i just can’t get enough of new orleans. i planned a trip (with my mom) in march because i didn’t think theo was coming home for spring break and not seeing him for a whole semester was too upsetting… but then he DID come home and it was a bonus visit!
we stayed at my forever hotel, the pontrachain. i just LOVE this place. it is right on st. charles and there is a streetcar stop directly outside. it is located midway between the quarter and tulane so it’s easy to get to either area. i have become a pro on the trolley - i know how to get my tickets properly on the app so i don’t hold up the line, how to signal for my stop (pulling the cord above the seats) and that you should always exit in the back. and i only got on going in the wrong direction once. as i wrote before, there is a delicious breakfast cafe (the whistle stop) in the pontrachain with the BEST coffee. there is also a famous jazz bar, the bayou. mom and i had dinner there and saw the incredible ashlin parker (founder of the trumpet mafia and one of theo’s professors freshman year) one evening. it was an exhilarating experience and then we could just pop in the elevator and go to bed. another night we went up to the rooftop bar and took in the most beautiful, expansive view of the city. (i told theo this would be a terrific date night!)
(ashlin parker and his band in action)
(LOOK how they stamped the bar name on mom’s catfish burger!)
(the view from the rooftop bar - the bridge is lit up in purple)
(the view from my window - the bridge was orange that night)
(this event space is across the street from the pontrachain… the metal work was repurposed from the restaurant that used to be in the eiffel tower. ultimately, it was too heavy for the tower and removed. it was used to create the beautiful exterior framing of this cool building in new orleans!)
i know most people head to nola for jazz fest or mardi gras or one of the other bazillion festivals the city hosts, but i was shooting for a week when it was just regular new orleans, which is still AMAZING and plenty stimulating for me. my mama came along too and we had a fine time hitting up my favorites: sazeracs at the original sazerac bar in the roosevelt hotel, po boys at domilise’s, chicory coffee and beignets at cafe du monde... we also spent a day on julia street in the arts district going to galleries and another afternoon at the noma (new orleans museum of art) which i had not yet explored. the sculpture garden is fantastic! (i told theo this would be a terrific daytime date… he LOVES when i plan out his social life!) seeing all of this incredible art just expanded my heart and filled me up.
(i finally remembered to take a picture before i drank it!)
(a drawing of domilise’s from the outside)
(this is what it looks like on the inside… the hardworking grannies in the hairnets just slay me.)
(just the YUMMIEST!)
(i LOVE these driftwood pieces wrapped in neon!)
(it’s hard to tell but this rabbit is all EMBROIDERED!)
(the different mediums and textures of this piece were amazing!)
(honey bears are one of my FAVORITES!)
(there was a whole room of these madonnas with the floating babies at the NOMA… i love them!)
(and then there is all the art in people’s front gardens… kooky googley eyed dog)
(kooky googley eyed bubble dog)
(and frenchie sculptures all over town!)
(zebra frenchies!)
(water bowl frenchie)
(i did a little house shopping for when i win the lottery… i adore this pink one)
(or i could paint this cutie pink)
(i can’t get enough of the oak trees)
to read more about new orleans click here