Tis Me Michelle

The first trip of the year! It felt like NOLA was trying to keep me away. After a failed attempt of going last year, my friend and I gave it another try this year. And it still wasn’t super easy, but we made it!

I almost had a Paris repeat situation where my travel buddy was possibly not going to make it. They were having issues at their apartment, and it seemed like it may not work out, plus there was an impending snowstorm. The day before, she finally confirmed she was going to make it. I’m glad she did because, as much as I love New Orleans and would happily go again, it’s not really a city I prefer to do solo. After all the ghost tours, it’s far too haunted. And I don’t do scary vibes.

We stayed at a cute boutique hotel, The Brakeman Hotel. In the Basin St. Station, which has a small museum inside, along with a cafe, gift shop, and operates a few tours. It was a great home base. One of the tours they offered was of the St. Louis Cemetery #1, which was right next door, so of course, we had to check it out. We had a view of said cemetery from our room. We learned about the history behind the above-ground cemetery, which is unique and necessary for the city. The famous Madame Laveau is buried there. And someone even spookier. Well, they aren’t buried there quite yet… The national treasure himself, Nicolas Cage, built an above-ground pyramid tomb for when he is ready to be laid to rest. What a character. He has a history with the city. And I get it. The soul of this city is truly unmatched.

In addition to the cemetery tour, we did a ghost + vampire tour. Those were some of the highlights of the trip. I wasn’t blown away by either, but I did think they were fun things to do when in NOLA. We also went to Mardi Gras World, where you get an up-close peek at the floats used during Mardi Gras. I had no idea that most of them are made out of styrofoam and papier-mache’d. Super cool to see how people can make such larger-than-life art with such simple materials. And my last main highlight was The Sazerac House. It’s a free museum you can visit at your own pace and includes a few alcohol samples, including the namesake Sazerac.

Whenever I travel with this friend, we stop by the zoo and sometimes the aquarium. We stopped by both, and they were fine. Unless you love animals or are a zookeeper like my friend, it’s not a must-do for your itinerary. This comes from someone who’s been to plenty of zoos as an indifferent zoo goer. These didn’t wow me. There were some lion cubs at the zoo, and who doesn’t love to see some baby Simbas bopping around? They were super cute! On my last trip, I went to the art museum and the WWII museum. Those are more up my alley, and I would recommend visiting those. If my friend were super interested, I would have gone again, but I think they are both one-time visit worthy.

Those were the main activities, aside from wandering around Bourbon St. and everywhere else. I wore the wrong shoes. All that walking killed me. I’m too old to wear cute shoes for travel. I will need to pack accordingly moving forward. The main highlight of this trip for me, by no surprise, was all the great food. I think I could come to this city and eat something new and delicious every time. Check out my Instagram post for the foodie highlights!

Have you been to New Orleans?! Did I miss anything to add to the list the next time I am lucky enough to go?