All the way from Bourbon Street to Esplanade.....New Orleans (NOLA) we are finally here! We had finally arrived at the place I (Riv) had been dreaming of since I was a child. My family are fairly musical (either music lovers/musicians or both) and the home of Jazz had always held a mysterious allure. I am so pleased to say that not only did it live up to expectations, it far exceeded them. We were staying in an AirBnB house ($72.75 AUD/55.30 USD) on the outskirts of the Garden District. Although this neighbourhood appeared a little rough around the edges we quickly discovered it had a lot of heart and everyone was welcoming and friendly. We had heard from a very credible source that if we had the opportunity we should check out Kermit Ruffins while we were there, so after a little Google research we found he had opened his own bar/music venue in Treme called Kermit's Treme Mother in Law Lounge. Some further searching led us to the fact that not only was there a gig on that night but that he would be playing with Cyril Neville of the Neville Brothers (musicians I had grown up listening to). What we were to discover on arriving that it was actually Cyril and his wife's wedding anniversary party and it was more like an in-house celebration with jam sessions than a gig. After an initial awkward period feeling like we'd walked into a private party we relaxed and had a great time. We even met a guy called Errol who taught me how to dance to Jazz and introduced us to his friend Cyril. The best thing about this night was seeing how music brings people together. By the end of the night you had a range of people from all walks of life ranging from about 4 to 70 years old all together with one thing in common....music! It was magical. Another thing that we decided to do while in NOLA was a cooking course at Crescent City Cooks. Although this wasn't cheap it was totally worth it. This company do both cooking demonstrations and hands on classes. The latter aren't as popular (for reasons still unbeknownst to us) which actually meant we were the only ones booked in on the day resulting in a wonderful private cooking class. We had already chosen our menu a few days before and were excited to learn how to cook gumbo, jambalaya and pecan pie. The best thing was not only did we get to eat everything we cooked but we also got to take home the rest (this fed us for days) and we got free beer/wine throughout the whole class (a definite risk when handling knives 😜)! The classes cost $150 USD/197.35 AUD per person and last between 3-4 hours. We did ours with Scott and he was absolutely fantastic. We know this isn't your typical backpacker activity but as some of you will already know (or will come to know) we both love to cook as much as we love to eat. Because of this we like to learn how to cook local cuisine wherever possible and for that this was an extravagance worth indulging in. Their demonstration classes are significantly cheaper if this isn't within the budget but you still feeling like learning. Speaking of food, NOLA has some great options within the backpacker budget. One we tried on our first night was called The Blind Pelican in the Garden District which has great cocktails and happy hour specials. This included an oyster special that entitled you to a dozen oysters for $3 USD ($3.95 AUD) per person for every cocktail you drank. Dinner set is back $40 USD ($52.63 AUD) including drinks. Another great local tip we got was trying the Po'boys (sandwiches) at Johnny's (see 'Gallery' for the yummy picture). Dani had the special which was half an alligator sausage po'boy with a cup of seafood gumbo for $10.25 USD ($13.50 AUD). We do a lot of free (tip based) walking tours and NOLA was no exception. The tour we booked took us to St Louis #1 Cemetery where the famous Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau is buried and was absolutely fantastic. The guide we had, Cathy, was really passionate about the city she grew up in, as well as being a qualified historian. They had many different tours and we really wished we had the time to do them all. We find these tours are a great way to find out more about a city as well as to orientate yourself. Lastly, if you get a chance you should also check out the Katrina Exhibit at the Presbytère ($6 USD/$7.90 AUD). This is a touching and harrowing exhibit that gives you a little insight into what happened pre and post hurricane Katrina and shows you how it impacted on the communities that live in NOLA differently. It also explains a little why locals call the city NOLA the city that care forgot. We had a great 4 days in NOLA. It is a city that has a lot of heart. There is still evidence of horrific damage Katrina inflicted all over the city, even 11 years on, yet the sense of community you feel here is amazing.
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