New Orleans: Have you been there?

It’s about a 5 hr drive from home. But I haven’t been there enough. Perhaps 3-4 times. Which is funny, because I like New Orleans, LA (NOLA, from now on) a lot. There are many levels of liking for the city for me. I like the vibrance, the music, and the food. That is not all, it also has incredible history, so as a city, it is outright delightful for me. So when I was taking a road trip with family over Christmas (yes, during Covid!) I thought about stopping for an evening at French quarter.

That is Four Points hotel at the Bourbon Street right opposite of the the Tropical Isles bar from where you get your customary Hand Grenade :) Which is nothing but a terribly sweet and highly alcoholic cocktail. But you won’t remember how it tastes after you had a few.

Typically it is as follows :

Commonly used ingredients
3 cl (1 part) Vodka
3 cl (1 part) Rum
3 cl (1 part) Gin
3 cl (1 part) rectified spirit
3 cl (1 part) melon liquor

Served it it’s customary green plastic container as I pictured above. It doesn’t taste alcoholic at first and it’s hits you slow and steady! I like it frozen (if I can say “like” safely).

Walk

After the drink at hand ($10, by the way), you just walk up and down Bourbon Street and numerous side streets and soak in the vibe. I must comment that the “street” is struggling quite a bit. It was Sunday night, but was mostly empty. Lots of places boarded up and there is a lack of tourists! It’s sad, but it is the same story everywhere. So I felt if we can go out there safely without putting our family in any danger it is a win-win situation. Because, most parents with kids will tell you that by now they are all ready to climb the wall of their respective homes.

I enjoy the balconies of French Quarter. I think it is very unique. It gives the streets below its character.

Music

Nothing about NOLA will be complete without mentioning music of course. I enjoy Jazz a lot and also NOLA brass bands. It’s was a joy to watch at least one band play live just below the place we had dinner (shrimp and grit, enough said!).

After dinner, it was just an easy stroll out to the hotel room. Even with kids-in-tow I must say I throughly enjoyed the whole experience. I felt it is important to get the Christmas spirit up and look forward to the New Year. It’s has been a strange year for all of us and the bar is set so low, I can almost guarantee that 2021 will be better.

PS. It feels good not to log-in to computer since Sunday! I wrote this whole post from my phone. :)