{"id":484,"date":"2020-01-30T23:36:46","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T04:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.messysuitcase.com\/?p=484"},"modified":"2020-01-30T23:36:46","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T04:36:46","slug":"new-orleans-part-1-jazz-and-jambalaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/30\/new-orleans-part-1-jazz-and-jambalaya\/","title":{"rendered":"New Orleans, Part 1: Jazz and Jambalaya"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We just spent a couple of nights in New Orleans to break up the road trip from Pennsylvania to Mexico City. We rented a lovely, pet-friendly cottage through AirBnB that had a kitchen, living room and two bedrooms, just a short Uber ride from the action.  It was pristine, affordable and super comfortable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After working out and showering, we spent our first NOLA night\non Bourbon Street, a place we barely got to explore last year when we came\nthrough because it was just too loud for Gavin. But this time, with Gavin off\nat college, we headed down there again. Mardi Gras is still a month away, so it\nwasn\u2019t high season yet, and we headed out early to avoid crushing crowds and\ndeafening noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bourbon Street is the heart of the touristy French Quarter,\nand we were planning to go to historic Preservation Hall to see classic New\nOrleans jazz. For $20 seats on the floor, we would need to stand in line\noutside to get day-of-show tickets. After a day spent driving, we weren\u2019t in\nthe mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bourbon Street<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So we instead opted to get a more local experience\nrecommended by our Uber driver, Joe. First we shared a mouthwatering dinner of\nblackened redfish and jambalaya at an oyster bar on Bourbon called Le Bayou. Jambalaya\nis a kind of dirty rice with spicy tomato sauce and andouille sausage. We also\nenjoyed hurricanes, a classic New Orleans drink with rum and fruity juices. Our\nwaiter kept calling us \u201cy\u2019all,\u201d so we couldn\u2019t forget we were truly in the\nsouth. After filling our stomachs, we strolled along Bourbon, taking in the\ncrowd scene, and even saw a school band marching up the road, followed by a\nsmall parade of what I assume was a krewe, a social organization that helps put\non a parade or ball during the carnival season, which runs January and\nFebruary.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bourbon Street is amazingly loud, even in the off-season, and the road is closed to traffic so people can just wander at their leisure. Musicians with saxophones, guitars or even just spoons and plastic buckets, entertain for tips on street corners. The shops are filled with colorful art, with candy skulls, masks, voodoo paraphernalia, and jazz accouterments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n