Traveling with Willadean

As I traveled this great country of ours, one of the cities I loved was New Orleans, not because I'm a partier, because I'm not, but because of the many things there are to do in New Orleans. The title that I've used above of "It's Just Naturally Naulins, Darling, It's Just Naturally Naulins, was used by a tour guide that I always showed us "her city". Marty truly loved her city of New Orleans. I think she is one of the many reasons I loved New Orleans.

Are you sleeping in or are you ready for another day........................ ahhhhhh  still a lot to do in New Orleans.  I love this city ..........
How about a ride on the street car...............  The RTA's red streetcars can be taken to reach various sections of the District.
Or if you're ready to jumpstart your Uptown adventure, go ahead and hop on the St. Charles Streetcar, ride it
up to Washington Avenue, then walk down Washington to Commander's Palace. This iconic Garden District restaurant serves up a three-course Jazz Brunch that's absolutely to die for.

Visit the Garden district- Garden District - Multi-million dollar mansions line the streets of the garden district; Ann Rice,
 John Goodman, Sandra Bullock, Delta Burke, and Ely Manning all have homes here. The garden district is also home to The Real World house, St Charles Ave, and Magazine Street.   As you walk along, be sure and peek behind, the wrought iron gates, the most beautiful gardens are just behind those beautiful houses. They are so gorgeous. Don't forget to look!!

Or start you day at the Aquarium.  The Aquarium's 30-foot-long aquatic tunnel and experience the rain forest from the top of a tropical tree house. You can also swing by Adventure Island, where your young explorer will get to pet stingrays and even see a stingray feeding they happen twice daily at 11:30a.m. and 2:30 p.m. See all the beauty of the underwater world without getting wet!

Before you leave New Orleans, you've "GOT" to have dinner at Brennan's. It's a little expensive, but include it in your budget for visiting.

Brennan's Restaurant is a must . Brennan was a charmer and the consummate host, and the restaurant had a strong following of wealthy locals and Hollywood royalty from the very beginning
Although the restaurant established its reputation on classic Creole dishes like turtle soup, shrimp Creole
Brennan's is most famous for its weekend brunch. In traditional New Orleans fashion, a Brennan's brunch starts with brandy milk punch and must involve poached eggs and Hollandaise in any which way of the restaurant's signature styles, like Hussarde (Canadian bacon,
 Marchand de Vin sauce), Portuguese (in pastry shells with sautéed tomato and shallot) or with fried oysters.Brennan's has also contributed its own dishes to the city's culinary, including Eggs Hussarde. The most famous Brennan's
 creation is Bananas Foster, bananas flambéed in a caramel sauce and served with ice cream. They will make this right at your table.  It's a lot of fun to watch them.
(The dessert is so popular, the restaurant peels 35,000 pounds of bananas every year to make it.)  Brennan's shared the recipe with me so I've included it in this blog.

Banana's Foster.
This is the actual Bananas Foster recipe from the original source and creator of this dessert: Brennan's Restaurant. In 1951, Chef Paul created Bananas Foster. The scrumptious dessert was named for Richard Foster, who served with Owen on the New Orleans Crime Commission. Richard Foster was a frequent customer of Brennan's and a very good friend of Owen.

 

   * BANANAS FOSTER

    * ¼ cup (½ stick) butter
    * 1 cup brown sugar
    * ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    * ¼ cup banana liqueur
    * 4 bananas, cut in half
      lengthwise, then halved
    * ¼ cup dark rum
    * 4 scoops vanilla ice cream

      Combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambé pan or skillet. Place the pan over low heat either on an alcohol burner or on top of the stove, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the banana liqueur, then place the bananas in the pan. When the banana sections soften Bananas Fosterand begin to brown, carefully add the rum. Continue to cook the sauce until the rum is hot, then tip the pan slightly to ignite the rum. When the flames subside, lift the bananas out of the pan and place four pieces over each portion of ice cream. Generously spoon warm sauce over the top of the ice cream and serve immediately.

Now it's time for an evening on Bourbon Street.

Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street is located in the Vieux Carre Historic District. While we were out on tour, we usually took a stroll down Bourbon Street just to be able to say we had walked down Bourbon Street, it's a lot of fun to watch what goes on on Bourbon. We'd then make our way to Pat O'Brien's.   In a town of known for its long, proud history of cocktails, the Hurricane is truly special. Pat O'Brien invented the drink in the 1940s, and it's been delighting sailors and visitors since. It's the go-to to-go drink, a powerful sucker-punch of sweet and strong, of tropical fruit juice and rum. ( Most of us would get a "virgin" Hurricane NO rum added) It still a very good drink without rum. :-)  They say,  Hurricane, like its namesake, will mess you up . And sure, you can find these monsters in plenty of bars and daiquiri shacks around town. But for the original and best, go to Pat O'Brien's, the Bourbon Street bar that turned a curvaceous glass into both a souvenir to remember New Orleans and the source of many forgotten nights on Bourbon Street.

Pat O'Brien's is a big and flashy joint that caters to devoted partiers. Sit on the patio and marvel at the flaming fountain while chowing down on catfish strips and alligator bites. Or wheedle your way into the popular Piano Bar for some tunes played on the twin copper-plated pianos.

If you've got more time while your in New Orleans, visit one of the cemeteries, Mardi Gras World, where you can see how the floats are made for the parade, and even try on part of the parade customes. Visit Oak Alley Plantation, take a Swamp Boat Cruise.  There are so many things to do, you can easily spend a week in the area. If you would like suggestions to stay or things to do, I'll be happy to give you suggestions.