What is it about New Orleans?

While there are many things to do in New Orleans besides eat, drink and be merry,  I'm hard pressed to do anything else when I'm there. I love the touristy heart of New Orleans, the French Quarter.

The architecture of the French Quarter is unique. All the wrought iron work and Spanish influence lend it a very European feel. Walking around I can't help but admire the beautiful wrought iron railings and the balconies which are so evocative of this place. As you wend your way through the streets peek into the charming courtyards that lie just beyond the many intricately detailed wrought iron gates. Idyllic gardens, babbling fountains and secluded spaces make for a peaceful retreat in the middle of all the hustle and bustle that surrounds them. You can experience the courtyards for yourself at a few places around the quarter, Brennan's and the Court of Two Sisters come to mind. The courtyard at Pat O'Brien's is another famous landmark and worth a stop for a first time visitor.

When I visit New Orleans I always stay right in the middle of the French Quarter. Now, some may argue that the city is so much more than the Vieux Carre and they are absolutely right. For me though, there is no better place to spend my time in New Orleans than the French Quarter. It's very easy to get a taxi to whatever part of the city you care to see so staying in the quarter in no way limits your options.

My favorite hotel is the Inn on Bourbon Street. It's where I stay whenever I'm lucky enough to be in New Orleans. There are many, many nice places to stay but this one is my personal favorite. Be warned, it can get loud. The hotel faces Bourbon St. and is right in the middle of the action. That's one of the reason I love it. If you need a bit more quiet ask for a courtyard room towards the back. You may get a view of the parking lot but it'll be quiet enough to sleep. However, if it's your first time visiting the Crescent City let me suggest a balcony room overlooking  Bourbon Street. A perfect place from which to view the throngs of people that are part of the ever-changing tapestry of the city. Sit back, relax and listen to the mix of music and voices that rise up out of the quarter. You'll be surrounded by jazz,  Dixieland, street musicians and the buzz of many voices from all over the world. There is no other experience quite like it.

My favorite part of any New Orleans stay is the eating. New Orleans is one of the best food cities. This is no time to count calories people. You can worry about all of that once you're back home. No, now is the time to eat and enjoy all of the fine things that this city has to offer.

Where to begin? Breakfast is a good place to start. A must do for any first time visitor is the Cafe du Monde. Located in the French Market, the Cafe du Monde is famous for their beignets (squares of light, sweet fried dough covered with powdered sugar) and cafe au lait. The coffee they brew contains chicory, a practice that started during the Civil War when coffee was scarce, and continues to this day. It's different than your usual brew but is a  great cup of coffee. Perfect way to start the day.

Next up, lunch. Head over to the Central Grocery for lunch which can only be a muffuletta sandwich. This is an Italian style cold cut sandwich served with an olive salad topping on a round loaf of bread. Its as New Orleans as it gets. No words can truly describe it so just give one a try. You won't be sorry you did.

At this point in the day it's a  good time to do some exploring and walk off some of that fabulous lunch. Head to Jackson Square. Many artist are located there, painting and selling their art. You can walk around to all of the artists exhibits and pick something to take home with you. What better souvenir to take home than an original piece of art. You can also take a walk through the French Market. The market starts at Jackson Square and stretches out from there. There's a flea market, shops, food vendors, a great way to while away time until dinner. If you'd rather not walk you can take a buggy ride around the quarter. You'll be entertained and learn something at the same time. Another good way to kill some time until dinner. (Being in NOLA for me involves a lot of waiting to eat, eating and thinking about where to eat. You laugh, but you'll see.)

Finally, it's dinner time and here there are just too many options to contemplate. But, if you're in the city for the first time, I suggest that you find your way to K. Paul's Louisiana Kitchen. Order a lot and eat some of everything you can. It's all good. All of the creole and Cajun classics are here. Whatever you have is sure to please.  And whatever you do, don't skip dessert.

I don't want to leave out other things I think are can't miss so here's a short list to get you started:

Po' boy sandwiches (fried shrimp is my favorite)
Gumbo (try the Gumbo Shop's chicken and andouille)
Crawfish Étouffée (try it!)
Jambalaya (K Paul's does a nice one)

And last but not least the Shrimp YaYa at La Bayou. I ate this everyday the last time I was in New Orleans. Just go there and have it. Ask for extra bread. I would go back to New Orleans just to have this dish. My personal favorite food in the whole city. Wash it all down with one of the local Abita beers. Heaven.

If you're like us, you'll be planning lunch while eating breakfast and planning dinner while eating lunch. It's that kind of place. In between those great meals there's plenty of time for sipping on a frozen daiquiri and noshing on a po'boy or some fried oysters or beignets. And don't forget the Shrimp Ya-Ya, it makes a great midday snack.

