Have you ever been to Louisiana?

I’ve only been one time. It was a trip to visit New Orleans before I moved away from Austin. It was memorable because I got really sick (and it’s not what you think).

I traveled there with a coworker/friend of mine and her family. They were planning on being at Jazz Fest all weekend and I figured a ride along would be a great time to see the city while I was still within driving distance. It was late April and the weather was incredible. It was sunny and warm but not hot and humid which is what I had been told the weather is typically like.

The first night there we were invited to an epic crawfish boil at the house of one of their family friends. It was incredible. There were 3 big tables set up with crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage. There was beer and wine being served. The house and backyard were big and beautiful. I felt super special to be there and had a really nice time. I was caught up in all the fun so when someone asked if I wanted to try the grilled oyster I said yes! This despite the fact that the last time I ate oysters I was up all night with bad stomach cramps and getting sick.

I didn’t think about it too much until an hour or so after I went to bed. My stomach pains woke me up and I knew exactly what it meant. I headed into the bathroom to wait until I needed to puke. It was miserable. I took turns laying down and standing up to get faster results. I assumed after it happened maybe I’d be ok. Nope. It happened again and again all night long. Not the best time to confirm an oyster allergy.

Let me say this under normal circumstance a night like that would suck badly. As it were I was in an old house in a new city with mostly people I didn’t know. Since the house was old there wasn’t a lot of noise cancelling and every time I had to run to the bathroom I felt terrible in case I was keeping anyone up but also embarrassed knowing I’d have to explain it all the next day so everyone didn’t just think I got hammered! I didn’t just in case you were wondering.

Finally sometime around dawn the pain subsided and I was able to get a little bit of sleep. The next day I was tired and still a bit shaky from my long night but I was ready to explore the city. The rest of my trip was great and the upside of being sick during the night was that I didn’t miss anything during the day.

Despite that awful night I had a really fun trip. I got to try the famous snow cones, I had a poboy, we ate beignets, and on the last day we all enjoyed Jazz Fest together!

It’s nice that even some of the worst moments can be wrapped up in some of the best experiences. It’s a good reminder that things don’t always go the way you planned but it doesn’t mean the whole thing is ruined. I’m sure glad I didn’t let that night define my trip because when I look back all I have are fond memories.

Do you have any Louisiana or New Orleans stories? I’d love to hear them! Reply to this message and share away. Also I have plans to head back this summer with Walker (his first time) and I’d love to know what else we should do there if you have any recommendations.

Want to take a look at my old posts from that trip? Head here and here.

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Early on the second day of our trip we awoke in Iceland and headed to the airport where we continued the rest of our journey to France. We flew into Paris and took the train into the city. Our train wasn’t supposed to be for a few hours but I saw an earlier train that I didn’t think we’d be able to catch. We did manage to get our tickets changed right before the train left and I was happy to be heading out hours ahead of schedule. This also meant we would arrive before dark which is always nice in a new place. It was only the beginning of the trip but I was already loving my time on the train. It was so nice to just doze off and get a short nap or read one of the e-books I downloaded on my phone. We arrived at the train station in Amboise and headed to our airbnb. Our hosts were out of town but the neighbors showed us around and got us settled in. We were also the only guests so it was kind of cool having the whole place to ourselves. On our first night we pretty much just walked around and got dinner before settling in for the night. Travel days take a lot out of me plus we were still adjusting to the new time-I think we were 9 hours off from Seattle.

The next day we decided to stick close to town and explore. We started out at the castle in town and got to see some pretty cool views of Amboise. We had a lot of fun just taking it all in and enjoying the history and beauty around us. We didn’t do a ton of research before the trip so we were both pretty surprised to find out that Leonardo Da Vinci is buried in the chapel inside the castle. Uh, what?! Pretty crazy.





After our morning at the castle we did a little wine tasting before getting food for lunch. We picked up a baguette before stopping at the cheese shop (something I had been so excited to do). We got a local goat cheese and some salami and then had a picnic lunch at our place. We took a short rest and then decided to check out Chateau du Clos Luce which is the last place Da Vinci lived. We toured the house then strolled around the grounds. It was really beautiful there especially with the leaves beginning to turn. On the way back we took our time taking pictures of the streets and the timbered houses. It was really lovely. We rested up until 7 when most places open for dinner but the few places we wanted to go to were closed. We weren’t having a lot of luck with restaurants. We ended up getting kabobs and eating them at our place while watching The Terminator. Not quite what I would have guessed but I really enjoyed it.