Jenni goes stateside: Down in new orleans
It's been a while but the Jenni goes stateside series is back and this time, for the first time ever, it wasn't with my family! Venturing to the States for the first time with my friends, I've just got home from an amazing twin-centre holiday that we booked through The Internet Traveller.
When we first started talking about going to America this summer, I wanted to go to New Orleans and Katie wanted to go to Las Vegas so we compromised and did both, planning 4 nights in each (with big Katie too). Possibly unsurprisingly, the combo wasn't all that common and it was tricky to find companies to put together a package for a reasonable price (and putting it together ourselves proved too expensive). So we were amazed when we got the quote through from The Internet Traveller for only £1,000 each for 3 of us, including return transatlantic flights, 4 nights hotel stay in New Orleans, 4 nights hotel stay in Las Vegas, internal flights between the two, airport transfers in Vegas and a jazz cruise thrown in for good measure too. Everyone we told thought it was way too good to be true and we have to admit, we feared the same at times. But having just got home, fully impressed, I could not recommend the company we booked through more!
Even though our holiday was only 9/10 days long, it feels like we literally packed so much in and had a crazily busy time, so I've decided to split the two parts of the holiday into two separate posts (well, the stateside posts are a series, after all). Starting with New Orleans, where we finally arrived after a 4 hour coach to London, an 8 hour flight across the ocean, a 4 hour stopover at Chicago (where we tried the famous deep dish pizzas), and a 2 hour flight to our destination. The second I stepped out of the taxi, I knew that New Orleans would be everything I'd expected. The streets were a beautiful mix of fancy architecture, old fashioned trolley trams and palm trees, the weather was gorgeous and the air was filled with music! We were also impressed by The Internet Traveller for the second time (first with the flights with American airlines, which were very good), when we checked into the Astor Crowne Plaza and found that our hotel was amazing. The room was super spacious, we had a rooftop pool and we even had breakfast included! It was also in the perfect location on the corner of Canal Street and Bourbon Street which is known as the 'corridor' to the French Quarter.
And the French Quarter was exactly where we started! Trying to outrun 6 hours worth of jet lag, we got ready and headed out for some dinner and to see what the nightlife was like. I'd done a big boohoo haul before I went away so a lot of the pieces I wore were brand new, including this green slinky skirt (loved it so much, I bought it in two colours) and dotty crop top. And wow, Bourbon Street did not disappoint. We started with a lovely meal - I went with very local vibes and ordered a cajun jambalaya pasta (which was amazing), and then we tried a few different bars, all of which had live music of all different kinds and were really lively! It wasn't until the next day that we realised it'd been such a good atmosphere because it was Pride weekend there. I was pretty proud of us too because we managed to last until 2:30am (which, in our heads, was 8:30am).
We adjusted to New Orleans time pretty easily and woke up the next morning, ready to go and soak up some sun. We soon realised that our pool didn't get the sun until the afternoon/evening, so instead we ventured out to explore the French Quarter (and in search of food), before getting on board the jazz river cruise (included in the price of our holiday). The Nachez is a pretty famous thing in New Orleans as it's a classic paddle steamer and we had an amazing afternoon aboard, learning about the things we passed and drinking cocktails in the sun.
After a couple of hours round our pool (which was in the sun by this point), we then got ready and headed out again (this time I wore black milkmaid top and satin leopard print shorts). We quickly noticed the difference between that and the night before (given that it was a Monday and no longer Pride), but there were still loads of cool bars to explore (even if only a select few were busy). We also had a lovely dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe before going out. Well, I say dinner but actually we only had 2 appetisers between us. We seriously did not adjust to the American portion sizes!
Despite the fact that I hate them and how touristy they are, the next day we got up bright and early to do an open top, hop-on-hop-off bus tour. I would've never chosen to do it myself but unfortunately, majority rules and the other two wanted to do it. We did have a lovely time though and saw all of New Orleans, including the business quarter and magazine street and a couple of the famous cemeteries. We also had the most amazing tour guide who not only taught us loads of cool facts but also made us laugh and recommended us a great taco place for lunch. The difference really showed when we got the last bus home, as the tour guide on that one was as dull as dishwater!
It was a case of life giving me lemons for night 3, as I wore this brand new boohoo playsuit which I just think is the cutest. Following a recommendation from a friendly waiter the night before (well, friendly even by New Orleans standards because seriously, everyone is the nicest), we skipped Bourbon Street and instead went over to Frenchman street which is apparently a bit classier and more renowned for jazz bars. And we certainly found that to be the case; there were live bands everywhere (in the bars, in the open courtyard, on the street corner outside the chicken shop which we later went in and had some amazing food). That was the main thing I fell in love with about New Orleans; music just floods the air wherever you go. Real, soulful music that makes you feel like you've been transported back through time.
It was another jam-packed one the day after as we followed a recommendation that we had all had, separately. Everyone we spoke to said to do a swamp tour in New Orleans so we booked a hover boat to head off in search of alligators. Although they don't technically guarantee you seeing any, we saw absolutely loads, some of whom even climbed up on the boat for a closer look! Again, we were blessed with another amazing tour guide who taught us loads about the alligators and the local area, and he even brought along a baby alligator for us to hold (which he pranked us into thinking was a cooler box full of beers). For an animal themed day, I wore a suitably animal themed outfit in the form of this leopard pinafore dress, and then made it nice and impractical by adding my vacay hat. Sure, I had to hold it pretty much the whole boat ride to stop it blowing off, but did my head get sunburnt? No. Did it look fabulous? I think so.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, it was our last night in New Orleans and was time to celebrate our time in the French Quarter and all the beauty it has to offer. I wore another of my new purchases, which was this amazing printed wrap skirt, paired with khaki bralet and finished with a red lip. We started with a late dinner and I tried another local speciality; blackened catfish. I have to say, I got catfished and was very happy about it (because it was amazing). Then we headed for drinks at a rooftop bar before finishing up with dancing in another bar with some fellow Brits that we'd managed to find.
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