New Orleans 2019

My mom and I took a trip to explore New Orleans this year so that we could attend the International Pool and Spa Convention for Macke Pool Products. Katie, Grandma and Lenore joined us! We arrived at the airport on Monday morning with mimosas in hand and ready to take on the week.

Monday ended up being a really fun day. We checked into our hotel on Canal Street and started walking down the streets of New Orleans to find something to eat. We ended up finding this place called The Backspace Bar where we sipped on some cocktails and shared a Bloody Mary Crispy Chicken Sandwich, it was by far one of our favorite meals. After that we spent the next couple of hours bar hopping and coming up with a plan for the night. We ended up deciding to go on a Ghost City Tour that night. This tour was well worth the money and all the walking. Not only did we get to hear haunted stories but we also got to hear about some history which was really cool.

Tuesday we started the day off by eating at an amazing place called the Ruby Slipper where I had the BEST coffee!We split some eggs benedict which was also great!

Next Kim and I went to the Convention while the others went to the World War 2 Museum. This was unlike any other convention because we got to meet Kelsey Ballarini’s Dad! He ended up being the VP of sales for a guy we met on our lunch break. I was super excited and ended up getting his business card and will be working with him in the future. After the convention we met up with Lenore and enjoyed each others company on the patio of our hotel while Grandma and Katie rested. That night we made our way to Pat O Brian’s which is the coolest bar in New Orleans! As we were headed there we saw the Preservation Hall which usually has a long line that you usually have to wait in for hours to see the Jazz show. We ended up waiting in line for only 15 minutes and paid  $20 cash to get in. The Building was NASTY and super old but the show was great. Grandma was at that same place 30 years ago so it was great to experience that with her. After the show we made it to Pat O Brian’s where we ate and had a couple hurricanes (the local drink). We found another bar inside of Pat O’s (as the locals call it) which was a dueling piano bar. We stayed there for a LONG time. After we left we found another dueling piano bar on bourbon street called Spirits. My mom, Lenore and I spent the rest of the night watching them play! 

Wednesday was a super nice day so mom and I decided to skip the convention that day and go back on Thursday when is was going to be rainy out. We started the day off at  Mardi Gras World where we got to learn the history of Mardi Gras and how the floats are made. Highly recommend this tour! After this tour we jumped on a boat tour cal Creole Queen History Cruise where we learned about more history of New Orleans. This was great and all because it was fun to be on the river but I wouldn’t recommend the history boat tour I would recommend the Jazz tour. History one was SOOO dry and boring.. That night we went out to eat and got a good night’s rest for the next day.

Thursday came along and we started the day off by eating at Brennen’s. This place is very high end and is well known around the area. Grandma had eaten there 30 years ago when she was in town. Hands down recommend this place, they treat you like queens and their food is unbelievable! After that Mom and I went to the convention and the other girls went shopping. That afternoon we got on a city bus tour called New Orleans Sightseeing Tour.This was also an amazing tour where we drove around the city, learned about the history, ate Beignets and visited the cemetery where people are buried above ground! So cool! Anyways, later that night we met Erin Dingmann at a brewery on Frenchman Street. We ate at Dat Dog and watch more Jazz music and drank Hurricanes and Jazz Juice. It was the perfect night! 

To sum up our trip we ended up having a blast! Our group was fun, adventurous and loves to try new things. I would hands down travel with this group any day! As for New Orleans, I compare it to Vegas, you can only spend a couple days there and then you are ready to go back home.