New Orleans Recap: Part 2

Today is the second and final recap of my trip to New Orleans! I feel like I have been dragging this vacation on and on, partially because it was so much fun and I wish I was still devouring beignets and wandering Magazine Street with my mom, but I promise today is the last installment of NOLA content.

At first I was a little apprehensive that only having four days in NOLA would not give my mom and I nearly enough time to do and see everything we wanted to, but it actually ended up being the perfect length trip. Most of our days were just spent wandering the city, and we hit everything in four days without feeling bored or, on the other hand, like we were leaving having missed out on something.

Wednesday was definitely my favorite day in the city, so without further adieu, here is a recap of Wednesday and Thursday, the final two days of my trip!

We started our day on Wednesday by heading down to District Handpies and Coffee Bar. I'd heard of District Donuts being super amazing and famous in New Orleans, but my mom and I were both a little more intrigued by "handpies", and we were also curious to hit up that part of town as well. Oh, my gosh, we could not have made a better choice for a quick breakfast. I ordered the Vietnamese iced coffee and a Nutella hand pie and I honestly don't think I've ever had a breakfast I enjoyed more. I'm pretty sure I consumed more sugar in that one sitting than is good for anyone over a period of 20 minutes, but I will never regret those beautiful moments.

Following breakfast, we walked up Magazine Street for about an hour before taking a detour to explore another part of town. We pretty much wound up in the middle of nowhere, but it was worth it and pretty cool! I think we walked for three or four hours before making our way back to Magazine Street to do a little more shopping. Around one, we stopped for a little lunch at Arana, a delicious mexican spot on Magazine. The tacos were so good.

Baja taco and Chipotle Shrimp taco at Arana

We wandered around town for a few more hours before walking pretty much back towards our hotel in the French quarter where we took a little nap and relaxed before heading back out. Our waitress at one of the restaurants the day before had told us about "Wednesday at the square", so we went out around 7 to hear a little music and hang out before our dinner reservation.

We must've walked past these two guys selling oysters on the curb at least twice everyday... Only in NOLA!

How cute are my mom's earrings?! We snapped this selfie on our way out of the hotel before Wednesday at the Square.

Wednesday night we had a reservation at Peche, which I had been anticipating all week. All of the locals seemed to know and love the restaurant and I was so excited. Of course, it did not disappoint. I had the catfish and beets with feta and pistachios and I was blown away. Ugh, the food in New Orleans was seriously all so good... I am a huge fan of beets and I probably would be content eating those beets from Peche everyday for the rest of my life.

After dinner, we walked off a little of our food and then stopped at the Ace Hotel because it looked cool and they had live music (lol, that's honestly just the truth!). Let me just say, this hotel was sweet. If I were in my twenties and vacationing in NOLA with friends, this would definitely be the place to stay. Of course, following, we hopped on a streetcar back to Canal and went to sleep at our hotel for the night!

Thursday morning, I woke up craving another fabulous iced coffee and set out alone determined to find something pleasing. I walked a few blocks and wound up at Addiction Coffee where I ordered an Iced "Miss Tracy's Addiction", which is the "signature creation, beloved by the eponymous Miss Tracy. Espresso, steamed coconut milk, steamed milk, warm honey and a dash of Cayenne. Bold, exotic, creamy, sweet and warm. A habit worth cultivating." Of course, it was nothing less than phenomenal. I returned to my hotel, grabbed my mom, and we set off walking toward Decatur where we finally had beignets at Cafe du Monde!

The line outside Cafe du Monde was surprisingly quick and we were seated in 10-15 minutes. I definitely enjoyed going, as it's an essential part of any New Orleans travel experience, but I think it was one of those things that now that I've done it, I'm pretty content and I don't think I need to go back. Don't get me wrong, the beignets were delicious, but the dough felt like a bomb in my stomach! The four hours of walking down Decatur, up Canal, and another round of Magazine Street still left me feeling a little bloated, but despite that, it was still a fun stop.

My mom and I did a little antique shopping on Thursday at some of the cutest stores where we actually met a few poodles in one! Ugh, Southern people are so cute. Around four we returned to Arana and enjoyed some queso with chorizo (delish) and different tacos than the day before. Following, we took a final stroll down Bourbon St and Royal Street, and then picked up our bags from our hotel. We took a taxi to the hotel near the airport where we were staying for our last night given our early flight home on Friday. The weather Thursday night was fairly nice so we took advantage of the outdoor pool and warm temps before heading home.