LAISSEZ LES BONS TEMPS ROULER

New Orleans, LA
June 2-3, 2012

Laissez les bons temps rouler. Let the good times roll. 

Nothing sweeter can be said as you head to New Orleans, Louisiana. And let the good times roll I most certainly did.

The beginning of May marked the culmination of my very first stint as a musical director. I tallied up hours upon hours of rehearsals, uncountable late nights at my piano, and months of preparation. Needless to say, by the time the performances rolled around, I was exhausted and ready for a vacation. And an invitation to a wedding in Miriam’s hometown of New Orleans was the perfect excuse I needed to get away.

Miriam booked her flight to NOLA (New Orleans, LA, for those of you who couldn't figure that out) in the spring, but I held out, unsure if I could afford to go. I had to travel to Wisconsin twice in June and was invited to a total of five summer weddings, so I had to figure out if NOLA was in the cards for me. 

When looking at flights to Wisconsin I was floored at the ridiculously expensive prices. Not only that, but both legs of my trip would have two layovers. Two layovers?! Forget about it! And those prices were basically screaming, “You ain't goin' to New AWlins!” There was no way I could afford a flight to New Orleans plus two outrageously priced flights to Wisconsin (let me put it this way, I flew to Europe for roughly the same price as one of the Wisconsin flights). For fun, I tried a multi-city flight, going from NYC to NOLA to WI and back to NYC. For $80 more than the original NYC-WI flight I could fly to New Orleans AND Wisconsin and only have one layover per leg. Sold! I picked out a flight that had me landing in NOLA around the same time as Miriam (she was flying a different airline) and leaving NOLA around the same time as Miriam—that way her parents, who were graciously chauffeuring us, would have fewer trips to make to the airport. 

Sidewalk street sign

We landed in New Orleans really late on Friday, and our butts fell right into bed. The next morning we woke up and headed out shopping right away, needing clutches to go with our evening gowns. Our first stop was Magazine, a street known for its chic shops. While it was fun to look around, nothing was really in our price range. We eventually found appropriate clutches at Stein Mart, a discount department store on Tchoupitoulas (go ahead and try to say it...). 

I was fading fast from the traveling and lack of sleep, so Miriam dropped me off at the house for a nap while she went to get a mani/pedi for the wedding that evening. (By the way, you pronounce that street name like this: chop-Ih-too-luhs.)

When I awoke from my nap, it was time to get ready for the wedding. The ceremony was taking place at the Westin hotel in the French Quarter, and the bride, Alexa, was a childhood friend of Miriam’s. The hotel was a gorgeous venue-- its lobby had two story windows sweeping across the building, providing a grand view of the Quarter, the levee, and the Mississippi River.

Mardi Gras bead dogs to benefit ASPCA

The wedding was an intimate affair, and the ceremony was short and sweet. During the cocktail hour Miriam caught up with a bunch of old classmates whom she hadn't seen in years. We came to discover we were all sitting together at the same dinner table, so we had a very entertaining evening.

At one point we all abandoned the free cocktail bar to go in search of vodka shots so we could mix them with pop rocks (entertaining idea), yet, strangely enough, none of the bartenders in the hotel had shot glasses nor knew how to make a proper vodka shot! (The bartender handed us all warm vodka...um, ew.) 

We then proceeded to have a lot of fun with the wedding photo booth, where we got to act all goofy for the benefit of the bride and groom. I have decided that if/when I get married, I, too, shall have a photo booth at my reception. I love people acting fun and crazy!

The evening ended fairly early (around 11 pm), so we headed back to Miriam’s parents’ house and called it a night.

Photo Booth!

Since we got to bed much earlier than expected, we were able to get up nice and early so we could workout at Audubon Park before it got too hot and muggy (New Orleans in June = HOT). Miriam planned on going for a run, while I brought my camera along and prepared for a leisurely walk around the park. It didn't take long for Miriam to disappear off in the distance and for me to stray from the path, taking photographs of the Spanish moss in the trees and the interesting waterfowl.  25 minutes later Miriam called me to find out where I was, and I discovered I had walked only a half mile away from our starting point and could still clearly see the entrance to the park from where I stood. Whoops! Totally distracted by the scenery!

Spanish Moss

After freshening up, we went with Miriam’s parents to one of her brother’s restaurants, called Crescent Pie & Sausage, for their pop-up Huevos brunch. Miriam’s brother, Jeff, owns three different pizza restaurants. The first is called The Dough Bowl, a pizza joint near Tulane University's campus that sells pizza by the slice and is hooked to a bar called The Boot. It’s the kind of pizza you’re looking for on a drunk night. Delicious. His most recent venture is called Pizzicare, another pizza-by-the-slice joint, but I’ll go into that more in the next blog. Crescent Pie & Sausage is the more high-end restaurant, serving homemade sausages and specialty pizzas, as well as amazing New Orleans fare (this restaurant was featured on the very first episode of the Food Network’s show “Heat Seekers”). When the restaurant was being built, he opened up a small brunch spot right next door, called Huevos. It was an incredibly popular brunch/lunch place, but it was too small to accommodate the demand, so he decided to close it up once Crescent Pie & Sausage opened and created the Huevos pop-up brunch on the weekends in the main restaurant.

Jena & Sarah

We decided that brunch would be a big event, and we invited our friends Sarah and Jena to join us, as well as a number of family friends, and the family that Miriam used to nanny for when they lived in New York. It was a giant party! The food was delicious and so beautiful. Definitely check this place out if ever you are in New Orleans.

