• About
  • Littles
    • Girls’ Room Decor
    • Pregnancy
  • Parties
  • Home
    • Our Playroom Sources
    • Spring Home Favorites
  • Travel
    • Columbus City Guide
  • Style
    • Shop My Instagram
    • Madewell New Arrivals
    • Beauty
      • Current Makeup Routine
  • Shop My LTK
  • Instagram
  • girl about Ohio
    • Local Columbus Blogs

girl about columbus

Ohio-based Lifestyle, Home, and Travel Blog by Amanda Hamman

Learn, Live, Travel · February 4, 2015

Travel: New Orleans

This past October, I jumped at the chance to fly south to New Orleans to see a couple of my best friends for the weekend! My BFF, Katy, actually lives in New Orleans for work plus it was her birthday! Brit and I let her take the reigns with planning the weekend: First up – a short hour drive from NOLA to the beautifully historic Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, Louisana, right on the Mississippi River.

oak-alley-plantation-louisiana

While living in Charleston, South Carolina for a couple of years, I toured a few area plantations. But I’ve never seen anything like this Oak Alley… well except for in the movies + videos (Django Unchained and Beyonce’s Deja Vu video to name a just a couple). It was the most picturesque plantation I’ve ever seen. The alley of oaks leading from the “Big House” to the Mississippi River steals the show.

southern-plantation

historical-southern-plantation

A lil’ bit of history (which I always love): In the 1800’s, the southern River Region sugar industry was thriving and a ton of amazing plantations neighbored the Mississippi (FYI, in the above photo, the River lies just on the other side of that bank at the end of the alley of oaks). A lot of them did not withstand the test of time but I can attest to the fact that Oak Alley surely did.

historical-southern-plantation

oak-alley-plantation-louisiana

Bonus points? Yep, they sold all kinds of southern-inspired drinks like Hurricanes and Mint Juleps at the restaurant/bar on the grounds. We all took in the grounds while leisurely sipping our cocktails in the hot Louisiana sun. Oh and we also had a tour of the inside of the home! We were off to a great start to the weekend. 🙂

oak-alley-plantation-louisiana

After seeing much of the bayou and returning to downtown New Orleans, where we were staying, we got ready for the night’s festivities: Katy’s birthday celebration! We had an amaaaazing dinner at SoBou, the W New Orleans French Quarter‘s restaurant. sobou-restaurant-new-orleans

SoBou (South of Bourbon) specializes in Louisiana Street Food-Inspired small plates. The sweet potato beignets were a winner in my book. sobou-new-orleans

sobou-new-orleans

Following a few glasses of wine + champagne, we headed out on the town. Bourbon Street was first on the list. Now, this really isn’t my kinda scene but it’s definitely something to see WINO (when in New Orleans).

IMG_0880

Bourbon street is insane! The open container laws, or lack of, definitely help to make this street one of the craziest (and dirty as a result) party scenes out there. bourbon-street-new-orleans

After awhile, we decided to head to Frenchmen Street. I had been to New Orleans before a few years ago and I remember loving Frenchmen. The music scene is just something out of a movie. We hung out at the quintessential jazz club, The Spotted Cat aka “The Cat”. This place is small but packs a punch. I love it. The music is another level and takes me back in time.

spotted-cat-new-orleans

On Sunday morning, we attempted to have breakfast/brunch at the infamous Cafe Du Monde but as expected, the line was just a bit too long for our hunger level. We decided to stop in later that day, not during peak hours.

cafe-du-monde-new-orleans-louisiana

Next stop: St. Louis Cathedral, across the street from the Cafe. This Cathedral is stunning and historic, overlooking Jackson Square. It’s actually the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States. st-louis-cathedral-new-orleans-louisiana

st-louis-cathedral-new-orleans-louisiana

Oh, and, in the front, there’s General Andrew Jackson on his bronze horse! A pretty cool statue.

st-louis-cathedral-new-orleans-louisiana

We spent the next half an hour perusing around the city looking for a good place to stop in for food and possibly a drink (by this time, it was definitely lunch hour). The NOLA architecture is obviously beautiful. Plus, Jackson Square was boasting some seriously colorful art.new-orleans-louisana-architecture

new-orlean-louisiana-architecturenew-orleans

new-orleans-art

new-orleans-trip

new-orleans

We stumbled upon the historic Pat O’Brien’s for lunch. This was a must-see for me on this trip because I never visited this historic on my last trip. Plus, a few years ago, my mom gave me her souvenir glass from Pat O’s from when she visited when she was my age.
pat-obriens

