Long Weekend in NOLA

Since I was traveling to New Orleans for a Color Marketing Group conference for work, Greg decided to take a few vacation days and travel along. Most of the time I was inside the hotel in various color discussion sessions while Greg wandered the French Quarter. We did get to wander the Quarter together most of they day Saturday. We wandered the streets admiring the city's unique architecture, looked at some fun and cooky lighting in the antique shops (unfortunately out of our budget), sampled the pralines (Greg enjoyed the traditional pecan flavor, I particulary enjoyed the coconut version), ate dinner at Red Fish Grill, listened to music on Frenchman St at d.b.a. and The Spotted Cat (thanks to Cat's recommendations) and finished the night at Cafe du Monde with coffee and beinets.

Greg really enjoyed the the fresh creole seafood. I think he had seafood for almost every meal, including breakfast. My most memorable meal with Greg was our final lunch. He had been searching for boiled crawdads since we arrived and had targeted a specific restaurant. The boiled seafood took a little longer to cook but I think Greg thought it was worth the wait. The crawdads were a bit spicier than he had anticipated. After two big glasses of sweet tea, he was able to finish them off. Good thing he opted for the smaller plate or we may have missed our return flight.

Sunday night we went to dinner with Mary and her husband Chris. Mary and I had met at the CMG conference last year in Phoenix. Greg's requirements for dinner were seafood (of course) and a big screen TV to watch the Colts vs Patriots game (still can't believe the Colts won). Mary and Chris were a lot of fun and we had a great night. Lots of good food and drinks.

Monday night my friend Cat, who spends part of her time in NOLA, met up with us. She picked us up in her shiny white Mustang and drove us outside of the Quarter. She took us through a few of the neighborhoods still recovering from Katrina. Interesting to see the architecture being produced in the new Brad Pitt area. Typical New Orleans colors but odd angles that grew on me. Interesting roof lines that morphed and twisted to the ground. Porch railings were sheet metal with organic cutout designs. I should have remembered my camera. After the neighborhood tours, we stopped at The Columns for happy hour drinks. After drinks we went to a Lebanese restaurant for dinner. I had never had Lebanese before but definitely would again. Yummy rice, lamb, veggies and lots of hummus! We ended our evening at a retro gelato shop - always good.

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