We are back in New Orleans!

Hi y'all. We are currently in New Orleans for a long weekend. It's hard for me to comprehend that this is our third trip to NOLA in 2013. Our last visit seemed like work vs. pleasure due to all the wedding stuff we had to take care of.

Since we are staying at a residential house we rented from airbnb.com vs. a hotel, we decided to rent a car. The total price of the car rental came out to what it would cost us to get a taxi to and from the airport. Having a car in New Orleans will allow us to do stuff we normally couldn't.

Here is what we are doing on this trip.

Saturday:
The moment we arrive in the French Quarter, we will head directly to Cafe du Monde for Beignets and Cafe au lait.

We will then head across the street and grab a muffulettas from Central Grocery, only to take them back to the rental house for dinner later in the night.

Why would we buy dinner before we have lunch? Here is the answer:

photo from yelp.com

Lunch at Willie Mae's Scotch House. I cannot even begin to state how excited I am over finally eating at Willie Mae's. They have legendary fried chicken, what most claim is the best in the nation. Willie Mae's is not located in the French Quarter so we have not had a chance to eat there.

After we gorge on fried chicken, we will go wedding cake tasting. That seems appropriate, right?

Our wedding cake will be from the World Famous Haydel's Bakery and it was included in our wedding package. I think this is when it will get real for me that we are getting married in a little more than 9 months. I made so many big decisions right after we were engaged. I don't really like cake, although I love red velvet. One of the layers will have to red velvet and I am allowing Gabe to decide on the rest.

The day we arrive in New Orleans happens to be the official kickoff to the holiday season. Instead of going to a fancy dinner out, we will have the muffulettas purchased earlier in the day and enjoy the multiple festivities around town. I am looking forward to seeing the French Quarter decked out for Christmas. There are multiple events throughout the city including The Algiers Bonfire and Concert. The amount of holiday festivities in New Orleans actually shocked me. I had no idea the amount of celebrations taking place the month of December.

Sunday:

After we have breakfast on Sunday morning, we will head to the swamps in the bayou for a Swamp Tour. I cannot explain how excited I am for this. I am such a nerd.

Following the Swamp Tour, we will head back to the French Quarter and take Gabe's parents to Acme Oyster House. They didn't get a chance to go when we were there in February. While this is a total tourist trap in the Quarter, Acme Oyster House is a must visit for anyone who has never experienced it.

Sunday night we are most likely going to another tourist destination. We've never been to Mother's Restaurant in NOLA and they have "world best baked ham". Mothers is widely known for their Po Boys. Once again, since we have a car, we can get over to this side of town very easily.

Monday:

We have the entire day in the city on Monday. Our flights leave at night and instead of stressing about checking out of a hotel at a assigned time, we were given the entire day to come and go as we please from airbnb. Right after we booked our flights, I made lunch reservations at Commanders Palace in the Garden District....once again, because we have a car. Commanders Chef Tory was recently named #16 Best Chef in America. Plus they have $0.25 Martini's. Just saying........

I am looking forward to another trip to my favorite city on earth with our family. I will recap on all of our events when we get home next week.

Cheers!