Pat O’s history is pretty cool. This bar was converted from a speakeasy after the prohibition in 1933. Then in the mid 1940’s, the Hurricane Drink was invented because liquor was in short supply but rum was very available for purchase from the river. History has it that bar owners had to buy at 50+ cases of rum before they could buy other liquors. So, the Hurricane was invented with the plethora of available rum. The food was decent, we were able to sit outside, and Brit and I tried their infamous Hurricane drink and got our glass. Personal mission accomplished.pat-obriens-hurricanes

We explored the city the rest of the day and later that evening, we decided to go out for a low-key, classic New Orleans meal at Royal House Oyster Bar. I had the crawfish ravioli which was excellent. I loved this restaurant because we sat upstairs by the patio by an open-air window/door (pictured below). You know I’m going to share a bit of history, right? So, supposedly Royal House used to be the residence of the Tortorici family. They opened a café on the first level, then the entire building became a popular Italian restaurant, Tortorici’s. It became the fourth longest running restaurant in the French Quarter. Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra were regulars at Tortorici’s. So cool. After surviving Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, it switched ownership and this restaurant became Royal House. new-orleans-architecture

I love how all the street names are ceramic tile with blue letters on the sidewalks… On Royal Street…royal-street-sign-new-orleans

After dinner at Royal House, we decided to hit up the super-popular Café du Monde for some of their famous beignets and coffee (well, decaf for us given the time). We figured we would beat the crowds going at about 9PM on a Sunday night. We didn’t have to wait but the place was still packed! cafe-du-monde-new-orleans

The Original Café du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Wondering what a beignet is? It’s a square French -style doughnut, covered with powdered sugar, pictured below. The beignets are delicious as was their coffee. You MUST stop in here when in NOLA.IMG_0957

cafe-du-monde-new-orleans

After dinner we walked around a bit and even caught a glimpse of Angelina and Brad’s home on Governor Nicholls Street, just off of Decatur. We were surprised to see that the home is up for sale! Soooo, if anyone’s interested in moving to New Orleans… angelina-jolie-brad-pitt-house-new-orleans-cafe-beignet

Successful trip. Until next time, New Orleans…girl_about_columbus_blog

You can follow more of my adventures via my Instagram, @girlaboutcolumbus!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr

Posted In: Learn, Live, Travel · Tagged: cafe du monde, new orleans, plantation, Southern, travel

You’ll Also Love

24 Hours in Cleveland
Our Anna Maria Island Family Vacation
destination-donuts-amiAnna Maria / Bradenton: Where We Stayed, What We Did, & Where We Ate!

Comments

  1. WhatWouldVWear says

    February 4, 2015 at 10:18 am

    This is perfection! New Orleans is one of my fave places ever! Thanks for sharing!! Love following your blog!
    Happy Wednesday!
    xoxo, Vanessa
    http://www.whatwouldvwear.net

    Reply
  2. Whitney says

    February 6, 2015 at 11:32 am

    NOLA is one of my favorite cities. I’m really hoping to go back for my 30th this summer. We have a lot of family history in Louisiana, and family that still lived in New Orleans until Katrina. I LOVE Oak Alley, Destrehan and the Laura plantations. San Francisco is also another favorite. Cafe du Monde is just the BEST. I wore dark pants that morning and everywhere we went the rest of the day people knew I’d been there from all the powdered sugar on my legs!!!

    Reply
  3. Alley M says

    February 8, 2015 at 7:47 pm

    We stayed in a bed & breakfast by the French Quarter in NOLA a few years ago and did a lot of the same things! One thing about NOLA is you have to be comfortable with bugs that you’re not used to seeing in Ohio. Now that there are cheap flights to NOLA from Rickenbacker, we may have to do a spontaneous trip to visit again soon. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Next Post >

GAC’s February Wants

WELCOME!

WELCOME!

Hi! I'm so happy you're here!

