Places to Go (Vacation) - Bourbon Street & A Broken Foot (New Olreans, LA)

These are my best friends. I don't see them as often as I'd like. But when I do see them, we have fun.

I really don't think there's any better place for a girls' weekend than New Orleans, LA. Especially when you're edging 40. Because you can: drink outside in December, dance to a live band singing "Don't Stop Believing", and (miraculously) find yourselves some of the youngest women in the room. Vegas just can't give you that last part.



Everything became fuzzy after the hurricanes (granted there were several margaritas before the hurricanes even began).



Apparently we drank more.



And more.



And danced.



Night two was much more mellow due to an ill-placed pothole colliding with my right foot (I actually fell in said pothole while checking my fitbit steps, oh the irony).









After walking proved difficult, we ended up at the hotel bar, with its overpriced drinks and eclectic clientele.





Wine numbs the pain.



And if a stranger tells Allison she has big hair, as in "really big, like Texas, hair" . . .



Then she will find a way to make it bigger.



And bigger.



So Saturday was sort of a bust. But after 4 hours in the New Orleans emergency room (not a place I'd recommend), they told me my foot was definitely broken, gave me a coolio boot, and sent me on my way.

Still a great weekend. And that says a lot.

Places to Go (Vacation) - New Orleans, Part III - Out and About

I thought I'd take a ton of pictures in New Orleans, but I never really felt comfortable bringing the DSLR out to bars at night, which makes me a little sad because I feel like the pics I did take really don't capture a lot of our trip.

But on the other-hand, it really felt great to put the camera down for a few days. So goes life.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!! This is the last of the New Orleans' posts, next week back to reality (and kids).

RANDOM LINKS:

*One living room 9 different ways. Sort of interesting to see each resident's unique style and ideas.

*The Columbia Pike Documentary Project - great photos of my neighborhood.

*Wrong Century - odd how our perception of beauty fluctuates with time.

*The fantastic machine that found the Higgs Boson - looks like something out of a science fiction film (link via Solstice).



This is us, relaxed.



Our fancy dinner with average food.



Some of the tombstones in these old cemeteries are so sad. Like the one above. Heart-wrenching.



The waterfront.



Apparently hipsters are not welcome. So be careful.

Places to Go (Vacation) - New Orleans, Part II - Swamp Tour & Plantation Tour

So for reasons I'm still trying to work out, I thought spending the morning on a swamp sounded like a great idea. After all, we don't have swamps in Northern Virginia. Plus, I wanted to see the bayou, probably because I've watched Princess and the Frog SO MANY times. On the tour I discovered that tight spaces full of quicksand-like mud and baby alligators sort of freak me out. Now I know.

Apparently, tons of people live off the grid in the New Orleans' wetlands, surviving on alligators, wild hog, fish, and other various wildlife. Who knew? As I'm sort of obsessed with off the grid life, I find this interesting, though it's hard to learn about the details as swamp people don't write as many books as hippies from Brooklyn who just bought a farm.



I also learned that TLC makes a whole show called Swamp People, most people on our tour were huge fans of said show, they kept yelling "GET THE GATOR!!" at the top of their lungs. I kid you not. Don't worry - no alligators were harmed, Captain Bob just fed them large amounts of marshmallows and raw chicken.



After the swamp tour, we decided to switch gears (plus, we only had the rental car for one day) and tour the Laura plantation. So creepy to think anyone ever thought slavery was morally acceptable. The tour, however, was really interesting. Lots of info on the family that used to live there and daily life in the late 1800s - from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.

Places to Go (Vacation) - A House in the Garden District (New Orleans, LA)

A few months ago, at F's grade school auction, we "won" five nights at an 125 year old house in New Orleans' garden district. At the time, I didn't know much about the garden district or New Orleans in general (I'd only been once before, with my mom when I was in my twenties, and we had a great time), but I really needed a vacation, so I bid. and bid. okay, basically i stood in front of the table assuring that nobody outbid me.

Finally, school ended, Dan's parents offered to take the kids, and Dan and I boarded a plane. BY OURSELVES!! Luckily, the house (which you can also check out and rent here) was in a fabulous location - right off Magazine Street (which is full of indy boutiques and restaurants) and only a few blocks from the St. Charles street car (which takes you right to the french quarter).

Without the kids everything seemed so QUIET. I had forgotten quiet like that even exists. For the first two days I played music nonstop to block it out. Then we adjusted. And relaxed. And drank tons of new, exciting cocktails while listening to live jazz. And I took photos, because that's what I do.

Happy Monday everyone!!



The house had a great little porch - perfect for a game of cards and a cold glass of wine. People watching in New Orleans is a whole new level of entertainment.