Are you heading to the Louisiana Superdome in January for the 2008 Sugar Bowl?
New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz.; also known as The Crescent City and The Big Easy. Widely known for Mardi Gras and deservedly so! Mardi Gras may technically be on the calendar for only a few days a year, but in New Orleans…every day is Mardi Gras!
Hotels are everywhere and can be found easily. Hopefully at this late date, you already have a reservation because with the big game approaching they will be filled up. Those few that have space available will definitely have dramatically inflated rates.
Hungry and not from the South? Try some fresh seafood. Cajun gumbo and Crawfish etouffee are good choices to start with. Cajun and Creole restaurants are in great abundance in this part of the country.
Now let’s shop! The French Quarter is filled with shopping. Jewelers, herbalists, Art Galleries, boutiques, antiques, bookstores…you name it, they have it. Buy a Mardi Gras costume and mask or maybe some beads. Though, you really don’t have to buy beads when you are in New Orleans. You can get them for free just walking through the streets after dark. People are tossing them from balconies even in the off-season. No flashing required, promise!
Check out Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, but please don’t touch the shrines. Go behind the beaded curtain and have your fortune told for fun!
Aside from the Quarter, shopping can also be done at The Riverwalk and Canal Place. Canal Place is full of high end stores such as Saks 5th Avenue, Pottery Barn, BCBG and Gucci among others. The Riverwalk is located on the Riverfront near the Hilton Hotel and Harrah’s Casino. Riverwalk is where you can find the stores you see at your local shopping mall. What makes it different is not only its location, but the local vendors selling goods only found in The Big Easy. It also has a really cool magic store with live demonstrations.
If you have time to spare take a tour. There are many to choose from! You can always find an empty horse and carriage or double decker bus. There are also Riverboat tours, swamp tours, haunted tours, cemetery tours and plantation tours. There are tours galore!
Still have more time? Visit the Audubon Aquarium, Ripley’s Believe it or Not or the beautiful Audubon Zoo. The zoo price is very reasonable at $12 for adults and $7 admission for children.
During the day the streets are filled with vendors selling their art, creating it as you watch. Entertainers are dancing or playing music, even miming. There is nothing like it.
The nightlife is almost unexplainable. There is Harrah’s of course, but there are so many other bars and clubs it would fill up the page to list them all. Music is so loud there is dancing in the streets. You never have to step foot inside an establishment to get alcohol. There are outside vendors on the famous Bourbon Street selling hand grenades, daiquiri’s, test tube shots and many other kinds of drinks you’re looking for.
Before leaving New Orleans add some real sugar to your Sugar Bowl experience. Powdered sugar that is!
Cafe du Monde has been in business selling beignets and cafe au lait since 1862. Supposedly they have hours of operation, but I can tell you that I have been there all hours of day and night. Never once have they been closed.
With everything it has to offer, even if your team didn’t win, you can’t help but have a great time in New Orleans.
Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!
