“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” — Jawaharal Nehru
I've been meaning to create a post on traveling. Traveling is one of my many passions. Lately, my mind has been wandering to the possibility of planning another trip. I am set on somewhere new, different and definitely not stateside. I have some places in mind, I'm thinking tropical and during November or December, and hopefully in a future blog post, I can go more in depth with details.
Last Friday we decided to take a mini vacation to the wonderful state of Louisiana, one last rendezvous to one of my favorite places in the United States, the beautiful New Orleans. I honestly can't remember how many times we have been to the N.O., but each time feels as if it is our first. One of the main reasons I love New Orleans is the rich culture, the music, and strolling around the Quarter, you start to feel as if you are not in the United States, it feels somewhat European. I think our mini traveler is becoming immune to the hustle and bustle of traveling. Her eyes were filled with delight at the street musicians and performers. She would say hi to everyone as she strolled along the sidewalks, their faces would light up and an exchange of hope and happiness would beam in their eyes. I could see it in their smiles, especially those who were resided on the sidewalks. It is amazing how much joy a child can share by just a smile or wave of acknowledgement.
We visited the Oak Alley and Evergreen plantations. So much history and beauty in each plantation, it truly allows you to reflect on how much has changed. Oak Alley was built in the early 1800's, a sugar cane and slave plantation.
Our hotel was reserved at the last minute, which was different because I usually have everything planned beforehand. I take that as a sign because I had my heart set on The Bourbon Orleans Hotel. I wanted the hotel to represent the culture rather than be just a regular hotel room. As I did more research, I found that the Bourbon Orleans Hotel is one of the top, if not, the most haunted hotel in New Orleans. It was previously a convent, then an orphanage, and later reestablished as a hotel. It is said that in New Orleans the dead outnumber the living 10-to-1 (4 million to 400,000), in a sense, you can believe it, with many of the large graveyards in the area. Needless to say, we quickly changed our minds. I could not get a nights rest knowing the research and stories I came across. (lol). So we opted for a stay at the NewOrleans Roosevelt Hotel. After gaining some N.O. knowledge, it definitely set the tone for the rest of the trip. Our previous trips have been sunshine and full of mardi gras celebrations, but this trip the sun never peeped out and fog blanketed the city. Spooky! (lol). Okay, so enough about that. We devoured on Louisiana cuisine, everything from Jambalaya, Gumbo, Crawfish cakes and Louisiana grits. Oh! and I can't forget King Cake! Re suggested I try alligator, but I steered clear of that, I barely eat chicken, I don't eat red meat, so definitely no to alligator. A fun trip to the Louisiana Children’s Museum was a must for the little one. She loved it, so much, that she left kicking and screaming.
Our hotel was reserved at the last minute, which was different because I usually have everything planned beforehand. I take that as a sign because I had my heart set on The Bourbon Orleans Hotel. I wanted the hotel to represent the culture rather than be just a regular hotel room. As I did more research, I found that the Bourbon Orleans Hotel is one of the top, if not, the most haunted hotel in New Orleans. It was previously a convent, then an orphanage, and later reestablished as a hotel. It is said that in New Orleans the dead outnumber the living 10-to-1 (4 million to 400,000), in a sense, you can believe it, with many of the large graveyards in the area. Needless to say, we quickly changed our minds. I could not get a nights rest knowing the research and stories I came across. (lol). So we opted for a stay at the NewOrleans Roosevelt Hotel. After gaining some N.O. knowledge, it definitely set the tone for the rest of the trip. Our previous trips have been sunshine and full of mardi gras celebrations, but this trip the sun never peeped out and fog blanketed the city. Spooky! (lol). Okay, so enough about that. We devoured on Louisiana cuisine, everything from Jambalaya, Gumbo, Crawfish cakes and Louisiana grits. Oh! and I can't forget King Cake! Re suggested I try alligator, but I steered clear of that, I barely eat chicken, I don't eat red meat, so definitely no to alligator. A fun trip to the Louisiana Children’s Museum was a must for the little one. She loved it, so much, that she left kicking and screaming.
Overall, we had a wonderful time. A nice break before we begin the chaos of moving. I finish work next week, as does Autumn with daycare. We leave Alabama in two weeks. I am starting to feel extremely emotional to the drastic change that is coming our way. I am accustomed to change, and welcome it, but it is never easy and the unknown tends to scare me a bit. It is crunch time, so packing overload begins now. Here are a few photos from our trip, I say FEW, because I took ALOT of pictures. ENJOY!
