A 40th birthday, old/new friends, incredible food, amazing culture/history, music, Bourbon Street, slots, black jack, laughter, & sleeping in is how!!!!! Ah-mayzing weekend!!! And for those curious: I couldn't even tell one of the deadliest hurricanes hit here 8.5 years ago. I went in 2003 and it looked the same to me!
Friday night we landed at 630 PM and Team Wainscott picked us up at the airport. We headed straight to Jacques Imo's Cafe for some "real nawlin' food" and boy was it ever!! Locals were in this joint, which is always a tell-tale sign the place is legit.
I mean, how cute is this place?? It was not in the French Quarter, which is another reason locals came here. ;o)
Us and 6 others couples decided to meet up in Nola for Stephanie's 40th birthday and we all agreed it was a wise decision! ;). Plus, B and I were wanting to visit Heather and Brad before baby Tess so we decided to roll it all into one.
We started with the shrimp and alligator sausage cheesecake and wowie. Unreal!!!!
I didn't photo our entrees but B had the stuffed quail he said was to die for and I had their famous fried chicken. Dee-lish!!!! We had a great time meeting everyone and ended the night at Cats Meow on Bourbon St for a little Karaoke Action. Everyone was begging me to sing so I put in for Adele's 'Rollin' in the Deep.' Well, 2 hours later I still hadn't sung :( so we decided to call it a night. It was 1 AM by that point and we still had to drive back to their apt, in the burbs, which was about an hour away.
When we got home Heather had a little gift for Tess on my bed and omg!! Could this be any cuter?!!!?!?!? I love it!!!! Thanks H!!!!!
We hit Starbucks on our way to the city the next morning and I'll tell ya: .......that bridge over Lake Pontchartrain from Covington (where H and B live) to New Orleans, is no joke. It's like 28 miles long!!!! Unnerving doesn't even begin to describe my feeling while driving over that thing! People do it everyday though. Crazy!!
We went to lunch at Port of Call and we all agreed that was probably the best cheeseburger we had ever eaten. Note to self: Fresh Grated Cheddar cheese!!!! And no fries here....Baked potatoes loaded all the way baby!
Then, we just walked around and took it all in!
Jackson Square
The Saints played at 3 and let's just say the fans are a little fanatic!!
Here lies a dog 'playing dead' in an actual handmade coffin. The sign says, 'need money for proper buriel.' What????? He laid there for, I swear, 30 minutes!!!!!
Brian bought some art for his office in Jackson Square and we loved this scene so much we had to go there in person.
We were told this was the oldest building in New Orleans. At the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip.
These are supposedly an EXCLUSIVE Nawlins favorite but heard they were pretty nasty!
Watching the Saints play at a bar and I was freezing!!!
More art we bought for Brian's office but I think my wet bar needs it! This was painted on old scraps of wood after the hurricane hit!!!!
The birthday girl and her main squeeze, Brian!
In The W hotel lobby before dinner at Irene's in the French Quarter.
The Crew!!! Such a great group of people!!!
Words cannot describe how ridiculously good Irene's was. I took zero pics of our food but that was only because we were devouring it before I had a chance!!! Yummy!!!! Irene, herself,
Who is The Chef, came out and thanked us for coming and gave Stephanie a big ole bday smooch! So nice!!!! Then, we had some King cake!!!! The first day of Mardi Gras was the Saturday we were there so Brian thought a festive king Cake would be fitting for Steph's bday cake. It was delicious!
A plastic baby is always baked in the cake for tradition and Steph ended up with it!!! Her baby was little black baby though!! Hahaha!!!
Then, shortly after that, Steph's brother, Hardie, starts choking on something and sure enough, he got a baby too!!!! His was white. They already love wine like their parents! Lol!!
We hit the casino (Harrah's, which was right across the street from our hotel) after dinner and Brian and I didn't lose money!! Woo hoo!!!!
Alas, it was time to get back to my parents and our baby girl back in TX but first: Cafe du Monde. I have no words for these delicious puffs of goodness. Unbelievable!!!!
Stephanie, thanks for the letting us join in on your birthday fun, we had a blast!!!! Team Wainscott, thanks for your generous hospitality. Miss you guys already. :o(
Until next time......
Cheers,
Lindley
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