After brunch we went to spend more time with Miriam’s former charges, Jadyn and Zoe, which also gave me the opportunity to see their amazing (and HUGE) house. They moved from a two-bedroom apartment in NYC to a multi-storied mansion in New Orleans. It was absolutely gorgeous!

By the time we got there, Zoe was going down for a nap, so we hung out with her older sister, Jadyn, for a while. Mimi, as she likes to call Miriam, is one of Jadyn's best friends, so getting to hang out and play with her was a big treat. I miss the phone calls I used to get when Miriam was her nanny-- she would ask to call me at my office so she could tell me about her day (and to tell me “Redrum” in a creepy demon voice. It was awesome!). 

Besties!

Later that day, we met up with Miriam’s parents to visit with their former housekeeper, Olivia. Olivia is a lady who had been through a lot of hurricanes, so when Hurricane Katrina was threatening, like other stubborn New Orleanians, she refused to evacuate. Eventually, her street flooded and she was trapped in her neighbor's house where she had to be rescued and evacuated. She tried to move back to New Orleans for a while but couldn't take care of her home, so she moved in with family out of state. Miriam lost track of her and was completely devastated, thinking she had heard the last of Olivia. But, if there’s one thing I know about Miriam and her mother, they will not go down without a fight. They contacted everyone they knew to find her, eventually talking with an employee at Olivia’s former church, who gave them the perfect lead. Olivia was back in New Orleans, living in a retirement community on the outside of town! Miriam was so excited she practically wept.  

Miriam and her parents with Olivia

Olivia was ecstatic to see all of us, even me, whom she remembered meeting a few years prior at Miriam’s niece’s birthday party. We were thrilled to see she was living in a beautiful apartment with help close at hand if she needed it. 

We had a lovely visit, in which she walked us around the apartment building and grounds, showing us the views of the lake, the little outdoor seating area, and the various public rooms in the building, all the while talking about her new life. It was a really great visit, and it made Miriam so happy to finally see her again. 

After our visit, we dropped Miriam’s dad off at home while we ladies (Miriam, her mom, and me) ventured off to get a sno-ball. If you travel to New Orleans in the spring or summer, sno-balls are mandatory, and one of the best places to get them is Plum Street. Sno-balls are along the lines of sno-cones, but the ice is ground much finer-- to the consistency of soft snow. It is then topped with the syrup of your choosing and any extra toppings you may want. My personal favorite is strawberry cheesecake cream syrup with sweetened condensed milk poured over the top. Delicious! 

It was a hot day, so what better way to top off a sno-ball than with a dip in the pool! We wanted to spend more time with our friends Jena and Sarah, and Jena's parents just happen to have a pool, so we all met there for a little pool party. It was perfect. We lounged around in the pool, drank some cold beverages, played with the puppies, and caught up on life. 

By this time brunch had finally worn off and we were ready for another meal, so we cleaned ourselves up and headed over to Parkway Bakery & Tavern for po' boys. Po' boys are another obligatory food item one must try when traveling to New Orleans. Po' boys, or poor boy sandwiches, are submarine type sandwiches made on French bread, usually consisting of some sort of meat or seafood. I've eaten po' boys at various places around New Orleans, but I must say that Parkway is my favorite. The sandwiches are really yummy, and they offer a large amount of seating, inside and out. I've now been to Parkway twice, and I wholeheartedly give it two thumbs up. (And, as they say on their website, their sandwiches are so good even President Obama has eaten there.)

After saying goodnight to the girls, Miriam and I decided to get a little taste of the Quarter the local way. When most visitors of New Orleans think of the French Quarter, they think of the debauchery on Bourbon Street, old school jazz at Preservation Hall, beignets at Cafe du Monde, or the cathedral in Jackson Square. Unbeknownst to most tourists is Frenchmen Street, home to tons of live music venues, where you can hear so many styles of jazz just by wandering down the streets.

I was first introduced to Frenchmen Street by Miriam’s brother-in-law, Daniel, during my last visit to New Orleans. Miriam was in NOLA for work, and I tagged along, knowing there would be a few nights when she’d be off at work. On one such night, Daniel offered to take me to the Quarter so I could get my much-desired daiquiri, and then we walked over to Frenchmen, where I fell head over heels in love. Not only were there live music joints every few feet with music pouring out of their open doors, but there were also impromptu bands jamming out on the sidewalks and street corners. On this particular night, a bad-ass brass band set up shop and totally had our entire crowd rocking out on the street. It was amazing.

Ever since that night I've wanted to go back to Frenchmen and experience it again, so Miriam obliged, and I had my fingers crossed that we would find some amazing street music on a Sunday night. We didn't have to go far at all! Right as we were arriving, a Cajun jazz band by the name of Loose Marbles was setting up shop. What made them Cajun, according to Miriam’s music professor father, was the use of a washboard as part of their percussion.

The Loose Marbles

Me and part of the street crowd

They were so fun to listen to that we ended up camping out on the sidewalk for their entire 30-minute set. At the end we even dropped $20 in their tip bucket and picked up one of their CD's  This was exactly what I was hoping to find on Frenchmen!

After the Loose Marbles finished up we ventured down the rest of Frenchmen, stopping in doorways to check out who was playing in the various bars, but nothing could top the experience of sitting out on the sidewalk and watching the music wash over everyone who came upon it.

It was certainly the perfect way to end the day.