Or in other words...from stately homes and mansions to crowds of people dancing and playing music in the streets.
Free Walking Tours - Highly Recommend
While looking into tours we could do in the area - we were delighted by all the options! Ghost tours, food tours, voodoo tours, French Quarter tours, Garden District tours, music tours, swamp tours, etc. An area so rich in history and culture - but we do have a budget to consider so how could we take them all? We decided to look into self guided tours - and that is how we discovered https://freetoursbyfoot.com/new-orleans-tours/. It says "free" in the title but they ask you to pay what you can and many tours include a reservation fee of ~$5.00. This was still so much better than the $30.00 tours we were finding. And they offered all the tours we were interested in! So we set out on Saturday to make the 1:30pm walking tour of the Garden District.
Always Park in the Garden District
We arrived early in order to secure parking and get our bearings before the tour was beginning. Lo and behold, the Garden District had so much free parking! And truth be told, it felt the safest and most secure of all the other areas we had been in - not that we had ever been worried, but we have seen many run down areas in New Orleans since we have been here. We were delighted by the free spot right next to where the tour would start, and we decided to walk around since we were a few hours early.
Local Grocer
This deserves its own section, we walked into a grocery store called Fresh Market and became nostalgic for our local grocery store Wegmans. This store felt fresher and the produce looked immaculate, as opposed to the other stores we had found nearby our campground (I'm talking about you Walmart and Winn Dixie). Here I saw a lot of King Cakes for sale - something I had never heard of and was surprised to see so many of. They were branded as a Mardi Gras staple and I became very curious. I did not get one, since they were pricey but maybe I will in the next few weeks!
Oops...But it All Worked Out!
As we neared the car, Nate asked about if we had a reservation, so I thought I should look into that. Well I did, and the 1:30 tour had been fully booked. It was about 12:30 at this time and we decided we were already there so how hard could it be to find our own information about the neighborhood? Turns out it was super easy, barely an inconvenience! We found an audio tour for $3.00 that we purchased and set out on right away. We were actually pleased that we spent less money then the $5.00 it would have been for the other tour, and we got to start sooner and go at our own pace.
Onwards!!
We set out to follow the directions of our walking tour, along the way we felt as though we were geocashing. The audio guide would direct us how many blocks to walk, and which direction to turn. We did often find ourselves rewinding what the guide said to hear these instructions again since as we would walk a block or two, we would forget what direction the guide said to turn.
The houses here are not only beautiful to behold, but rich in history. This was a very residential neighborhood, so we made sure to use the restrooms at the very start. And with Mardi Gras a month away, many homes were decorated for the occasion!
Tour Highlights
We saw the house the Manning brothers grew up in - and learned that Peyton and Eli Manning are the children of Archie Manning, the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints from 1971-1982. Actress Sandra Bullock and actor John Goodman also had homes we stopped at along the tour.
We saw many houses that had been used for various films and shows - like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or Django Unchained. For me, I recognized the set of American Horror Story - it was at the biggest estate in the entire Garden District. American Horror Story, is a TV series where each season is a different spooky setting/story and the actors play different characters as the setting changes. The only season I watched of this show was called "Coven" about a coven of witches in modern day New Orleans (living in the house we saw) - and how their stories intertwine with the lore of Madame LaLaurie, serial killer/torturer of her slaves, and Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen. Many of the ghost tours here advertise these two historic ladies, so we will learn more about them we go on one of those!
On the left is the film location of Django, on the right is the film site of American Horror Story: Coven. The latter is the largest property in the entire district - from the front it might look about the same but from the side it goes back much further than any other estate we saw.
We enjoyed the live oaks lining the sidewalks - just make sure you watch your step! The roots of these trees grow into the sidewalks, pushing the bricks or cement up, out of place (as seen in the picture).
If you look up into their branches, you'll see hanging Mardi Gras beads from past parades! I tried to count them at first but gave up quickly because there were so many and there was so much else to look at along the street.
The cemetery was also nearby, and they do not look like the ones we have in New York. If you don't like gross things - skip to the next paragraph! We learned a New Orleans burial has 2 parts, the first being when a body is placed inside the structure. Then, because the heat is so intense here, bodies will decompose much faster than if they are in the ground, thus a tomb is not allowed to be opened for at least another year after a burial has taken place in it. When the year is up, the bones are moved into a lower compartment of the tomb.
The cemetery was closed even though the internet told us it would be open. We took this video by sticking the phone inside of the giant gate. You can hear the audio guide on my phone telling us about the place.
Train? Bus? Streetcar!
After completing our self guided tour at our own pace, we wanted to hang out in the French Quarter. We decided to leave our car in the free parking and take the street car. These street cars had been built in the 1920s, track had been placed down and now these cars ran between the different New Orleans districts - a fun mix between a train and a bus! We learned it was $1.25 to ride, but the conductor just waved us on since the machine was broken. So we rode about 20 minutes in the crowded but still enjoyable car.
