Skip to main content

Bourbon Street, You Win

Go to New Orleans, Louisiana 

 I have always wanted to go to New Orleans and when a good friend of mine decided to celebrate her bachelorette party there, I could not pass up the opportunity! I envisioned New Orleans being a lot like Nashville; good food, lively atmosphere with live Jazz music in all the bars. Spoiler alert: it was nothing like Nashville.
I lived with Natasha and my best friend from high school, Brittany, for 6 weeks when I was interning at a hospital in Wilmington, NC, and we became close.  She has always been so kind and genuine, one of the most selfless and fun people I have ever met.  I knew about half of the girls on the trip, they have always been so warm and welcoming to me since I met them in college and they continue to include me in group chats, fun times together without having an abundance of inside jokes or situations that make you feel left out of a group.  I just love each one of them and their different personalities that they each bring to the table.   It was nice to hang out with this small group of fabulous ladies before the real craziness began.
Tasha Calderon, Valerie Jurczyk, Ashley Purgason, Brittany Donovan
with Brittany Donovan
After checking in, I couldn't wait to explore this city! As soon as we stepped onto Bourbon Street there was a parade and an intense energy that I live for.  We walked to various bars and tried all the touristy drinks/places until everyone arrived at different times.
 Had my party "pants" on & was ready for Bourbon Street

We stayed at The Four Points by Sheraton on Bourbon Street, which was a great location. I should have known I was too old for this city when they handed us ear plugs at check-in, haha.   Each night following dinner we passed our hotel on the way to the bars.  This setup was absolutely perfect as some folks could call it an early night if they wanted, while others could party into the wee hours of the morning.
such a fun group of girls
Dinner with the Future Mrs. Alfano
The 4am crew
Some takeaways; the beignets at Cafe du Monde were 100% worth the wait and hype.  Cafe Amelie was my favorite meal and dinner was nestled in a quintessential New Orleans outdoor patio. A bayou tour was pleasant for something to do something outdoors and away from the city for a few hours, touristy for sure but still a great time and guaranteed to see plenty of alligators.
Cafe du Monde
Cafe Amelie
Bayou Tour
New Orleans was absolutely insane.  To be fair, we never ventured away from Bourbon Street.  A normal Sunday night was how I envisioned Mardi Gras to be! I saw so many disturbing things and situations but it was definitely a weekend full of beads and belly laughs! We did it perfect for the first time, however next time I would like to venture off to smaller streets and away from the crowds. I am fortunate to have experienced Bourbon Street, but if I never go back I won't be upset. I must be getting old, I was not prepared for the craze!
I flew from New Orleans>>San Antonio, TX for a quick but wonderful visit with my best friend from childhood and to visit with extended family.  It was the icing on the cake to this fun week!
 with Shannon Baker, celebrating 25 years of friendship on the San Antonio Riverwalk
Love my family



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Embracing My Inner Southern Belle in Kentucky

When I first moved to "The South" I remember thinking how phony everything was and feeling very out of place.  Southern culture seemed overwhelming and ridiculous.  Everywhere I turned there was a church,  an overly friendly female in a floral printed dress, and people saying "Bless your heart." I soon discovered that there was nothing "phony" or "ridiculous" about this different way of life.  I realized people in The South were actually genuine; down to their hospitality, faith, and their love for family and small towns. Over the past 15 years, I have come to fall in love with The South and everything it has to offer... Sweat Tea Front Porches The Weather Authentic Faith Pig Pickins, Fried &Comfort Food Slower Pace of Life Country Music & Country Accents Manners and Opened Doors Bow Ties and Seer Sucker Suits Ranch on Everything Monograms and Pearls College Football I could go on!! Seriously, what's not to
1 comment
Read more

If you want to hear God laugh tell him your plan

Get a Real Job      T here are some things I want to accomplish in my life, but they are not necessarily "Bucket List material"...  they are things that I "assume" I will do, including buy a house, get married, have children, etc.   I never thought "Get a real job" would ever be on my bucket list...but it has been since I graduated from college and assumed I would have one.  I don't have any control over our country's economy & the fact that when I graduated all the hospitals were cutting back and the first thing to cut was recreational therapists due to reimbursement issues at the time.    "Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you respond to it."  -Lou Holtz.         I jumped right into what I really wanted to do: Physical Therapy, by looking into schools that I was interested in...only coming to realize I should have spent waaaayyy more nights at Joyner Library instead of downtown Greenville.  I decided to attend Nash Com
2 comments
Read more

A Bird's Eye View

GO ZIP LINING      Asheville, North Carolina.  If you have never been I highly recommend it.  Good food, good beer & wine, and a laid back atmosphere with just enough to do to keep you busy.  It's not officially on my bucket list, but I have always wanted to take a weekend trip with Kenny for a couple years now.  For whatever reason we quickly run out of time in the fall/early winter to go.  For my graduation gift from PTA school, Kenny's parents gave me zip-lining tickets & Biltmore tickets for my birthday.  To " Go Zip-lining " has been on my bucket list since I got a small dose of it on a ropes course in one of my recreational classes in college.  When they told me about this place just north of Asheville I was all in. So, we finally planned our trip for late October!!        Zip-lining originated from Costa Rica as botanists needed a way to study plants in the rain forest from above ground-level.  It is currently becoming a "new" outdoor recr
1 comment
Read more