New Orleans, LA: The Nightlife

New Orleans certainly lives up to its reputation of having a wild nightlife.  We boarded the street car not knowing what to expect and were greeted with neon lights that set all of Bourbon Street aglow while street performers played lively jazz music.  The first band we encountered was especially popular and had a huge crowd dancing in the street around them.  We were overwhelmed by the mass of people walking up and down the middle of the road on Bourbon Street.  People stood on balconies above the bars and shouted down to the crowds, promising beads to those below.  We walked by many scantily clad ladies beckoning passersby into their establishments.  After taking in the sights for a bit we headed to Pat O'Brian's to try their famous hurricanes and New Orleans style food.  Hurricanes are tasty rum-based fruit drinks that creep up on you (so be careful if you ever order one).  For dinner we each ordered the trio special, which let us sample our choice of four dishes that New Orleans is known for.  Lauren got the gumbo, jumbalaya, and red beans and rice while Lynea ate gumbo, jumbalaya, and crawfish etouffle.  We loved the spiciness of the food.  Lauren especially enjoyed the rice and Lynea was a big fan of the gumbo.

Young street performers

Lynea trying her first hurricane

Left: crawfish etouffle; Right: Jumbalaya; Front: gumbo

  

When we left Pat O's it was drizzling and one gentleman offered us his $12 umbrella (of which he was very proud).  He kindly rotated covering each of us with his umbrella as we explored Bourbon Street.  We think he may have had a few drinks, which would explain his friendliness.  After walking up and down Bourbon Street for a while we decided it would be a good idea to actually go in to some of the bars.  We especially enjoyed Cat's Meow, which is a very popular karaoke bar.  The performers were very enthusiastic and weren't shy about sharing their stories with the crowd.  One lady got up on stage and explained that she had just gotten married five hours ago and had met her husband in Cat's Meow (and pointed to the corner where they first drunkenly made out).  We definitely had fun dancing and singing along with the people around us and would highly recommend this bar to anyone visiting New Orleans.  

The next night we went back to Pat O's to enjoy some drinks in the piano bar.  Lynea tried the skybar (a mix of rum, vodka, apricot brandy, blue curacao and pineapple juice) while Lauren had a rum and coke.  We really liked listening to the piano music.  The piano players were very entertaining and enthusiastic, involving the crowd in many of their songs.  We were by far the youngest and most sober people in the bar.  The group of gentlemen who sat beside us were there for a bakers conference (lucky them) and offered us beads if we followed the New Orleans tradition.  We declined but continued chatting with them for a bit.  They generously bought us another round of drinks and gave us each a strand of beads before heading out.  We wandered over to the local pizza place and enjoyed a delicious slice of pizza before calling it a night.  New Orleans was certainly and exciting city and we are eager to find out what LA has in store for us next.      

One of the piano players at Pat O'Brian's 

We were so excited to get our own strands of beads

We wanted to give a shout out to Rachel for letting us stay in her house and telling us about the best place to visit in New Orleans.   Thank you so much!  We had such an amazing time and can't wait to go back.