Archives

Categories

Reader Favorites

  • Baby Essentials: The First 2 Weeks Baby Essentials: The First Two Weeks
  • 2020 Drivable Ohio Holiday Lights Trail
  • How to Make a Boo Basket for Halloween
  • View girlaboutcolumbus’s profile on Facebook
  • View girlaboutcbus’s profile on Twitter
  • View amandamhamman’s profile on Instagram
  • View amandahamman’s profile on Pinterest
  • View girlaboutcolumbus’s profile on YouTube

Trending Now

  • Encanto Party Inspiration
  • Ellie’s Disneyland Birthday Party
  • Baby Essentials: The First 2 Weeks Baby Essentials: The First Two Weeks
  • Ava’s Unicorn Birthday Party

Latest on Instagram

💕💕💕 Want a chance to win a $529 College S 💕💕💕 Want a chance to win a $529 College Savings Award? Keep reading! 💕💕💕

To celebrate 529 Day - the annual holiday to discuss and recognize the importance of saving for higher education - I'm teaming up with @Ohio529 and some other content creators across the state to give away a $529 College Savings Award. 🙌🏻Visit the link in my stories (www.collegeadvantage.com/529Day) today through May 29 to enter - make sure to tell them I sent you! 🤍 You can enter once per day, per email address. After you enter, comment below on your favorite tip for saving money for your children's future! 💰 Giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, May 29. One winner will be selected at random. 

By entering, individuals confirm they are 18+ years of age and a resident of Ohio. Employees, independent contractors, and agents of Ohio Tuition Trust Authority, the Ohio Department of Higher Education, Fahlgren Mortine and their immediate family members (as well as ours) are ineligible to participate in the giveaway. This giveaway is in no way sponsored, administered or affiliated with Instagram. 

Visit www.collegeadvantage.com/529Day for complete rules.
Ellie’s Encanto Cake 🌸🐆✨ Forgot to share Ellie’s Encanto Cake 🌸🐆✨ Forgot to share these so here we are! I just bought a plain white cake & decorated with the figurines & succulents! 🤍 Nearly everything is linked via the link in my profile 🙌🏻 Also- If you need bday inspo & would like for me to put together an inspiration board for you, leave a comment, below! 🌸 #encantoparty #encantocake #encantobirthday
Cincinnati Photo Dump 🌸✨// We had so much fun Cincinnati Photo Dump 🌸✨// We had so much fun on our little one-day getaway! 🙌🏻 If we would've had more time, we could've visited Miami... my alma mater! 🤍 You guys know I love supporting @ohio529 for higher education. This past year, I've learned so much & I want to share with you all... did you know: 
1.) All you need is $25 to start or add to your Ohio's 529 plan.
2.) Your Ohio's 529 plan be used NATIONWIDE - not just for Ohio schools.
3.) Your Ohio's 529 doesn't just cover tuition - you can use it on any qualified expense, like room & board, books, computers, internet services, mandatory fees and MUCH more.
4.) 529 plans aren't just for 4-year colleges. Ohio's 529 can be used at ANY type of school - whether that's a 4-year college, trade and tech schools, certificate programs, apprenticeships and more.
5.) There are SO many tax benefits - ALL earnings, including interest, grow tax-free, 529 plan withdrawals are tax-free when used for qualified higher education expenses, and you can deduct your contributions from their Ohio taxable income, up to $4K per year, per beneficiary.
Encanto Party Inspo: The Kids’ Table 🌸🐆✨ Encanto Party Inspo: The Kids’ Table 🌸🐆✨I found the perfect plates from @ellieandpiperco , garlands from @pearlandjane , & cookies from @royallyiced 🤍🙌🏻 I linked as much as I could in my profile 🥰 #encanto #encantoparty #encantobirthday
Encanto Party Details: The Treats table 🌸🐆✨ 
Cookies: @royallyiced 
Garlands: @pearlandjane 
Party supplies: @ellieandpiperco 
Cake topper: @fancyfreefinery 
Tablecloth: @hobbylobby 
Backdrop: @glamfete 

#encanto #encantoparty #encantocake #encantobirthday
1 more day! 🙌🏻 Anyone else feel like Easter 1 more day! 🙌🏻 Anyone else feel like Easter has snuck up on us?! 🐰 Painting eggs today w the girls! I almost forgot ☺️ #easter #happyeaster #easterweekend
Easter Playroom Inspo! 🐰 I added my new @hunnyp Easter Playroom Inspo! 🐰 I added my new @hunnyprints banner to change up the space! Everything else is tagged 🤍

Check out my friends below and their Easter-themed play spaces too! 🐰🥕🌸

@ashleymurphyfamily
@kelseyeasterling 
@theshowgals 
@mrs.isabella.little 
@petitelittleseveryday 
@amandaescoe 
@amandamhamman
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 girl about columbus · Theme by 17th Avenue