Turning 24 in Nawlins'

Taking a trip was definitely happening for my 24th birthday, but narrowing down where exactly I wanted to go was the hard part. I wanted to go somewhere I had never been before, but not a destination that would break my entry-level job bank account. 

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So like my fellow Sagitarius compadres, celebrating your birthday during the holidays can be a pain in the cornhole. Prices for flights are usually inflated due to the high amount of people traveling during the holidays. On the bright side, at least whatever city you go to is filled with holiday cheer. I must say, food was what drove me to the destinations I came up with. At first I wanted to go to Chicago, you know, who would turn down deep dish pizza? Then I saw on the news they were going through an artic blast  with temperatures in the negatives. This was me looking at the TV like nahhhhh. 

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New York came to Alex, my boyfriend's, mind since he'd never been before. Eventhough I lived there for three months, I never  experienced the city during the holidays. I entertained the idea for about a day, then I remembered my entry-level bank account and the fact that nearly every location up north was going to be freezing. As I was listening to Solange's album "A Seat at the Table," it took me two seconds to decide that it was only right to go to NOLA!

Food/beverages ✓
Within my budget ✓
Good weather ✓
Make for great photos ✓
Culture ✓
Did I say food? ✓

​I was on my way like:

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I asked my co-worker who is from the area about things I should do/try, where I should stay, etc. He recommended the staple Hurricane and Hand Grenade beverages and to stay in the Garden District or the French Quarter. Of course, he told me to try gumbo, jambalaya, and seafood. I ended up booking a cute hotel one block from Bourbon Street and Canal Street in the French Quarter. SCORE!

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The only hiccup with our trip was that it was cheaper to fly from Atlanta. Plus, the way our work scheule worked, we could only be there Saturday to early Monday morning. We thought it would have been a good idea to go to Greenville Friday night since it was closer to Atlanta. We ended up leaving from there at around 4:00 a.m. to catch our 7:55 a.m. flight. I was set on spending as much time there since we were leaving early Monday morning. Needless to say, I was hella tired and left Alex hanging on the drive there. 

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Fastforward... We made it to NOLA at around 9:00 a.m. Immediately, we got dressed to hit the streets and see what the city had to offer, especially in the food department. I made it my priority to ask our Uber driver where we should get breakfast. He recommended this restaurant called Mother's. When we got there the line was hanging out the door. That's how you know it's good! I was hype! I was so hungry and the food was so good that I didn't get to snap a photo before our food was gone. I ordered a waffle and sausage with a mimosa and Alex had . The people were so nice that our waitress gave Alex a waffle out of the blue. FREE FOOD! How could that not make you happy?

​After devouring breakfast, we had to walk some of that goodness off. I want to say we walked a good ten miles that day. My feet were in shambles and of all shoes, I had one boots. They were NOT made for walking. We visited a few shops and saw some talented street performers. See the full photo gallery at the bottom.

Later that night we went to eat at Pier 424. Here I had shrimp alfedo and a Hurricane which was quite tasty. The shrimp was bussin, of course. Alex had Gumbo, I tried it and it was ok...

After that, we couldn't do much more that night. We tried to do the whole Bourbon Street thing but ended up crashing not too much longer after our dinner. *shrug*

The next day was a downpour! We went out for breakfast at The Grill and couldn't do too much more because of the weather. I was so sad but we made the best of it. Later that night we went to a place called Pat O'Briens to try another hurricane. This one was tasty plus the entertainment was interesting. There was was a woman playing the piano with a guy literally playing loose change on a plate. I admire this man's hustle. 

Later that night, we I got hungry again and was told that I should get a bowl of gumbo on my own from this random hole in the wall and not mooch off Alex's. I agreed, AND IT WAS THE BEST! I actually ate it all. The real surpise here is that with every spoonfull of goodness, there was AT LEAST one shrimp. You know, sometimes restaurants hold back, not this one. 

The gumbo was amazing!

Obviously, going to Nawlins' to celebrate my 24th birthday was one of the best decsions I made in 2016. I'm currently plotting on what I shall do for my 25th. I am 100% sure that I want to dust off my passport for this one. 

Photos: Turning 24 in the Big Easy