You have to love a city with such great opportunities to eat, drink and just let your hair down and have a good time. When you're planning your next vacation or long weekend, think about New Orleans. You really can't go wrong with a place whose motto is "Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler"! Let the good times roll!

Inn On Bourbon

Two for the Road

One of the many joys of traveling for me is getting to share the experience with someone else. Obviously it's not necessary, solo travel offers its own reward, but it can be fun to travel with someone else or several someones.

I can't overstate how important it is to know your own travel style. Are you ok flying by the seat of your pants? Do you need to know where you'll be every minute of every day? Figuring this out will be very helpful when and if you decide to travel with someone else. Isn't that one of the big rights of passage of a new relationship, that first trip together. The excitement and anticipation, feeling nervous, not knowing how things will go.

It may not lead to disaster but let's just say a Sally happy-to-not-have-a-plan  and a Johnny must-have-a-plan may not make for the best travel buddies. Best to be of one mind when it comes to travel styles. Not that you need to do every little thing together all the time. It's good to at least be on the same page. It's nice to have someone to split entrees with so you can try more things on the menu, someone to remind you that you may want decaf coffee this late at night and who understands that you can be full from dinner and still want dessert.

I'm lucky. My travel companion likes a lot of the same stuff I do and vice versa. Our travel styles mesh well most of the time. If you find someone that can put up with your travel idiosyncrasies (like my obsessive need to be two hours early for any flight) count your blessings. I was very fortunate in that regard. I'm thankful for it every time we hit the road. Don't let me give you the impression that we never disagree when we travel cause we do. But, that's the exception not the rule. And if it works 90% of the time I'm calling it a win.

Having shared memories is one of the perks of any long term relationship. Making these memories through travel is just another benefit. Looking through photos and reliving the experience we both had. Funny how we were in the same place, doing the same things, but each came away with a different point of view. That's the beauty of it, seeing the world through someone else's eyes, not just colored by your own experiences and expectations.

Someday

We've all said it "Someday I'll_______" Just fill in the blank. But there is no someday, there is only this day, this moment, right now.
Yesterday is gone beyond our reach to change it; through regret or anger or desire. Tomorrow is not a promise but a chance to do better, do more, do over. Today is really all that we have, the here, the now.

Make yourself a promise, next time you hear yourself say someday ask yourself what stops someday from being this day?
We will do the things that we make a priority. If you want to travel make it a priority. It doesn't have to be a life changing or once in a lifetime trip. Maybe a road trip to a neighboring state, maybe a stay in a hotel in your city to see the sites like a tourist . Maybe it will be a once in a lifetime trip, whatever that means to you. Whatever kind of journey you want to take make it a priority this year.

Just get out there. Go and see what the world has to offer you. Shake up the status quo. Not all of our travels will be enlightening or even fun. Some of it will challenge us and make us wonder why we bothered. But it will always be an adventure, a departure from the day to day. There's something to be said for that and I for one embrace it.

#plansfor50

Happy Travels 2011

I had a great time traveling this past year. Travel almost always makes me happy and this last year definitely brought some unexpected treats. Dollywood for one. I had no idea what to really expect there and was pleasantly surprised by our visit. Second was the unexpected collection of Mold-A-Rama machines at the Knoxville Zoo. I added a bunch more MAR's to my collection. Yep, I have an actual MAR collection. It all started with a submarine from the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and it sort of snowballed from there.

Below is my travel round-up for last year and some ideas for 2012.

Places we visited in 2011:

San Antonio, TX
Key West, FL
Providence, RI
Knoxville, TN
Pigeon Forge, TN (Dollywood!)
Savannah and Tybee Island GA
Hilton Head Island, SC
Elbert County, GA (Georgia Guidestones)

Some of those places will be repeated this year and there will be new places added. Of all of the places we visited last year I really enjoyed Savannah. What a charming city. And the beach at nearby Tybee Island was fun. I'll definitely be back for a return trip to the Savannah area.

Likely on the list for 2012 is Puerto Rico. I love Old San Juan. I could happily live at the Hotel El Convento. It's a fabulous boutique hotel in the middle of all that makes Old San Juan so special.

 I'll also be heading back to the quirky, fun, good time that makes Key West my favorite place ever. I need to get my fix of rum runners, conch fritters and Baby's coffee. Not to mention polydactyl cats and rooster alarm clocks. I love that place.

One final note...now that I have access to another computer I can add pictures to my posts this year. I really appreciate them in other blogs I read and I'm looking forward to putting some here.

Happy travels for 2012!

The time has come to say good-bye...

Good-bye Greenville SC. The time has come to leave behind the long hot summer, the lingering mild that is fall and head into the chattering teeth of Old Man Winter.
That's right, we're leaving South Carolina and heading to South Dakota. In December, on purpose! The craziest part is that I'm looking forward to it.

