Saturday NOLAday: A Day in the French Quarter
Before being fortunate enough to see the Ben Howard concert in the Civic Theatre in New Orleans on Saturday night, I got to spend the day roaming the French Quarter with my friends.
Most of the times when I go to New Orleans, I end up spending time/staying uptown. I absolutely love uptown because its so picturesque and a lot less busy than downtown and the Quarter. But, sometimes it’s nice to wander around the French Quarter and see all the “touristy” stuff. What’s even BETTER is seeing all the touristy stuff on a beautiful day. Which is exactly what happened on the lovely Saturday I found myself wandering the Quarter.
Of course, since it was MLK weekend and the weather was PERFECT, the French Quarter was packed. But tons of people everywhere just add to the spirit of downtown.
Our first stop was EAT. We headed straight for a French Quarter staple, Cafe Maspero. Of course there was a long line outside and wrapped around the corner. But we were able to skip ahead (cuz we’re awesome) and dived in to some DELICIOUS poboys. If poboys aren’t you thing… A. You’re crazy and B. They also have other delicious Louisiana staples like muffelettas, red beans and rice, jambalaya, etc.
After eating we were STUFFED. So we had to walk our food off ASAP. So, what do we do? Shop! Our first stop was popping in to several souvenir shops to find some accessories for Mardi Gras (WHICH IS LIKE A MONTH AWAY YAY!!!). All the shops were filled with masks, costumes, shirts, beads, and other traditional items in time for Mardi Gras. Then we visited some of the many clothing stores in the Quarter, like H&M and Urban Outfitters.
After we looked around all of the souvenir shops, we headed down the road to the famous Cafe du Monde. Yes, eating again. You do a lot of eating when in NOLA. And of course, the line was lonngggg. But it moved pretty fast and soon we were inside looking for a table. Its a dog-eat-dog world in there, because you basically have to be the first one to snag a table once it becomes available. But once you beat the mean old ladies who are out on a mission to steal tables, its totally worth it. An order of beignets and a coffee is all you need, and costs like $5 total. I mean, who doesn’t love friend dough topped with tons of powered sugar???? No one, that’s who.
Of course, there are tons of other things to see and do in New Orleans’s French Quarter. We barely just scratched the surface, but I’ll be there again in about a month for Mardi Gras so I’ll get another NOLA fix in!
