and crashed. Though, I had to stop to get some pictures of the gas lights on the street. They were beautiful...
In the morning the kids, Grandma and I were itching to get out and see a bit more of the city before we had to leave. Neither my children or I had ever seen the Mississippi River - or the, as my daughter put it, "strange looking" sea gulls.
The train was also fun to watch. New citing always have so many interesting things to look at!
However, the highlight of the morning's walk was finding the ship. The kids knew it was going to be big, but they hadn't grasped just how absolutely gigantic it was.
All we had time left to do was get back to the hotel, get in our taxis, and ride back to the terminal in time to board the ship at noon. The kids were all so excited; they knew our cruise aboard the Navigator of the Seas was going to be a trip to remember...
Photo Credit:
Photo of New Orleans: kla4067
2 comments:
How fun! One of the little girls from the school that I work at took this cruise on spring break -- I wonder if you were on the same one?
For some reason, I thought you were on the great New Orleans adventure trip with a crew of us from Mackinac. Our introduction to Bourbon Street at 3 in the morning (thanks to Frenchy) was an eye opening experience. Every other bar was barely legal. But the French quarter was gorgeous. The cemeteries are really cool too. The last battle of the War of 1812 (fought in 1815) happened in New Orleans. We went to the battlefield site. Just some ideas for the next time you visit:-) Can't wait to hear more about Mexico!
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