As a born and raised West Texas girl, I had never stepped foot in Louisiana until I was 26 or so. This trip to New Orleans was my first visit to the Big Easy and I had no idea what to expect. It was far nicer than I anticipated, the food was just as good as I had heard, and I was completely enamored by the fact that 80% of this city was under water just 6 or 7 years ago. Then we ventured over to Mandeville, LA (just on the other side of the HUGE Lake Pontchartrain) on July 4th and stayed one final night there before heading home. Highlights from the trip at the bottom of this post- for those interested.
We left Aubrey behind with Weston's parents while we made our little trip. We thought WE were on vacation, but the daily photos from Weston's mom (all below) clearly indicated that Aubrey was really the one on vacation. She looked like she was having a blast. I was scared she wouldn't want to come back home.
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| Snacking on raisins and crackers after swimming |
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| More swimming |
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| Eating corn on the cob in her swimmy suit |
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| Happy 4th of July! I made this shirt for her!! :) |
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| Her very own Icee-- in the car. |
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| Morning stroll |
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| Helping Cookie make cup cakes |
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| Riding in the Barbie Jeep with Eli |
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| Whoa- too fast! |
Luckily she was happy to see us when we got home and decided it would be okay to come back home with mom and dad!
----A few highlights of my favorite things from the trip----
NEW ORLEANS
Hotel: Loews New Orleans - Great location near the French Quarter, Riverwalk, and Warehouse District. And apparently it's one of the few NOLA hotels with a spa.
Spa: Balance Spa at Loews- We got an 80 minute couples massage-- I'm drooling just thinking about it.
Restaurants: Restaurant August- AMAZING. One of the best dining experiences I've ever had. We both ordered the chef's prix-fixe menu and enjoyed 5 amazing courses of gourmet food. Drooling again.
Restaurants: Brigtsen's- Located in a charming Victorian cottage in Uptown New Orleans, this family owned restaurant specializes in Creole/Acadian cuisine with all locally sourced produce and meat. If you're under the age of 50 you might be the youngest people there-- but I didn't mind it a bit. Stepping into Brigtsen's made me feel like I was in on a little New Orleans secret-- a place truly only frequented by locals. The food was fantastic.
Attractions: Magazine Street- A 6 mile stretch of retail and restaurants stretching through Uptown and the Garden District. A far cry from anything you'll find in the French Quarter, which I thought was super gross and crowded, Magazine Street has charming antique shops, modern design stores, coffee, pubs... you name it.
We also did some of the touristy things like visit Cafe du Monde, the Aquarium, and the WWII Museum-- all of which were nice.
MANDEVILLE and MADISONVILLE
Hotel: Marvilla Guest House- Marvilla is a fully restored 1870's guest house in Mandeville, 1 block from Lake Pontchartrain. Second time we've stayed here- it's quaint and charming.
Restaurants: Morton's Seafood Restaurant- Set on the bank of the Tchefuncte River- a great place to grab a cup of seafood gumbo and fresh blue crabs and watch the yachts float by.
Shopping: Coquille Cottage- Great place to find refinished and repurposed furniture and accessories. The prices were awesome-- we loaded the car up!
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