Three Days In NOLA - Day 1: The French Quarter

Back in February I decided almost on a whim that I wanted to go to New Orleans and experience Mardi Gras. Okay, I knew it wasn't going to be the traditional Mardi Gras since we are living in the time of Coronavirus, but I also knew it was probably going to be one of the only shots I was going to have in my lifetime of experiencing Mardi Gras when it wasn't packed elbow to elbow with people. The  pandemic sucks, but hey, there was the silver lining, right? Jason was supposed to accompany me and Allison, but wasn't able to get the vacation time approved from work on such short notice. But y'all, that was not going to stop us from going anyway. Thankfully Mariah's boyfriend already had the week off of work since he was going to be our dog sitter, so he decided to fill in Jason's spot to help with the 14 hour drive down there. And probably to keep me and Allison in line. We ended up adding 4 more hours onto the drive time because the south was getting hit with ice and snowstorms. I'm going to apologize to all of you in the south that we make fun of for freaking out over a little snow, because that shit we drove through was unreal. Black ice causing crashes everywhere, slush scraping the undercarriage of my car, and for the first time in my life having to rely on the kindness of strangers to help dig me out of a snowbank (which was Kyle's doing, but who's counting?) But, eventually we white knuckled it through and made it to NOLA in one piece.

And those snowstorms left the temperatures less than idea since it rained almost the entire time we were there and it was freezing! Luckily we had in and out parking privileges at our hotel, The Drury Plaza, and were able to go back to our room to warm up between stops around the city. On day 1 we decided we'd stick to The French Quarter, walking the more touristy areas like Bourbon Street and Jackson Square.

 

Because of the cold, rain, and virus, we really did have most of the place to ourselves. We ended up walking much of the French Quarter so I could admire the creole cottages and shops that were decorated for Mardi Gras. 

 

Allison wanted to stop by some of the voodoo shops while we were in the area, and after reading some of the yelp reviews, I was a bit hesitant to go into any of them. Most of the reviews said that the shops staff were rude, would yell at you if they saw you with your phone in your hand because of the no photo policy (due to the shrines) and if you got too close to the shrines (which are all built into the store displays). Rev. Zombie's Voodoo Shop seemed to have all negative reviews, but we bit the bullet and went in anyway.

The store was tiny, but they were great with only allowing a few people at a time in to shop and followed all covid guidelines. The security guard was very friendly, and nicely told us about the no photo policy before sending us in, and even though the cashier didn't really acknowledge me, he did manage to grunt out a thanks as he handed me my bag. Most of the other voodoo shops were closed (seemed to be the consensus amongst shop owners to close for Mardi Gras weekend because of the drunk and rowdy tourists), but we also managed to pop into Voodoo Authentica. While I didn't make a purchase here (though Allison did), I liked the overall vibe and how nice the employees were. 

Jackson Square was closed as well, and during the times when we aren't in a pandemic there are usually horse drawn carriages out front for guided tours around the area. But Cafe du Monde is a few minutes walk from this point, so even if you can't get a carriage ride, it's not far to get a taste of those famous beignets. 

I want to point out that I felt very safe in the French Quarter, HOWEVER, the three of us stuck together at all times and did not stay out past dark.We ended up going back to our hotel for dinner by 7pm, so I can't really give a fair assessment of the nightlife here. My friend Rosey did not love NOLA after dark though, and you can read her account of the area on her blog HERE. 

I'll tell you all about YardiGras in my next post, and all about the local eats soon after! 

If you've been to NOLA, love it or hate it? If you haven't been, is it on your travel bucket list?