Deep South Road Trip #5

Monday 23rd April

Our beds were far too comfortable but we had arranged for breakfast at 9am so we hauled ourselves up, enjoyed a fantastic shower - the power should be good, there’s a water tower in the middle of town!.  We had been offered the choice of pancakes or grits.  Our lack of enthusiasm for grits was met with an attempt at persuasion but we were not to be convinced. Blueberry and pecan pancakes it was (well, just pecan for Mia) with fresh fruit, fresh coffee and proper tea.  It was a veritable feast!  It was a bit of a shame our host did’t join us for breakfast as I’d have loved to chat with her about the house and it’s history. (Tip for budding AirBnB hosts; your guests do not want to chat when it’s late and they have been travelling and are tired.  They do want to chat when they are rested).

We wanted to see some of the town in daylight but we were very aware that we were still three hours from New Orleans (I don’t think we considered just how far it was when we planned) and didn’t want to hang around for too long.  We didn’t get a chance to properly visit any of the antebellum houses but we followed the green city trail for a time and then shifted onto the blue one back to the car.  The walking routes had information routes on the way showing photos of buildings both past and present.  I was particularly intrigued by the Eola Hotel, a grand old building on Main St which looks like it’s been left derelict for quite a few years.  It’s not really ever been my kind of thing but I can fully imagine spending a massive lottery win on buying and renovating it.  The information board talked of the famous guests of the past and mentioned it had reopened in 1982 but the board clearly needs updating.  I was rather taken with it even in it’s sad state.

The drive back to New Orleans was largely uneventful apart from me misjudging a lane and nearly coming a cropper (it would be typical after two weeks without incident!).  I drew the short straw of driving around the narrow streets of the French Quarter.  We left the car with the valet and checked into the Bourbon Orleans hotel.  This is one of the nicest hotels in the area and on the junction of Bourbon and Orleans so right in the thick of the action.  It was a final birthday treat for us both to stay in a “proper” hotel.  As soon as we got in we went back out – we had shopping to do!

As I mentioned back on our first day in New Orleans we both admired the paintings on display around Jackson Square but sadly it seemed many of the artists were only set up there for the festival.  Slightly disappointed we instead took a walk down Royal St, trying to avoid the expensive art shops with works starting at $1000.  We had found a shop selling more reasonable pieces and I think we had both previously admired the work of M Sani which showed black silhouettes of jazz musicians against various colour backgrounds.  I spent quite a while choosing (it was more reasonable but still not a small investment!).  Should I pick the purple which would go better with the colour scheme of my house or the more vibrant red or yellow?  I walked away to think about it, thought about sleeping on it but that wasn’t needed.  In the end I decided co-ordination was far less important than the one that made my heart sing so it was the red and yellow one.

Mia was even more impulsive over her choice of mask after looking at thousands of them.  She also wanted some more Mardi Gras beads and I picked up something slightly silly for my nieces.  Done with purchases it was another flit back to the room to change for the evening.  Although we were at the heart of the French Quarter we wanted to experience the slightly calmer atmosphere of the Marigny district and specifically Frenchman St.  We had dinner in the Marigny Brasserie accompanied by the Good For Nothing Band who played their own material in a jazzy, almost ska-esque style.  The songs were both fun and funny.  Service was a bit poor to start with but the food was damn fine.  I even got dessert – we had noted that the portions had been so huge we never had room for dessert and I was dying for proper American pecan pie.  I’m sure Mia’s brownie was bigger than my steak!

When we left the restaurant there was a brass band outside which we enjoyed, then had a stroll around the little art and craft market there.  We briefly stepped into the Spotted Cat Music Club but we seemed to be making a habit of turning up at places just as a band was finishing (it must have happened 5-6 times over the holiday!). It’s quite hard with all of these hives of music and nightlife because you have so many choices on where to drink and you want to try them all and it’s difficult to make a decision.  Maison eventually got our vote as a band was just about to start.  They were absolutely superb with a totally incredible singer who did amazing renditions of Proud Mary and Shout.  As she moved onto some ballads however I needed to move before I dropped asleep.

We returned to Bourbon St which had quite a different atmosphere on a Monday night.  The music booming from the bars into the street was very much more hip-hop based.  We found our favourite band from the Famous Door at a different venue but, surprise surprise, they were just two songs from the end of their set.  Mia got a photo with a couple of sailors who were in town for Navy Week.  We danced to the hip-hop that followed the band while it was old school but started to lose interest when they played anything from the last 10 years (I am 40 you know?!).  I was done.  It was pizza and bed for me.  Not even karaoke could keep me out.  We got back but Mia wasn’t ready to stop so she nipped back out but returned just 15 minutes later as the karaoke had finished.

Tuesday 24th April

Our holiday was coming to an end.  We did a final pack, getting all of our souvenirs in.  I carefully wrapped my painting in a few layers of clothes and put it in my hand luggage.  We had our breakfast at Café Beignet – we would have also had some beignets but the queue was too long and we had to request our car from the valet and check out.  After our previous airport experiences I was getting a little bit tetchy.  I needn’t have worried.  Dropping the car off was a breeze (although navigating to the nearest gas station to fill up was less so!).  No queues at check in so the bags were dropped and we were very happy when the assistant told us we wouldn’t need to collect them until London!  Easy enough through security and then we found a lovely little wine bar to rest until our flight.

Our transfer was via Chicago.  We had to change terminals and quickly spoke to BA check in to see if we could amend our seats as we hadn’t been able to choose them on check in.  She kept us on the same row but moved us from window / centre to aisle / centre in the hope no-one would choose the single seat.  She also said there was plenty of space on the flight so we felt happy we’d done the best we could to snag a “spare” seat.  We had a very tasty burger and I spent some time diary writing.  Our take-off was slightly delayed departing but we did get that spare seat!  I finished watching Downsizing which I didn’t quite complete on the flight from Miami but generally wanted to try to sleep after food (which we almost got missed out for!).  I dozed rather than slept.

We were obviously due some good karma on our return after our difficult outgoing journey.  Even our bags were more or less the first off the plane!  Once through customs and properly back in Blighty it was time to say our goodbyes.  Mia had a coach to catch and I had to traverse London to Euston for the train.

I feel the need to write a concluding paragraph but it’s hard to sum everything up in a few words.  We had the most incredible time.  We saw places we had dreamed of for years.  Indeed, some of my favourite moments were just sitting in these legendary places, drink in hand, soaking up the atmosphere, smiling to myself and saying, “wow, I’m really here”.  We had crossed 5 states, visited 4 cities and driven 1368 miles (at a cost of less than £50 in fuel!).  We experienced a wealth of food and music.  We didn’t get in any trouble (we didn’t even SEE any trouble), get arrested or get lost.  Most importantly we didn’t fall out.  I had the best time in the best company of one of my oldest friends.  It really was the trip of a lifetime.