The Planning

I have been to 44 of 50 states and the only state I haven’t been to east of the Mississippi is Louisiana. I have wanted to go to New Orleans for so long but the opportunity never presented itself. This year the school district decided to give a full 4 day weekend for Memorial Day sand New Orleans was definitely on the short list for a trip we could do quickly.

For the flights I booked one ticket using some delta gift cards I had bought for my Amex Platinum airline reimbursement, my Delta companion pass benefit (with the delta platinum Amex card), and some Delta sky miles. For the hotel, after searching lots of reviews I chose the Drury Inn because it had a pool, seemed family friendly, had suites, and offered free breakfast and a managers reception (more complimentary food and drinks). I booked this hotel using Chase Ultimate Reward points.

The Trip

Our flights out of Syracuse left at 6pm, so we got the kids out of school right at dismissal on Wednesday and drove straight to the airport to make use of our Priority Pass restaurant credit. Priority Pass contracts with some airport restaurants so that you get a certain amount of $ credited per person to your bill (usually $28). This is particularly useful when you are at an airport with no lounges (like our home airport), or if you are in a terminal with no lounge nearby. They add restaurants frequently so always make sure to check your PP app to see what lounges and restaurants are available where you are.

Unfortunately, the only place with the credit at our little home airport is Johnny Rockets. Fortunately they recently added a bar. So we were able to order $112 worth of food and drinks for free (before you think this is a ridiculous amount for Johnny Rockets, remember this is an airport restaurant so the prices are incredibly marked up). We came pretty close to the $112 mark but didn’t quite reach it.

After we felt thoroughly disgusting from all that grease, we went to our gate and boarded our flight to Atlanta. At ATL we had a two and a half hour layover so we headed over to the PP lounge, The Club. With it being a holiday weekend, the place was pretty busy but we were able to get in. We were still pretty full from Johnny Rockets but the kids ate some snacks and my husband and I ordered some drinks.

We didn’t leave ATL for New Orleans until 11pm, so when we landed we were exhausted. We took a Lyft straight to our hotel and checked into our suite. It was pretty nice with a sofa bed for the kids and a separate bedroom with a king size bed.

The next morning we slept in a little and then headed downstairs for the free hot breakfast. This was one of the reasons I booked this hotel. They had a huge hot buffet with sausage, biscuits, and gravy, eggs, and waffles, as well as pastries and fruit. After eating we walked over to the French Quarter. It was about 10:30am and already so hot. We found our free walking tour guide and then did an hour and a half walking tour through the French Quarter and St. Louis cemetery. I’m a big fan of the film Easy Rider, so as I walked around the cemetery the song, “Kyrie Eliason” kept going through my head as I remembered that iconic scene with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda having an bad trip with two prostitutes (to be honest that song was in my head throughout the trip!) I also learned from the tour guide that you have not been allowed to film in that cemetery since that film was released, specifically because of that scene, which they filmed without permission from the church.

 

 

After our tour we headed over to a great little restaurant, Napoleon House, which is known for their Pimm’s cup cocktails and Muffaletta sandwiches (said to be the best in the city).

 

 

We were so hot and tired by this point that we headed back to the hotel to take a dip in the pool and rest in the a/c. At around 5:30 we headed back to the breakfast area as they offer a nightly happy hour where you each get 3 (weak) cocktails and can eat from the buffet. They had hot dogs, baked potatoes, chicken fingers, nachos, soup, chili and other snacks. It wasn’t anything to write home about but definitely great for the kids to fill up while the grownups enjoyed their cocktails.

A friend of mine happened to be in NO for work that night, so she met us at the hotel and we walked down Bourbon street with the kids. It was still pretty early but my oldest said it was too loud and “everyone’s drunk,” so my husband took the kids back to the hotel to go to bed and my friend and I went over to Frenchmen Street for dinner. We went to this great jazz club/restaurant called Snug Harbor and had a delicious meal. The band that night was actually a teenage ensemble and they were amazing! We listened to them for a bit and then walked around some of the artisan markets on Frenchmen before heading home.

 

 

The next morning after breakfast we walked down to Cafe du Monde to try their famous beignets and chickory coffee that I have been hearing about for years. There was of course a line but it actually moved really fast and before you knew it we were popping those hot delicious sugar pillows into our mouths. So incredibly good!

 

 

After that we walked over to 1850 House and took a tour of one of the apartments in the historic Pontalba building that is set up to look as it would in the mid-19th century. Following this we walked around a bit more and visited the antique weapons store and then the Historic Preservation Museum. This museum is free, stretched over two buildings, and really well done! I highly recommend a visit if you are in NOLA. The first building took your through the history of the city. The staff was so nice and helpful and got some scavenger hunt type worksheets for the kids, which my 8 year old loved. In the 2nd building across the street they had an exhibit on the French quarter, an educational exhibit with things to touch and smell for the kids, and a modern art exhibit.

 

 

After this we were getting hungry so we decided to head over to the Treme neighborhood to check out the famous, Willie Maes Scotch House for fried chicken. Our one mistake was actually walking there from the French Quarter. It’s only a 1.5 mile walk but in that heat and humidity it was brutal. Plus when we got there we had to wait in line for about an hour (they do have some shade and free water bottles in coolers while you wait). We didn’t eat until about 3pm, but it was so worth the wait. It was definitely the best fried chicken I’ve ever had, plus lots of great southern sides such as Mac and cheese and fried okra.

