Y NOT TRAVEL: May 2011

Last fall I had decided to take up the offer of the New Orleans Visitors Bureau and see what New Orleans was all about. On December 6, 2010 my wife Patricia and I flew to New Orleans for our very first trip there. The least expensive flight option turned out to be with Air Canada out of Toronto and in just a little over 2 hours we were landing in New Orleans. I must also say that besides being a direct flight the times were civilized with our flight leaving Toronto at 10 a.m. and on the return arriving back in Toronto at 4:25 p.m. Couldn't ask for better flight times. We were delayed slightly departing from Toronto as that was the start of Snowmagedon in Southwest Ontario and although most of the flights in Toronto had been cancelled ours took off.

On our arrival in New Orleans the sun was shining however it was very cool with a temperature of only 9 degrees celcius. That turned out to be the kind of temperature we had all week until we left on that Friday. We took the taxi to the Dauphne Hotel in the French Quarter. The New Orleans Airport has a fixed fare taxi service from the airport to the French Quarter area which is $ 33 U.S. each way. There is a bus service but for the convenience it is worth taking the taxi. I had booked the Dauphne Hotel as it was situated 1 block north of Bourbon St. and in a quiet area. www.dauphineorleans.com/

Hotel courtyard

On our arrival at our hotel we had a short wait until our room was ready and we checked in. Our rooms were not in the hotel proper but across the street in the Kaufmann section. I asked how do I get to my room and I was pointed to a very narrow iron gate and told to use my card key to open the door. As I crossed the street I was wondering what had I gotten myself into. After opening the door we walked into a small alley and then the beautiful courtyard with palms and fountains opened up before us. All the rooms in this section were either ground floor or 2nd floor. Our room on the second floor had the windows out onto the veranda area and was just fantastic. The hotel retained an old brick wall in the room and the room was large and beautifully decorated.

Restaurant - courtyard

As my wife Patricia requires a completely gluten free diet our next task was to find the Bayona restaurant that we found on the internet and had indicated that it can provide a gluten free meal. The restaurant was on the same street as the hotel but we could not find it after we had come back from a short walk around the area because I had forgetten the street number at the hotel. After retreiving it I went back out through the iron gate turned right and it was in the building right next to us. Because most restaurants are set in from the street in small courtyards and signs are small we had walked right by it and missed it completely. For our first night in New Orleans this was a stroke of luck as we didn't have to go far for supper that night. The restaurant was very nice however we found that they did not have a gluten free menu but would adapt some of the menu items and provide them gluten free. It worked out well and Patricia had an excellent gluten free meal that night. Day 1 came to a great end.

Street performers

On the second day we decided we would explore the French Quarter and to do so we used the free walking tour map provided to us by the Tourist Board. It has 33 historical sites in the French Quarter and it is easy to follow as you start at # 1 read the description of the historical significance of this place and then you follow the instruction to get to the next place and so on. Although the weather was cool again it was very sunny and we spent the entire day exploring the French Quarter. Along the way we spotted a number of street musicians performing on streets. During our walk by the Cathedral we noticed the second restaurant on our list that provided a gluten free menu - Muriels Jackson Square Restaurant http://www.muriels.com/. We made a reservation for that night. As we had been walking all day we decided to take a cab to the restaurant that night.....total fare including tip $ 5. The meal at Muriels was superb and Patricia loved the gluten free selections available on the menu. After supper we decided to walk back to our hotel. This gave us our first evening experience of walking through the French Quarter (very safe). When we got to Bourbon Street it had been closed off to all vehicle traffic and became a wild pedestrian street with crowds walking up and down the street with drinks in their hands.....people throwing beads from different balconies.....music blarring from all the bars along the street. Pure colourful pandamonium and everyone enjoying themselves. I kept thinking to myself, this is Tuesday night in December with all these crowds......this place must be absolute madness during Mardi Gras. Day 2 again came to a great end.

