Nola Day 2

Day 2 of being in NOLA was pretty adventurous. The rainy season had started so that mean any walking was going to be difficult.

Since we were in an interior room we had no idea that is was pouring until we actually went downstairs and got outside. Fortunately New Orleans streets have a ton of canopies over the sidewalk so we were able to get to a nearby PJ's coffee. We had planned on trying to get to Cafe Du Monde, but there was no feasible route as crossing Canal Street (a major road) would have had a soaked instantly.

PJ's coffee is still a great coffee shop to visit (and indoors). It is a local coffee shop with local coffee beans. If it is local that also means the breakfasts and pastries actually taste homemade. We ended up splitting a cinnamon roll (soooo cinnamon-y and I loved it) and a breakfast croissant. For ebing August it was a little chilly with the rain so I still order a hot coffee and Matt still ordered is usually iced coffee. It literally has to be freezing outside for him to want a hot one. Anyone else's spouse the same way?

We ate and drank at PJ's because it was fairly empty - even though we were on vacation we were still waking up at the usual 6am. After PJ's we headed back into the hotel for a workout before starting the day's adventures.

Like I said previously picking this hotel was a pretty 4asy decision since the gym was super versatile and most of what we would want or need while on vacation. Free weights and a few machines. Perfect.

Day of walking The French Quarter and we kept seeing this "Sugar and Spice" shops so naturally we wandered into one. They had exactly what you'd expect. Walls and counters lined with all sorts or hot sauces and salsas. Some extremely mild so ones that you had to sign a waiver for before tasting. The "sugar" came from the back corners with fresh praline and fudge. We spent quite a while sampling the salsa, sauces, and sweets. Our purchase at the end included some local sauces and a pumpkin spice hot sauce which I can't find anywhere since the sauce was made from a Jalapeno created a named Pumpkin Spice. Yes, I am a basic white girl and it was so good!

We walked out of The French Quarter and toward the Mississippi river. Along the banks there are art installations, a train that goes all the way to the Audubon Zoo and a few steamboat ports. Going on at least one of the steamboats was on our touristy list of things to do so we got tickets for the Harbour day cruise and still have a few hours to spare before it started.

Onto Jackson Square we went. We have been to this area a ton of times before, but it seems we ALWAYS fine something new in the square. The park is always a nice a walk and gives you a great view of the St. Louis Cathedral which sometimes doubles as a museum or gallery. Just in front of the cathedral you can find live musicians, fortunetellers, artists, crafters, and more. It is definitely eclectic.

Surrounding the square are small boutiques, art galleries, and souvenir shops. On this trip we discovered that each corner of the square is a restaurant. No idea why it was so obvious before. If you haven't guessed we figured out where we would be eating lunch.

🍴The Corner Oyster House🍴

Just across of Jax brewhouse here is a small sports bar restaurant so conveniently named The Corner Oyster House. This is a must if you are looking for anything and everything fried. Bonus: they have gumbo as an appetizer. We ordered their one of their Fried Seafood Platters that came with; fried catfish, fried gulf shrimp, fried popcorn shrimp, hushpuppies, toast, french fries, coleslaw, tartar sauce, and cocktail sauce. It was perfect! We paired them with local Abita Brewery beers and ate until full...which ended up being all of it. It was also a great spot for people watching, hiding out of the on and off downpour, and overall incredibly chill. I highly recommend it and can't wait until our next visit.  

After lunch it was getting close to our steamboat ride so we headed back over to the dock and just in time since the downpour picked up once again. It was quite a sight waiting for the previous boat to unload and with everyone waiting in line. We ended up just finding a seat out of the raining and waiting until the line died down some to board. The boat we choose was The Steamboat Natchez one of the few still running fully steamed paddle boats and the only steamboat in New Orleans. which I found to be such a cool thing to experience. Below you will get to see just how big the paddle actually is, however like most things, the picture does not do it justice.

The ride was about 3 hours long and took us up and down the Mississippi river. I don't fully remember how far up river we went but the view were spectacular and the rain let up the entire time so it was nice and sunny. The bloody mary on board is must a try. Probably the best one I have ever had.

The boat ride ended close to sunset so we headed back to our hotel. It is a few walking blocks so we had a lot of time to figure out what would be for dinner. Once we arrived back at the hotel we stopped at The bistro for our evening complimentary drinks and chatted with the bartender some. He suggested Willie's Chicken Shack which was just down the road and across Canal street. He had yet to lead us astray so we followed his advice and went to get dinner. Instead of eating it out we brought it back to the hotel room for some relaxing before bed.

The chicken was juicy, crispy, and not all too salty. They even had their own homemade sauces that paired wonderfully with it. The atmosphere at the actual restaurant was fun as well. Probably because it was a weekend night on Canal street in New Orleans, regardless either dine in or do take out, you won't be disappointed with it.