VIEUX TO DO in New Orleans!
By Andrew. Filed in The Americas |
Vieux To Do!
Ok, so I wanted to go to New Orleans FOREVERRRRRRRRR! And I DID! Booooooooooooooy it was AMAZING! Not only that, but the weekend (June 13-14) that I went was the Vieux to Do Festival weekend that combines THREE festivals in ONE: The Cajun Music Festival, the Cajun Tomato Festival, and the Louisiana Seafood Festival. Each one would be worth the trip!
Le Pavillon
One of my favorite sites is Hotwire.com where you can get AMAZING deals at AMAZING hotels. I saw a great deal ($75) for a 4.5 star hotel near the French Quarter and booked it. Turned out to the the AMAZING Le Pavillon Hotel. It was funny in that when taking the cab (LATE at night) from the airport, I saw this building and asked… WOW! What’s THAT? And it turned out to be the hotel! COOL! The rooms were BEAUTIFUL, the facilities AMAZING…. BUT… do NOT do the Sunday Brunch. Totally overpriced and it really REALLY sucked! There are way too many amazing places to have breakfast, lunch or dinner within walking distance to the hotel.
Cajun Music Festival
Everyone knows that New Orleans is known for music so when you add the Cajun Music Festival, well, it’s just totally amazing. Out of the 3 festivals, this was the smallest. 2 stages but lots of music with people dancing on the streets. Some was slow and sounded like square dancing but most of the music was very fun and lively. sweeeeeet.
Cajun Tomato Festival
The other end of the festival was the Cajun Tomato Festival. As with the other festivals, there was a ton of food vendors all around you. Alligator seemed to be a favorite and yeah, it was DEEEEEEELISH! A Cajun Tomato looks like a beefsteak tomato but to be honest, doesn’t really have that great of a taste. But, a fried green cajun tomato that I took a bite out of was really really good! Just like mom used to make.
French Market Place
The whole festival is centered around the French Market Place, which is a destination in itself. THIS is the place to buy your souvenirs, food, clothing, and just about anything you want. Several blocks long, a not-to-miss visit in New Orleans any day of the year.
River Front
And there’s many other things to do in NO. This is the famous river front area where you can stroll for MILES to see things from the HUGE Harrahs Casino to even MORE amazing restaurants. Don’t miss the aquarium.
Bourbon Street
Of course, a visit to New Orleans isn’t complete without going to Bourbon Street. Forget Mardis Gras, this is the place to be 365 nights out of the year! The street is amazing but the whole French Quarter which extends for several blocks on either side of Bourbon Street contains many many many amazing restaurants, museums, gift shops, clubs, bars, etc… etc.. etc… Any night of the week is a wicked night out in the French Quarter.
New Orleans is one of those places I would visit over and over again. I had such an amazing time there and didn’t even scratch the surface of things to do. Even tho’ Le Pavillon was only a few blocks away from the French Quarter, next time I will definitely get a place IN the French Quarter, even if it’s only a 2 or 3 star hotel. The area is just electrified.
New Orleans…. any day, any time, any way.
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