New Orleans Travel Links

The Internet certainly is a wonder! We were able to plan virtually the whole trip online. These days, all you need to do is type in the name of the hotel or restaurant you'd like to try, and BAM! (as Emeril would say). You have photos, prices, menus, and amenities for your perusal. While some may say that part of the fun of traveling is never knowing exactly what you're going to get, the extra planning that the 'net provides certainly help make a trip even more successful.

Restaurants

Cafe du' Monde. Start every morning here. Heck, end every evening here too, if you want! It's always open. Try sitting inside where it's less crowded. It's warmer, but you get served quickly, and you don't have to wait in that long line. Believe me, you'll need to save your standing energy for all the walking tours.
Central Grocery. Where we bought our muffalettas. Italian meats piled on in a roll, with gobs of their special olive salad. Well, actually, we bought only one and shared it, cuz as a New Orleans visitor's guide remarked, they're "as big as your head!"
Court of Two Sisters. We spent the last day enjoying their great jazz brunch. The food was good, the music was fun, the courtyard was beautiful, and the service was very attentive. Our waiter, in fact, kept urging us to eat, and expressed his displeasure when we were getting ready to leave. "We have to catch a flight, " we apologized. Indeed, a restaurant where you're encouraged to stay and eat and apologize for leaving is a rare gem these days.
Dickie Brennan's Steak House. The best steak I've ever eaten, swear to the almighty. And I loved the classy ambience of the cigar-club/art-deco decor. I had their special "Steak Diane": Pan seared tournedos served with creamed mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. The steak just melted in my mouth. Marmi and I concluded the dinner with a heavenly yet decadent Bananas Foster bread pudding. When the waiter brought two seemingly large individual servings, we said, "Actually we ordered only one to share." The suave waiter replied, "Yes. We've cut it in half for you and put in on separate plates." If those were halves, I can only imagine what a whole one looks like! And kudos to the tactful staff who didn't treat us like unknowing, uncouth tourists.
Felix's Oyster Bar. I had a great shrimp po' boy here that really hit the spot. We originally planned on going to Acme Oyster House, but apparently, so did all the other tourists, and the line was huge! Take our advice: just hop across the street to Felix's. You won't miss a thing.
NOLA. Emeril's lower-cost, more casual restaurant. The proof is in the pudding; this is why he's such a big celebrity.
Royal Cafe. I'm not really putting a link to this restaurant, even though our poor, rushed waiter was nice and the food was okay. We had 7 p.m. reservations there for our first night in New Orleans. We wanted to eat there mainly to sit on their incredible balcony, which makes the building the most photographed in the French Quarter. When we got there, we were told it would be a half-hour wait. Forty-five minutes later, we were yet to be called. When we asked about our reservation, they said it would be another hour! We were so hungry that we just accepted a table in the tiny bar area. If we had known it would take that long, we could have eaten somewhere else and spent our time walking around the Quarter. I'm more upset now than I was then; I was just happy to be in the city and was determined to enjoy myself. But this shows that even having reservations doesn't guarantee being seated quickly. What we learned: eat before 7 pm. That's when the crowds start coming in.

Activities

Historic New Orleans Walking Tours. We took both the Cemetary/Voodoo tour and the Garden District tours. If you're expecting lots of titillating, scary voodoo stories, you won't get them on the C/V tour. Instead, you'll get a wonderful history of the New Orleans society and life that created such 'voodoo' infamy. Our Garden District tour guide, Mike, used to give tours inside Anne Rice's home. He gave us great information on the architecture styles in the District, as well as ghost stories, and celebrity homes.
Honey Island Swamp Tours. You need to make reservations for this special swamp tour, as it boasts pristine swampland as well as stresses nature conservation efforts. Again, not a touristy, over-the-top tour, but a learning experience. Beware though: the tour operators here love to make fun of us "Yankees."

Shopping

The Anne Rice Collection. Leave it to Anne to sell everything from Lestat perfume to a t-shirt with a scan of her brain on it. But of course I had to buy some stuff too: an autographed pen, an autographed book plate of her home on First Street, and a candle with Lestat's image on it. I do think it's wonderful that she has such stuff for sale, and lets herself be accessible to her fans.
Bayou Country. Located in JAX Brewery, which is basically just a big mall, this store has EVERYTHING. Delicious pralines, a wall of hot sauces, Cafe du Monde coffee, Emeril's spices. It's the store. Plus, they give you a catalog so you can always reorder. Woo-hoo!

Logistics

NOLA Live. This site was our jumping point. All the information we needed to know was right here, from current weather to bulletin boards with residents' thoughts on local restaurants. They also have some great live cams.
Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel. Frommer's is always reliable, and buying their New Orleans 2000 Guide was the best thing I did in planning this trip. I bought the book mostly because of an entire section they devote to Anne Rice, listing the places she and her characters haunt (pun intended). Their map of the French Quarter was also extremely helpful. It was the easiest on the eyes, and we used it to plan our routes.
Hampton Inn. We stayed at the one in the "Central Business District." Actually, it was on the fringe, right near the Quarter. So we were in walking distance, yet didn't have to pay Quarter rates. Well, that and Triple A. The room was nice, and the hotel offered free continental breakfast, and an exercise room. Marmi and I managed to squeeze in the treadmill on two nights, thus explaining more how I lost weight.
Southwest Airlines. This airline precipitated the whole trip. I get their weekly internet specials e-mail, and back in February of 2000 they had a $99 each way, anywhere, coast to coast anniversary sale. We scored our LAX-New Orleans tickets for only $211 each!

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