New Orleans Travel Diary

As I’m writing this post, I’m currently on the long (somewhat grueling) 8-hour drive back to Dallas! Akash & I just left the wonderful city of New Orleans, and thanks to the amazing invention of personal hotspots, I’m writing this post covering our trip while it’s still fresh on my mind.

This was the first time to New Orleans for both of us, so we definitely opted for the sightseeing experience rather than the Bourbon street experience. If you’re wanting to take a trip to a city where you can explore all the random nooks & crannies, New Orleans is perfect for that! We spent 4 days here, and to be totally honest, we definitely ran through our itinerary in just two. Basically what I’m trying to say is that there’s not a TON to see, so if you’re not wanting to do a ton of walking & exploring, NOLA might not be your favorite spot.

With that said, let’s jump into all the fun things we did and saw on our trip!

Day 1

We got up at 5 AM (ugh) on Sunday, and embarked on our 7 hour drive to Louisiana! The drive really wasn’t that bad- given, I slept for a large part of it (sorry, Akash.) Our first stop upon arriving in the city was walking around the French Quarter before our 4pm check-in at our AirBnb. We had to pay $20 for 2-hour parking which kind of sucked, but we had a good time walking around the French Quarter.

The #1 thing on my list for our trip to New Orleans was to try beignets- I’ve seen everyone and their mother post about these on Instagram, so I was dying to try them myself! We made our way over to Cafe du Monde, and stayed in line for a good 5 minutes before realizing that it would probably take a good 2 hours to make it through the line. I had heard a lot of good things about Cafe Beignet, and it was right down the street so we made our way over.

The wait at Cafe Beignet was only 10-20 minutes, and all of the staff there was so nice! Needless to say, we enjoyed our little snack.

After Cafe Beignet, we spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around the French Quarter, and taking some fun pictures.

4m rolled around, and we eventually headed over to our AirBnb. I shared the place we were staying on my Insta stories, and got a ton of questions asking about where we stayed, if we liked it, what neighborhood we were in, etc., so I decided to go ahead and link it for you guys in case anyone else is wanting to visit the city & is looking for a place to stay.

Akash & I both loved the place that we stayed at- it was extremely clean, beautifully decorated, in a safe neighborhood, and perfect for a couple visiting the city. The only thing I can say is that I do wish it was a little closer to the French Quarter- driving over to the French Quarter took on average 15 minutes; 30 minutes with traffic. Other than that, we both had such a great first experience using AirBnb.

If any of you are visiting New Orleans anytime soon, I’ve linked the place here– definitely check it out!

After settling into our room, we headed out for dinner at Parkway Bakery & Tavern for some po-boys. I actually got a ton of recommendations from you guys on my Instagram to stop by for their po-boys, and they definitely didn’t disappoint! I ordered the golden shrimp and Akash got the roast beef; he didn’t like his too much, but I devoured mine in a matter of minutes. We also tried their ice cream sandwiches, which were alright- they advertise them as homemade, but they were packaged like any other ice cream sandwiches you could find at a Walmart. In my personal opinion, not worth the $4.50 each that we paid.

Day 2

I actually had an interview for an internship I’m applying to for this summer on Monday morning, so the majority of this morning was taken up for that. After my interview, though, we headed out for my favorite meal- brunch!! Per your recommendations again (can you tell the trend here?) Akash & I had a delicious brunch at the Ruby Slipper Cafe in Uptown. This one tops the list as my favorite meal that I had while in New Orleans. I’ve been to a ton of brunch places (breakfast/brunch food is my FAVE) but this one definitely makes the list of my all-time favorite brunch spots! Akash & I both ordered the Chicken St. Charles, and it was to die for. Seriously thinking about it now is making my mouth water, haha.

After brunch, we wandered around the area into Harrah’s and the Shops at Canal Place. I always find it funny how no matter where we go we always somehow end up at a mall. We spent a little while wandering in the shopping center, and then headed back into the French Quarter. We spent a while just strolling around Bourbon Street, appreciating all of the pretty architecture that we don’t see much of back in Dallas.

We also paid a visit to Jackson Square, and went inside the cathedral as well. At this point I was dying to see what the hype over Cafe du Monde was all about- every single time we passed the Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter, the line was about a mile long! I checked my GPS and discovered there were actually multiple locations, one being just a mile away, so Akash & I made our way to the Cafe du Monde at the Riverwalk Outlets. It was a little bit of a longer walk, but you can actually go by the riverside and it’s a super relaxing & scenic walk. The weather was just bright enough for some fun pictures but a little breezy, so we were comfortable.

By the time that we had walked around the whole area by the riverwalk, Akash & I were both exhausted, so we headed back to the neighborhood where we were staying. We found this little pizza place called Reginelli’s, and then we headed straight home.

Day 3/4

Day 3 & 4 were pretty uneventful- we basically went back for more beignets like 3 times, and spent a little bit of time browsing the shopping centers in the city. On Tuesday, though, we did get a chance to stop by Dat Dog for some amazinggg hot dogs!

Later that day, we also swung by District Donuts. For all my Texas girls- it’s a lot like Gourdough’s, but (to be very honest) not as good. My expectations for this place were pretty high, and it wasn’t as good as I thought it’d be. I ordered the Berries & Cream donut, and Akash got the Cookies & Milk.

On our last day in New Orleans, Akash & I finally got to stop by this brunch place that I’d heard so much about- Surrey’s Care & Juice Bar. As you can pretty much see in this post, Akash & I aren’t crazy about Cajun food… but when we came here, I had heard so much about their amazing shrimp & grits, so I decided to give it a try. Y’all- IT. WAS. SO. GOOD. We also got their apple juice to try, and that was amaze-balls too. If you’re in the area, this place is a must-try!

Whew- that’s it for part 1 of my New Orleans travel diary! Congrats to all of you who made it to the end! 🙂