Culture. History. Ghosts. Beignets. Cobblestone Streets. These are all words that can describe NOLA. It's a wonderful city full of life, color and flavors. Chuck and I went there along with our friends Becky and Freddy, whom we have decided it would be a grand idea to go on a vacation with them once a year. Becky has always loved the French culture, Freddy loves a good cocktail, Chuck was itching to go on Bourbon street and I've always wanted to go on a Swamp Tour in the Louisiana Bayou. We were able to experience all of these things together and it was a blast! Every single food item we tasted was so filled with flavor and spice. If you don't have any other reason to go to New Orleans, go for the food. It's simply incredible. While there we also went and visited the Garden District where we visited one of the many above ground cemeteries. It's so wild that they can't bury bodies underground because of how high the sea levels are. The homes in the Garden District were so picturesque and straight out of Spain. It was like we were walking in a completely different country the way the homes and neighborhood were all designed. Our last night in town brought us to The Commander's Palace, which was a lovely night of dining out. I tasted my new favorite cocktail: Lavender Lemongrass Vodka Collins. It's was light, floraly and simply delicious. I think I'll need to make my own version of it this summer!
Our first stop when we got into town was Cafe Dumont. They are known for their famous beignets and for good reason. Fresh out of the friers and piled high with powdered sugar, they paired nicely with the Chicory coffee. In the evening of our second day, we decided it would be a fun activity to go on a Ghost Tour. We learned from our very knowledgable tour guide that New Orleans is considered the most haunted city in America and for good reason too! Listening to the countless stories of how fires burned down the town, how slaves were mistreated and how yellow fever nearly killed 30% of the town a couple hundred years ago.