New Orleans (NOLA) is the largest city of Louisiana. I think it's also Louisiana's most popular city because when people say Louisiana, the first city the comes into my mind is NOLA. The home of the New Orleans Pelicans, French Quarter, St. Louis Cathedral and so on.
In case you don't know, I'm currently in Houston, TX for my year end vacation. This vacation is very special because majority of the fund I used for this year end trip came from my savings and this vacation is my longest vacation ever. The previous longest was 21 days in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Moving on, I'm really trying to maximize my stay here in the US. I already went to Mexico and now I'm looking for a nearby city to visit. The first city that came into my mind was San Antonio because I wanna visit Six Flags. However, last saturday while I'm attending a birthday party someone made me search MegaBus.com. From there I found out about a route to New Orleans from Houston. I checked it out and boom I decided to book a day trip to New Orleans.
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| credits to wfla.com |
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| The bus to New Orleans |
Moving forward, the bus picked me up at Katy Mills Entrance 5. I can opt to be picked up in Downtown Houston but Katy Mills is nearer the place where I'm staying now. I was surprise when I saw the bus because it's almost full then I learned that the bus is also transferring people from Austin to San Antonio to Houston to Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Anyway, I got a pretty comfortable seat in the lower deck. The bus has its own toilet and of course Wifi. The wifi is decent. It's not as fast as the LTE of my iPhone but it definitely saved a lot of data usage on my part. No complains at all. The bus ride was smooth. We arrived New Orleans on time.
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| Breakfast. 3pcs Beignet and Hot chocolate |
When we arrived around 5:30am, it was so cold and I was literally freezing maybe because I chose to disregard the weather forecast and wore something against it. Luckily, I brought some gloves with me to prevent my hands from freezing. At 5:30am Tuesday morning, the city was quiet everything was closed. However, when I reached the French Quarter, I was surprised to see bars still open and people are still drinking. I immediately went to Cafe Du Monde to have my breakfast and wait for the sun to rise. I bought their specialty which is the Beignet and hot chocolate. Coffee is their other specialty but I'm not a coffee drinker. Beignet was good. It's worth trying.
Next up is Algiers Point, you have to ride a ferry to visit Algiers point. I was supposed to go to the cemetery but it was closed so I decided to go to Algiers Point so I can experience riding their ferry. I can say Algiers Point is a nice city but I wasn't able to see much because everything is closed. I believe New Orleans comes alive at 10am. Nothing special in Algiers Point (maybe because I came in too early).
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| Our Tour Guide Joanne |
The French Quarter has a lot of stories to tell. I love it manages to preserve its historical value. The influence of the French, Spanish, and American can be seen all over the quarter. It amazes me how the government implement strict rules to preserve its historical value. Rules includes prohibiting buildings within the quarter not be higher than St. Louis Cathedral, not allowing residents to change something in front of their residences or their courtyards, and so on.
After the tour, I was already hungry so I decided to go to Johnny's Po-Boy to try their Jambalaya and Po-Boy. Those two cuisines are uniquely New Orleans. I was supposed to try Napoleon House but the tour guide told me that they're known for their drinks and not their food so i decided to skip them.
Next stop for me was the New Orleans Historical Collection in French Quarter. It houses all historical artifacts of New Orleans including the purchase of Louisiana of the American from the French. After that I immediately went to the St. Louis Cemetery #1. This is where the Voodoo Queen's body was laid down. The set up of the cemetery is something like the ones in the Philippines but more organized. Bodies are not buried under because of the canal beneath New Orleans. The weather of New Orleans also favors the practice of not burying them under the ground.
I ended my trip the the cemetery around 2:30pm. Take note that almost all attractions closes at 3 or 4pm so I was really in a rush. I went to Canal St. to try using the Streetcar (shown above). It's a traditional mode of transportation in New Orleans. They try to preserve it as much as possible. I availed the day pass which cost 3$ and it covers both the bus and the streetcar. The day pass is definitely the cheaper alternative for tourists because a one way ticket costs 1.25$. I basically just killed time in the park then I went to Walmart and Riverwalk Premium Outlet to wait for the sun to set so I can see the French Quarter at night.
Luckily for me, there's a free concert from 6-7pm at the St. Louis Cathedral which I gladly availed. It was a group of orchestra playing Christmas Carols. There were a lot of people inside the church and it was really an amazing experience.
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| At the tip of Bourbon St. |
Besides being a good food and history destination, New Orleans can also be a good destination for party people and drunkards. I cannot imagine a street full of people on a normal tuesday night. Bars, Clubs, and Discos are everywhere. You can simply jump in get a drink then walk around. My guide recommended "Hurricane" for drinks. I refuse to disclose whether I tried it or not. In case you want to try it it's around 7-8 usd per cup. Did you know that even the homeless along the Bourbon St. are drunk. I guess because people who don't want to finish their drinks give it to them. So I suggest if you're a bit out of budget, try asking the people walking for some drinks hahahaah.
Anyway, it was a good 2 hours walking around Bourbon St. at night. I ended around quarter to 10. After that, I headed to Cafe Du Monde to buy some Beignet to bring to Texas and some Beignet mix to be brought to the Philippines.
Overall, my trip to New Orleans was worth it. I love every single bit of it. It may not be a perfect city but i love it for what it is. That;s the attitude of a true traveler. No place is disappointing. Every single place you visit is an experience of a lifetime.
Let's now move on to the budget side.
Bus Tickets to New Orleans 28$
Breakfast 6$
Lunch 10$
Dinner 8$
Tour Guide Tip 5$
Grocery and Snacks 8$
Take Home Beignet and Mix 15$
Total is 80$ or around 3560 Php. Not bad!!!
