New Orleans Survival Kit

Always wanted one of those “I Survived My Family Reunion” matching t-shirts? Follow these little tips, and you could get a complementary “I Survived New Orleans” gold coin. (Not really). You’re welcome.

Walk the French Quarter

Flat Shoes - You don’t have to rent a car when you visit New Orleans. In fact, if you’re coming downtown to the French Quarter, you might prefer to not have the responsibility of wheels.

New Orleans can easily be a walking city, or a Street Car city. This is one of my favorite walking tours: go to breakfast at Cake Cafe in the Marigny, to Port of Call for a Bloody Mary, to Jackson Square to see the St. Louis Cathedral and have your palm read, to Cafe du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets, stroll along the Mississippi River, over to Hotel Monteleone for a Pimm’s Cup, and then back across the Quarter to Frenchmen Street for late afternoon live music, and Adolfo’s Italian restaurant for dinner.

All this can be done on foot, but you must wear walking shoes. The sidewalks are a little bumpy, and after those bloodies and Pimm’s, you’ll want to be on solid ground.

Shop for Fun at the French Market

Open Mind/Sense of Humor – Things look a little different in this city than they do anywhere else in the country. This is New Orleans after all, and we love to dress up. You’ll see people in costume on a Wednesday for absolutely no discernible reason.

You can find insane wigs at Fifi Mahony’s or fabulous locally made masks in the French Market. Embrace the bright green wigs and custom made top hat headbands.

In order for you to get the most out of this city, have an open mind: this is the place you can be anyone you want to be. And celebrate that sense of humor: we don’t take too much seriously, because it’s just not as fun.

New Orleans Restaurants are Worth the Wait

Patience - They don’t call this the Big Easy for nothing. Let’s just be honest, sometimes the service at a restaurant isn’t as fast as you’d like.

When I took a party of 8 to Adolfo’s on a Saturday night. I put our name in around 8 p.m. and we were seated by 10 p.m. But a two hour wait on a Saturday night for a party of 8 at one of the best restaurants in town may not seem like a terribly long time, especially since we were able to listen to live music while we were waiting.

One of my Frenchmen favorites, the Panorama Jazz Band,was playing their usual Saturday gig at Spotted Cat. After being entertained and being patient for 2 hours, we sat and ate (anything with ocean sauce is to die for) and drank (BYOB with a nominal corkage fee) and had a wonderful time.

This just goes to show that the best things in life are worth waiting for. And if your bring your flat shoes, sense of humor, and patience to New Orleans, you’re sure to have the time of your life.

What are your New Orleans survival tips? Leave a comment to let us know.

Tagged as: Cafe Du Monde, Frenchmen Street, Hotel Monteleone, Jackson Square, New Orleans, St. Louis Cathedral