Spring Break in New Orleans: Day 3

This morning was weird. We got woken up twice by what seemed to be fire alarms that only lasted a few seconds. I am not sure that it was fire alarms, though, because there is a hearing impaired button outside our door and whenever we press it, a siren goes of inside our room and a strobe lights blink. Maybe some prankster was walking down the hall and pressed the button. Who knows. All I know is that the beds here at the Courtyard (and any Marriott I've stayed at so far) have got to be the best hotel beds ever! Plush, soft and oh so comfortable. Even though we got woken up, we fell back asleep without much trouble.

When I finally got up around 11 am or so (I was very tired), I booked us a city bus tour on the Gray Line Tours for Friday at 9:30 am, followed by a steam boat dinner cruise at 7 pm. Henry was eager to head out for some breakfast so we walked up to St. Charles Street, grabbed a trolley and made our way back down Garden District. The houses down the Garden District are a sight to behold... It's like traveling back in time where Gregorian homes with intricate detail work and beautiful landscaping adorn the street. We kept our eye out for a place to eat, but we had no idea what to go for. The trolley made it all the way west to its final stop at Carrollton Avenue. The driver suggested we try The Camellia Grill just down Carrollton Avenue. When we got there, we found ourselves amidst a large crowd of loud and moody people waiting to be seated. We passed on The Grill and decided to keep walking down Carrollton Avenue until something caught our eye. We stopped at a Walgreen's down the block to buy sunglasses. On our way out, the cashier recommended we try the day's special at The Chef's Corner, a little bistro place next door.

We made or way into this nice boutique-like restaurant that couldn't have had more than 12 tables tops. The atmosphere was upscale, yet casual. It was far enough from the touristy areas that there were mostly locals dining inside. The owner greeted us at our table and offered us the day's special: four catfish fillets served with a generous portion of homemade rice, sausage and shrimp jambalaya. Never having jambalaya before, I felt adventurous and decided to try it. The food was amazing... "super good and very inexpensive." I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a delicious meal away from the tourists without breaking the bank. On our way back to the trolleys, we stopped at a Baskin Robins for ice cream and made our way back to the hotel.

After an hour or so, we left the hotel room to venture out again. We spent the afternoon discovering the length of the Moon Walk. We started down Julia Street at the Riverwalk shopping area and worked our way past the Plaza de España and its beautiful fountains, Canal Street, New Orleans Aquarium and IMAX Theater, Holocaust Memorial and finally into the French Market. The streets were filled with music, families walking down the plazas, and locals enjoy the views from balconies nearby... while not as crazy as Bourbon Street, the French Market was definitely a more mellow type of fun. We found amazing artwork and tons of gift shops willing to take your money. We were mesmerized by plates of food out on display outside some Bistro that we had to stop for dinner. Henry had Red Beans & Rice while I had Shrimp Creole. Both were very delicious and nutritious. Being close to Café du Monde, we stopped by for an after-dinner café au lait and begniets.

Next it was off to Pat O'Briens to experience the legendary Hurricane. We took a right turn at the St. Louis Cathedral and made our way back to Bourbon Street. As we finally approached the bar, we were surprised to see a line of people 1/2 a block long all waiting to get into the bar. Yeah.... Pass on the Hurricanes... at least for now. We worked our way through Bourbon Street and back to Canal Street where we waited for trolleys for what seemed like forever. After about 20 minutes of waiting, we gave up on the trolley idea and walked back to the hotel. By then we were tired and had achy feet. We crashed for the night.