New Orleans, Nola, The Big Easy in July, their off season, it’s hot. Did we have a good time, yes. We packed our Hydro Flask and electrolyte powder to keep us hyrdated.
We had five full days to adventure around Nola. There were a few activities we scheduled in advance: Priest Robi’s Voodoo Tour, Riverboat Jazz Cruise, and a combination tour for Oak Alley Plantation and Large Airboat. After that we didn’t really have any set schedule, we just moseyed around town.
Voodoo Tour by Priest Robi:
We had friends who highly recommended Free Walking Tours. They offer many different tours including: Voodoo, French Quarter, Garden District, and Ghost. You can book online in advance and there is an optional booking fee of $2.75 per person. The tour guides do not get paid by the company, but paid through tips. So at the end of your tour, you pay what you deem appropriate.
We took Priest Robi’s Voodoo Tour on our first day and loved it. Every person we talked to who was also visiting NOLA, we told them about the tour and that they should take it. Priest Robi is very personable, knowledgeable, and funny. We learned a lot about the history of voodoo, how popular culture misrepresented depictions of voodoo, and how people send their blessings and prayer. I would highly recommend taking his tour at the beginning of your trip.
We laugh because he kept saying before we left, we don’t have to go to the WWII museum if we can’t fit it. Well, as soon as we arrived his mind changed completely. The museum is larger than you think it is and we easily spent five hours there. Even within those five hours we felt rushed, didn’t take our time, and probably could have been there another two.
Upon arrival to the museum you check in and receive a dog tag. Throughout the museum there is a screen you boop your tag onto to interactive with. Displayed is a bunch of different stories from people in video format, and has artifacts and maps to engage with. Along the way certain areas tell you the story of your person on your dog tag. I followed the story of Geri Nyman, Women Airforce Service Pilot and he had Ernie Pyle Journalist.
Go aboard the Steamboat Natchez or sister vessel Riverboat to explore the Mississippi River while listening to jazz music. This iconic steamboat is everything you had envisioned with it’s charm and feeling like you entered an era frozen in time. Pick a seat outside and sit in the moment, basking in the view going down river. Lunch or dinner buffet is an option that can be included in your ticket purchase. There is a bar on each level to purchase beverages as well.
Louisiana Tour Company Oak Alley Plantation and Large Airboat:
The main reason we booked specifically with this tour company is because they provide transportation, pick up and drop off. We normally stay at Airbnbs, so they arranged transportation to the closest hotel they pick up from. Our first stop was to the plantation and then after was the swamp tour.
Oak Alley is a historic site that is preserving its plantation memory of being a sugar plantation, abandoned investment property, cattle ranch, and more. Among entrance the grounds are striking and the live oaks are breath taking. There is a self-guided slavery exhibit focusing on some individuals who were owned and kept on the plantation, their lives and living conditions.
The “big house” requires a ticket for a tour that runs every fifteen minutes. You are take through different rooms of the house, how the house changed through the many owners, and both perspectives of the owner life and slave life are given.
Swamp Tour Large Airboat:
Depending on the package you picked you would ride the tour boat with a roof or an airboat that has the giant fan on the back propelling you forward. You are taken through diverse ecosystems while encountering wild life in swamp, lake, and marsh. The ride itself on the airboat with your headphones on, the rush of the wind pushing against your face, and the stunning scenery passing you leaves you astounded. At one point we were “surrounded” by four alligator just chilling and peaked curiosity like big cats in the water.
The Great American Alligator Museum:
We stumbled onto this museum just walking around Magazine Street and this was a cute little find. Being in New Orleans, this place just felt right. Ya know, something about alligators. You walk into a little shop with all alligator themed items and entrance to the museum is donation based. The museum has an assorted memorabilia stretching from fashion, commerce, travel and leisure, ancient lore, home items, and quirky knick-knacks.
If you want to get a taste of Mardi Gras, this is the place to make a stop. You get to learn a little history about the holiday, how the parades are organized by social clubs krewes, and get to see floats and props up close. It’s location is a bit out of the way from the French Quarter, but they offer a free shuttle! Yes, you call a phone number, they tell you were the closet pick up location is (only available on Canal Street), and then a shuttle comes to get you. You can take the same shuttle to be dropped off back to Canal Street.
The Sazerac House offers a complimentary tour through their three floors. Floor one is the gift shop and distillery. The smell of the rye aroma definitely had all of us craving rye bread. Their gift shop had a nice selection of their bottles to purchase, as well as tools of the trade, and typical items like glasses and shirts.
Floors two and three take you the history of the company, ownership, and offers you small samples to explore pairings of their spirits. One bar tender had great knowledge of the city, drinks, and where we should go! We ended up going to the Bar Tonique to try their Ramos Gin Fizz because of him.
Our next blog posts will talk about New Orleans beignets, food, and drinks. Be on the look out.
Capsule Customs Travel 