French Quarter Streets

1850 House Pontalba Buildings

Sharks in Aquarium

On our third day we decided we would explore some of the museums located in the French Quarter and visit the New Orleans Aquarium. As there are over 40 Museums throughout New Orleans and given our limited time in New Orleans we decided visit only a few. Our first stop was The Cabildo, a museum, historic site and historical building located right next to St. Louis Cathedral. It is one of the most historically significant buildings in America. Built between 1795 and 1799 to replace a structure that burned in the 1794 fire, the Cabildo served as the seat of government in New Orleans during the Spanish colonial period and is the location where the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803. Throughout the building are more than 1,000 artifacts and original works of art, including “The Battle of New Orleans,” Eugene Louis Lami’s huge 1839 painting that shows intricate details of the final and most decisive battle of the War of 1812. There are also portraits of famous (and infamous) Louisiana figures and the death mask of Napoleon. On the other side of the Cathedral in another historic building is the Museum set up after Hurricane Katrina where there are videos and displays set up showing the devastation this hurricane had on New Orleans. Our next stop was the 1850 House which is located in the Pontalba Buildings. The Upper and Lower Pontalba Buildings, which line the St. Ann and St. Peter Street sides of Jackson Square, were built in 1850 by the Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba, daughter of Don Andres Almonester y Roxas, the Spanish colonial landowner associated with the neighboring Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral, and Presbytere. They are believed to be the oldest apartment houses in the United States. The 1850 House Museum has recreated what one of the residences would have looked like during the Antebellum era when the Baroness Pontalba first opened her doors. It is furnished with domestic goods, decorative arts and art of the period and depicts middle class family life during the most prosperous period in New Orleans' history. After a stop at the original Cafe Du Monde at the French Market for a coffee we explored the waterfront area of the French Quarter. It was now off to the Audobon Aquarium of the Americas which at the bottom of Canal Street on the waterfront and the edge of the French Quarter. The Aquarium is very impressive and worth seeing especially the huge shark tank and the tropical rainforest section. The Aquarium is right next to the Riverwalk Marketplace so we decided to explore a bit of this huge indoor mall set on the waterfront. For those that love shopping this is the place to be. There are also some hotels that connect directly to the Marketplace. By this time we were already extremely tired so it was back to the hotel and arrange a place for supper that night. On the way back Patricia was able to find some excellent sweater buys which proved to be good decision as the nights were very cool. That night after I had arranged a reservation we walked to Emeril Legasse's NOLA Restaurant www.emerils.com/restaurant/2/NOLA-Restaurant/welcome Another excellent choice and not only was there a gluten free menu but all the wait staff were fully aware of Patricia's requirements and took extra care. Needless to say the dining experience here was excellent and Patricia still to this day talks about the large pork chop beautifully done and the service we got at this restaurant. After walking back to the hotel through Bourbon Street again.......Day 3 came to a great end.

St. Charles Streetcar

Lafayette Cemetery

Garden area homes

Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville

On our final full day in New Orleans we had decided to take the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar which started on Canal Street just 2 blocks from our hotel and go to the historical Lafayette Cemetery No.1(est. 1833) and visit the Garden area of the City. The Streetcar ride was very inexpensive at $ 1.25 per person each way (exact change only) and took us through some of the other areas of the city. Following our map carefully we got off at the right stop and walked the 2 blocks to the Cemetery at about 2:30 p.m. only to find out that the Cemetery closes every day at 2:10 p.m. We did get some pictures through the iron gates and then as we were already in the Garden area we walked up and down the streets around the cemetery and admired the beautiful mansions and homes in this area. For those that love old architectural homes that have been beautifully restored, this whole area should be on your itinerary when you visit New Orleans. It was back on the streetcar to Canal Street and as we had some extra time........Patricia enjoyed shopping at some of the stores in that area. When we got back to our hotel there was a message from the restaurant we had booked for that night the Cafe Amelia advising us that due to a gas leak in the kitchen all reservations for that night had been cancelled. We decided to check out another restaurant I had researched on the internet that indicated a Gluten free menu - Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. www.bubbagump.com/locations/new-orleans/ This place was a real treat.........the restaurant cannot be considered fine dining and more like a roadhouse which many people who require gluten free diets tend to avoid.......however, not only did they have a complete gluten free menu but the servers were all fully aware of Patricia's diet needs. Also, the decor which is all based on the movie - Forest Gump was unique. Although Patricia couldn't have any I enjoyed my first Po-Boy sandwich in New Orleans. Patricia was also very pleased with her gluten free meal. We walked back to our hotel and again Day 4 came to another great end.

On our final day , after breakfast and check out he hotel had arranged our taxi back to the airport. New Orleans airport is very easy to get around in and after a good flight we landed back in Toronto. Back to the snow.

My impressions of New Orleans is that it is a safe city to travel to with a lot to see and do whether that is from the historical perspective of the French Quarter or the fun aspect of places like Bourbon Street. People everywhere were friendly and willing to help. For individuals that require a Gluten Free diet there is no lack of restaurants that can cater to that requirement. Patricia commented that she would like to go back as she would like to go on the Riverboat and visit a Plantantion. Post Katrina New Orleans as a destination is back and well and looking for visitors to come and experience all it has to offer.