I really don't know much about South Dakota outside of what we all know. The Badlands, Custer State Park, Sturgis, Mount Rushmore, prairie dogs, bison, the great outdoors, THE COLD!
I'm really excited to get to know the area and learn about the history of South Dakota.

So, watch this space for observations,rants,raves and all of the edge-of-your-seat fun South Dakota has to offer.

South Dakota

Bouchon French Comfort Food - Asheville, NC

We were in Asheville, NC this weekend to have dinner at Bouchon. Bouchon bills itself as French comfort food. The menu covers the French bases pretty well. There are the usual suspects ranging from Steak Frites, the sturdy fall dish Cassoulet, Bouillabaisse and most things in between.
The menu is broken down into small plates and large plates. The small plate side covers soups, salads and other starters such as marrow bones and pates while the large plates are the entres.

We were there for the cassoulet. A favorite fall dish and one that we look forward to. Away from our favorite we looked for the local French restaurant and found Bouchon. I didn't end up ordering the cassoulet but did get to try it. From the bites that I had I can say that the best part of the dish for me was the pork belly and the, apparently, in-house made fennel sausage. The most disappointing aspect of this dish was the serving temperature. It arrived at the table lukewarm at best. No explanation for that. Service seemed prompt so maybe the kitchen just misfired? Taste was good but the dish could have been SO much better. 
The other entre we tried was the chicken cordon bleu. It too was just OK. A bit overcooked and served with a mix of veg that was way overcooked. Again, taste wise the dish was fine but fell short of what I expected. The thing that saved the meal for me were the frites. Thin, crispy, salty, dusted with rosemary and served with a red pepper mayo. Just perfect. Dessert was very good too. Crepes with chocolate and strawberries and the delicious chocolate bread pudding with vanilla ice cream. So good.

I should note that besides the main dining room Bouchon has a patio for outdoor dining and also a private dining room in their wine cellar that can be reserved. On nights when the wine cellar dining room is not reserved it is opened for dinner seating. Bouchon is a small place and fills up fast. They don't accept reservations. My advice is plan to dine early. On the night we were there the main dining room was full by 6:00. 

Bouchon is located at 62 N Lexington Ave in Downtown Asheville's shopping district. Lexington Ave is lined with funky stores, cafes and coffee shops. It is a destination and sure to have something for everyone. Bouchon is only open for dinner and the doors open at 5:00. They are open 7 days a week.

Bouchon

Michel Baudouin, the chef, and his wife Vonciel, own this charming little spot. 

Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, TN October 2011

We made the trip from the Carolinas to Tennessee through the Smoky Mountains. This time of year the trees in the higher elevations are just about at peak for fall colors. The trip through the mountains was amazing.

Although Dollywood is located in Pigeon Forge we opted to stay about 45 minutes away in Knoxville. We arrived in Knoxville with a three part plan. #1 Dinner at Famous Dave's (call me a Philistine but I love Famous Dave's!) #2 go to Dollywood and #3 head to the Knoxville Zoo to add to our Mold-o-Rama collection.

Number one we took care of as soon as we got to the hotel in Knoxville. Famous Dave's was right in the hotels parking lot. Nice! We headed over there for dinner. The next morning, Saturday, we headed to Pigeon Forge and all things Dollywood. The trip to DW from Knoxville is easy enough and we were on the road that leads to DW in no time.
The road to Dollywood; let me describe what we saw. The road into the area where Dollywood is located is lined on both sides with every imaginable tourist related business you can think of. It is a sold mass of hotels, restaurants, arcades, shops, museums, and mini-golf courses. If we had chosen to stay in the immediate area of the park this is where would be have ended up. If you're thinking about making the trip to DW I wouldn't hesitate to book at any of the hotels we saw along the way. Once you've seen the amusement park there would still be plenty to do in the area. It would make for a nice long weekend or a short family vacation.

We arrived at the park right at opening time which on this day was 9:00am. After being directed to park in a huge lot and then driven by shuttle to the parks entrance we bought our tickets and were on our way.

The park is divided into several areas. Each contain shops, restaurants and amusements. I was there specifically for the crafts and headed to Craftman's Valley where the craftsmen and artisans are located. There are all types of crafts to see being made and to purchase. Blacksmithing, candle making, basket weaving, just to name few. We walked around, sampled the food and watched the craftsman at work. A lovely way to spend a beautiful fall day.

What I expected was a hokey, fake-sincere hoedown designed to suck money out of our pockets. What we got was a  fun, warm and friendly place filled with nice people who really want you to have a great time. Dollywood is very family oriented but definitely enjoyable for couples and groups of friends too.
If you find yourself in the Knoxville TN area with some time on your hands head over to Pigeon Forge and pay Dollywood a visit.  The fine folks there will be happy to see that you have a great time and I'm pretty sure you will.