The Carousal
We hopped off and remembered someone had advised us to see a bar in a hotel called the "Carousal" so we looked up the way and went! We passed a few panhandlers and found a hotel with very fancy dressed up people going in and out. Feeling extremely underdressed, we ventured inside anyway and followed signs to the Carousal. We walked right up to what looked like a merry-go-round - with the bar in the middle and chairs decorated in a carousal style way. It was beautiful and to add to that - the chairs SPIN around the bar! Like....a CAROUSAL! All the guests were in their seats just slowly moving around the center of the bar, their view slowly changing all the time. We took a look at the menu, had a good laugh about the prices, and went on our way (it was about $20 for a beverage).
All our pictures were very dark so I found this at https://www.cntraveler.com/bars/new-orleans/new-orleans/the-carousel-bar-and-lounge - just imagine those chairs spinning around slowly. And see how pretty the back of each chair is!!
Louis Armstrong Park
We walked to a huge gated park - well all the parks in the city seem to be gated - and ventured in to find stunning views of art and nature alike. We passed signs explaining this was known as Congo Square - where slaves had come every week to meet and dance together. A wide water way went through the park, and birds were swimming or sitting nearby. Bridges went over the water, and cypress and oak trees were all around. We took a ton of pictures and just took it all in, but the park does close at 6 so we had to head back out.
Hungry but How to Choose a Place?
All this walking made us hungry! We always bring snacks with us when we head out but we had eaten them all after the Garden District tour so now it was time to look for dinner. We walked around Bourbon Street, just reading the deals and following our noses (but mostly reading the deals), until we saw a place we liked! $3 beverages and hamburgers/loaded baked potatoes? Yes please!
We sat right at the bar and there was a couple enjoying their meal next to us. The worker was friendly (and also named Amanda) and we saw a combo for a hamburger AND a baked potato - how perfect! So we split one order of that. The food was crazy good and we ended up talking to every person who came and sat near us. The couple next to us also had a pair of cats, one black and one tuxedo - just like Luna and Lucy! We laughed about it, told each other about our journeys, then when we got up to leave - they asked us if we wanted to keep hanging out.
The More The Merrier
So just like that, we had new friends - Andrew and Alix! Andrew was from Texas, and Alix from London and they were not familiar with the French Quarter. Well, for Nate and I, this was our second outing here - so we were basically experts right? I told them to call me Tour Guide Amanda and I'd show them the coolest parts. If you read the Parade Night post - then this will sound familiar.
Alix wanted beignets, so I headed straight for Cafe Du Monde, the only food they serve is beignets and we had encountered such friendly staff last time! We told them that our waiter Ryan had been so cool and actually joined our table towards the end of the night to sit and chat with us. On the way there, we passed where we had stood for the parade and told them about Joan of Arc. We passed the St. Louis Cathedral, and walked into the restaurant to find a seat. 2 orders of beignets and 4 coffees later, who walked by us - but our old waiter Ryan!! And he remembered us! We laughed and were happy to see each other again but he was much busier so after we ate out beignets, Alix wanted to see the river so I showed them how to get there.
Sitting on the banks of the Mississippi at night we saw those big river boats going by with all their lights on.
We all set back out towards Bourbon Street, and found a crowd in the middle of the road dancing to a DJ playing Wobble. As we walked down the street, we encountered more live performances and we would always stop to watch a little before continuing down. If it wasn't obvious, no cars are allowed to drive down Bourbon Street, the road is so thick with people.
Many buildings had balconies on the second stories and those were also packed with party people dancing and shouting down to those on the street. Some were throwing beads - I had only just learned of the famous Mardi Gras bead throwing procedure but thought surely it's not actually like that. Wrong. It is exactly like that. And we saw a dude get some beads and a girl get some beads that night. Alix and I knew we would not be getting beads then unless someone had a really bad throwing arm.
Street performers with interesting instruments. I really wonder how these people find each other to form these groups and make this music. There is a banjo in the middle of them.
More street performers with drums!
Legs Falling Off
After the Garden District walking tour, and walking all over the French Quarter, my legs were ready for bed. We were having so much fun with Alix and Andrew who were leaving New Orleans the next day but it was time to say goodnight. I wasn't sure if streetcars would still be running at midnight but they were, just less frequently. So we said our goodbyes and hopped on one heading to the Garden District. We found the car safe and sound and drove back to the sleeping cats who immediately woke up and demanded dinner.
Legs Fall Off
Ok I do still have my legs but the next day we had to cancel all our plans to watch the playoffs in the city on account of we could not move. By Monday, our legs were much improved and walking wasn't as painful but we learned we should be careful about overexerting ourselves. There are still lots of fun walking tours we want to go on!
Lessons Learned
The walking lesson was important but that wasn't all we learned from this. ALWAYS park in the Garden District if parking isn't free anywhere else! We paid $11.50 for parking last week in the French Quarter until it was free after 7, but the streetcar is fun and $1.25 each. The Garden District is also not even a little bit sketchy whereas every other part of New Orleans we have encountered can be from time to time, so we would prefer to leave the car in a place with 0 sketchy people anyway. Parking in New Orleans is generally more like $15-$20 though, which we feel is a lot of money and refuse to pay from now on.
All in all, the Garden District was well worth the visit! The architecture, Mardi Gras decorations, and history are so cool. Louis Armstrong park at sunset was awesome, the street cars are a fun way to get around, and Bourbon Street is where you'll find great people, music, and food. Just another night that made us so glad we were here a whole month.
Let me know if you have any questions, remarks or advice!
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