On a sunny Saturday, we boarded a plane to New Orleans. Southwest now flies direct; and, we purchased $100 round trip tickets for Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend. The early morning flight wasn't too early; and, it gave us plenty of time to get to our hotel before beginning our quest for lunch. What began as a simple decision to see Uptown/Carrollton area of New Orleans turned into an adventure. After waiting over half an hour for a streetcar to arrive going toward Uptown (and watching several go the opposite direction), three streetcars stopped in quick succession. However, the first was full; and, the second's driver simply looked at our group and pulled away. We fit into the third streetcar. Yet, more delays awaited us. After only a mile, the streetcar stopped; and, we all had to exit in order go get on a waiting bus that would take us past streetcar track construction. The bus driver left the bus claiming he didn't know how to drive the bus. After being crammed into the bus for 10-15 minutes, another bus driver arrived and drove us the mile past the construction. Then, we boarded another streetcar to the end of the line in Uptown. The 1.5 hour total transportation experience (from waiting at the streetcar stop to getting off at the end) didn't make for a very efficient first impression of New Orleans. However, it did make us all very hungry.
My first New Orleans meal -- a fried shrimp po-boy. A po-boy is a sandwich made up of a 10" subway roll filled with meat, lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise. It was delicious! Also delicious was the potato soup, which came with all the toppings of a baked potato. O'Henry's, 634 S Carrollton Ave.
After lunch, we decided to avoid any more public transportation and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. The weather was so nice, we had eaten lunch outside on O'Henry's balcony. Now, we meandered down St. Charles Ave past Tulane to the Audubon Park. It was a large park with wide paved paths clearly marked for pedestrians as well as cyclists. There are bodies of water as well as several sculptures; and, large old trees provide plenty of shade. Walking through the park took us to Magazine Street and helped us forget the morning's public transportation fiasco. By that time, we were ready to use our day passes to catch the bus. The bus arrived relatively promptly; and, the return to our hotel was much less eventful.
After a few hours rest, we were ready to find dinner. We walked along Magazine Street and vetoed all places that had lines or couldn't seat us immediately. We'd had enough waiting for one day. Nile Ethiopian (2130 Magazine St) looked warm and inviting from the outside; and, the hostess/waitress moved two people from their one large table to accommodate our group of six. Everything from the injera (bread) chicken to curried lamb to the vegetarian platter was delicious! Although it is not typical New Orleans cuisine, Nile Ethiopian is on my recommended list for anyone visiting New Orleans.
Our evening wasn't over yet! After dinner, we caught the bus to Le Bon Temps Roulé (4801 Magazine St). It's a small bar with two pool tables in the front and a stage with bands performing in the back from 11 pm - 2 am. There's an older juke box up front that has an eclectic variety of music to choose from. While the band (Soul Fiya) wasn't quite our taste, we did enjoy playing pool for a few hours. Did I mention that there's an alligator in the ceiling? [Side note -- New Orleans does not have a smoking ban. Be prepared for smoking in all bars, restaurants, casinos, etc.]
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