Category Archives: Weekends

There is a House in New Orleans

May 7, 2012

I mentioned last week that I was in New Orleans recently. I had to write a separate post about the rental house we stayed in because it was so crazy. The room I stayed in was probably the least insane room of them all. I don’t think this is your typical rental but rather a group of roommates renting out the very quarters they sleep in to make some money during Jazz Fest. Let’s take a look shall we?

These first two are of the room I shared with Christina. It was small and rather quaint. I loved the antique sewing machine in the room and I did try and get it to actually sew. I was probably 90% of the way there.

This one is of the little space at the top of the stairs. I actually thought this was a neat use of the space. Being short like I am I quite like it.

This is what I would have called the master bedroom due to the size but I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to sleep in this room. There were pieces of paper hanging from just about all the ceiling space, an oddly draped lace cloth over the bed area, odds and ends furniture. It did have an upper balcony and that was pretty. (Next 3 pictures)

The next 3 are of the living room area. The light bulb chandelier is on the way down the stairs. The tiny bird is hanging from the branches suspended from the ceiling in the living room.

The kitchen. A mixture of equally interesting and odd things. The last one is of the outside. The porch was quite nice and I did enjoy it one morning.

 

New Orleans Part 2

May 3, 2012

After a long night of my body rejecting that tiny bite of oyster I slept in and once I was feeling a bit better and rested we headed out for a day of exploration in the city. I had a large list of things I wanted to eat and do but the eating list seemed a lot less appealing after the night I had. We did make it to Hansen’s Sno-Bliz, apparently famous and had been making snowballs for 73 years. I would have tried a more daring flavor but fresh lemonade sounded so refreshing. I was pleased with my choice. Christina got the same flavor.

Then we headed to the French Quarter via a trolley car. It was actually way more fun than I was expecting. It’s pretty cool that you can change the seat direction and I like how eerily quiet it gets when the car turns off at a stop. We strolled around the French Quarter. I love the look of the building and the balconies and the sky was extra marvelous that day.

I suppose it wouldn’t have been a proper trip to New Orleans without trying a beignet and a coffee at Cafe Du Monde. We got a plate of beignets and coffee all around. It’s funny since I don’t like coffee but it was all part of the experience. I drank a few sips.

The last day we all went to Jazz Fest together. The only act I was bent on seeing was Iron and Wine. I left the comfort of the camp that was set up for Bruce Springsteen and made my way to see the show. I got pretty close since I’m small and can sneak pretty well. It was a wonderful show, a bit nostalgic for me.

I fought my way back to the camp, always so stressful, and enjoyed the rest of the festival listing to Bruce jam out. Then we got in the car and drove the 6 hours back to Houston, most of which I slept for.

New Orleans Part 1

May 2, 2012

This weekend I was able to travel into Louisiana and more specifically to New Orleans for the very first time! Since living in Austin I have wanted to take the 8-9 hour drive to New Orleans but it just never seemed to pan out. Finally an opportunity arose and it all came about rather quickly. I went along with a coworker of mine and her family as they had plans to go to Jazz Fest. It was kind of fun at 28 to be taking a family road trip. Not to mention it’s been so long since I’ve been on a road trip. Oh the goofy rest stops and gas stations. I was also really excited just to be driving through Louisiana and seeing the swamps along the roadway.

When we first got there everyone except me had plans to head right over to the festival. I instead went to the art museum for about 4 hours to occupy myself. Luckily they also had a sculpture garden because after hours in the car the art was making me sleepy. I really enjoyed the sculpture garden and trying to capture interesting images of them.

Finally I was able to meet up with my group. We traveled with my coworkers parents, a friend of theirs, and a friend of hers. We were quite the crew. Her parents have friends in town to we were invited to a few fun events including a pretty amazing crawfish boil. There were 3 tables surrounded by people enjoying the goodies. They were also serving Louisiana beer and local treats. The sausage was the best part in my opinion.

The part of the night I regret most-eating half of this oyster. Let’s just say I know now that I am officially allergic to oysters and will never, never, ever be eating one again. Oy!