 

When we were done we took a Lyft back to the hotel and the driver had an adorable puppy with him that we got to snuggle with in the backseat as the driver gave us more suggestions for things to do in the city.

 

When we got back to the hotel we rested and then had our cocktails and snacks again. After that we decided to take the street car through the garden district over to an ice cream place that our Lyft driver recommended. It was fun to see the old southern mansions from the open windows of the old-time trolley.

 

The ice cream place, Creole Creamery, did not disappoint. They had a ton of great flavors such as “A chocwork orange,” lavender honey, and Thai basil coconut. After our ice cream “dinner” we walked over to Magazine Street which has some shops and restaurants but my youngest started whining so we took a Lyft back and put the kids to bed.

Later my husband and I went out to walk around the French Quarter and get some drinks. It was fun except Bourbon street was honestly pretty loud and gross (we literally had to step over puke, and that was only at 9:30pm!). We decided to finish the night with a sazerac from the famous bar of the same name in the Roosevelt hotel. It was sublime.

 

The next day we headed over to the aquarium after breakfast. It was very nice with some great exhibits but it was rather small so we finished the whole thing in about an hour. Afterwards we took the riverfront cable car down near the French Market. We tried to have lunch at the famous jambalaya place, Coops, but the kids weren’t allowed in (over 21 only). So we walked through the French Quarter to the oyster place, Felix’s. My older son tried his first raw oysters, and he was not a fan!

 

We had bought the Audobon Experience pass which gets you into the aquarium, the insectarium, and the zoo, with one imax movie pass as well. So after lunch we walked over to the insectarium and spent about an hour there.

 

Following this we headed over to the Steamboat Natchez, the tourist-y steamboat that will take you up the Mississippi a little bit. I had bought tickets ahead of time using Chase ultimate rewards points. Another perk of using these points is you can us them to book activities such as this, and even museum tickets. I’m glad we didn’t pay anything for the tickets because to be honest, the boat was pretty hot and crowded. It was cool to see the engine room and the paddle wheel, and to get up river for a bit.

 

We were so hot when the trip was over, luckily we docked right next to the aquarium and so we were able to duck into the imax theater to use our movie passes to see a film called “Hurricane on the Bayou,” about Katrina and how the destruction of the wetlands and the construction of levees actually contributed to the level of devastation.

That night after the kids went to bed my husband and I walked around the warehouse district which was near our hotel. We checked out the popular restaurant Cochon, but we couldn’t get in (and reservations were full for the rest of our trip). Luckily they have a sister bar next store called Cochon Butcher, which had some delicious small plates and cocktails.

 

On the morning of our last day we took a Lyft to the zoo. I was worried it was going to be too hot to walk around but they did a really nice job designing it so that most of the paths were in the shade and they had several indoor (air conditioned) spaces throughout. We walked around for about 2.5 hours and then were pooped and took a Lyft back to the hotel.

 

Next we walked down towards the National World War II museum which was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. We hadn’t eaten lunch yet so we stopped at this great place called Auction House Market which was like a high end food court. It had a bar in the center and then various food stations around the perimeter serving various things such as empanadas, dosa, Thai street food, etc. It was a great choice for us because everyone could get what they want and we could eat quickly.

 

The WWII museum was pretty epic. It was fairly crowded since it was Memorial Day weekend, so that was the only downside, but despite the crowds it was still an incredible place. They did such an amazing job walking you through the details of the various battles such as D-day and Midway island. They interspersed text with film and artifacts, as well as recorded oral histories from veterans. We also got to see a little write-up of my grandfather’s unit in Burma, “Merrill’s Marauders.”

 

I cannot recommend this museum enough. If you do get to go, you should allot plenty of time to see it all, at least half a day and if you spent a full day there you would still probably be fine.

Following this we had the kids eat dinner at the hotel’s happy hour and when we got them settled in bed my husband and I went out to dinner at Muriel’s in Jackson Square for our anniversary. The meal was ok but then afterwards we got to meet up with friends from my travel hacking group for a drink in the French Quarter. We had a great time chatting travel and points with them and then headed home to bed.

 

For our last morning we walked back down to the French Quarter. We had wanted to check out the pharmacy museum but it was closed so we went to the voodoo museum instead. We walked around a bit more so my older son could pick out a souvenir, which he found at the flea market.

It was getting so hot that we decided to just head to the airport a little early and hang out in the air conditioned lounge. Since my husband and I both have the Amex Platinum and we were flying on Delta, we were able to go into the Delta sky club. We technically had to pay $29 for each kid, but the clerk only charged us for one! They had a great spread, including muffaletta sliders, pasta salad, chicken salad, jambalaya, hummus, cheese, crudité, and treats, so it was worth it to us to pay the $29 to have free food and drink and a nice air conditioned place to rest before our flight.

The verdict

I loved New Orleans, but man was it hot! And this was only late May! I would love to go back when the weather is cooler. I liked our hotel for the free meals for the kids and the location. The French Quarter was fun but crowded. Their free history museum was great. The highlight of the trip was definitely the World War II museum. If we went back without kids I would make sure to do more historical activities, go to some jazz shows, and spend more time at the WWII museum. I’d also skip the steamboat. There is definitely stuff for kids to do there but they also limit what you can do. The food, of course, was amazing. Overall a fun trip in a city that definitely deserves more time to visit.