This time my trip was to New Orleans Louisiana to visit one of my best best best friends at Tulane University. I was super pumped about going to Nola because I had heard it was such a unique city and it totally was! There are so many different cultures in one city! My flight was at 6:10 am so I had to wake up at 3:30 am! I am so not a morning person. I got to the airport at 4:20 am. I was super nervous about my first independent flight! But thankfully, the Philadelphia airport is idiot proof! Literally. Thank God, or I would have probably ended up on a flight to Cleveland...and no one wants to go there. Mark Twain even said, "In America, there is New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco. Everywhere else is Cleveland."
So Flight #1...I lucked out and did not have a seat buddy. I did however have the privilege of sitting across from Elvis' Two Biggest Fans! Literally, these people wore black t-shirts emblazoned with Elvis' lip curling smiling face. Thank you, Thank you very much! (My personal favorite Elvis is Uncle Jesse) No, there King of Rock paraphernalia did NOT stop there! The husband had an Elvis belt buckle and jeans on. Priscilla wore black capris with Elvis' face on the right thigh. She also had a Elvis and rhine stone carry on...but really, when you're going to Graceland, you go all out. Anyway, every time I would doze off and wake up I would find The Presley's staring at me. A leeeetle creepy, but hey what are you gonna do?! I knew that there was a time zone change between NJ and Nola but I wasn't sure where. So I started panicking when I saw the time was 8:10! My connector was in 20 mins and I thought I was gonna miss it! I quickly waved down the flight attendant and she was like, "Umm, no you have an hour and 20 mins." Blonde Moment...
So Flight #2...When I deplaned (a personal favorite word because of its candor) I learned that my connector was delayed 10 mins. Thankfully, because of Pinterest I am no longer ever bored! There's always something to pin! Also, my connector was in Memphis Tennessee...this is Dolly Parton's home state! My excitement was bubbling over! When we finally planed (is that the right word?) and the flight attendant comes on the speaker (there were only about 40 of us on the plane) and she goes, "Sorry y'all! I was running late this morning because I was at the hospital visiting my grandson and when my alarm went off today I was like 'Nope SNOOZE!'" Everyone on the plane just smiled back at here. SMILED! This was how I knew I was not in the North anymore...If this happened in Philly, everyone on that plane would have FREAKED out about being made to wait. I also knew that we were not in the North anymore because when we landed the attendant said, "I wanna thank y'all for being such good flyers and thank our Captain for getting us here safely and Thank you Jesus for allowing us to have a safe flight!"
When I arrived I got my bag and met Zach. His friend drove us back to Zach's house and we began our adventure!! New Orleans is hot. Very hot. And it rains every day...sometimes twice. I came prepared with my rain boots, but they didn't match my outfit so I left them home. Plus, it was the first day so I really didn't know how rainy it would be. On Day One we walked 20 miles! We actually calculated it! We ate lunch at this fabulous place called New Orleans Hamburger and Sea Food Co. in Uptown! It was aaaaamazing! The whole city is very pro-New Orleans! Everyone is proud to be a New Orleaner and everyone is a Saints fan! Look at my daaalish Cowboy Chicken Burger! There's a fleur de lis toothpick in my sandwich! So cute! The food is amazing!
Then, we were off to get SnoBalls. If you're from the Philadelphia area the equivalent is SnoCones. If you are not from this area then allow me to explain. Its shaved ice with flavored syrup drizzled on top. They're soooooo good!
Next, we went to Bourbon Street! This place was insane! Bourbon Street is located in the French Quarter. I love French culture and to see all of the French architecture was amazing!
This is a band playing jazz on Bourbon!
A daytime view of Bourbon Street!
After this we saw the Real World New Orleans House! Zach and I watched this show religiously before he went to school!
Zach has fabulous roommates and I loved all of them! Some other highlights of my trip include seeing Eli and Peyton Manning's high school, going to a fabulous dinner at The Oyster House. Eating Beignets...seriously sooooo good! I rode on a street car! Another, "You know you're not in Jersey anymore moment," happened when a street car patron said to the street car driver, "Excuse me ma'am, but I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back!" And she waited for him!! Mind. Blown! In NJ we don't wait for anybody! Another, "You know you're not in Jersey anymore moment," occurred when we were walking down the street. People are genuinely interested in your well-being! Everyone said, "Hello, ma'am. How was your day?" and they wanted an ANSWER! Not like in NJ where people just walk past you on the street and if they bump into you they say, "Uhh." Nope! Here I was expected to answer and say, "Yes sir and yes ma'am!" It was so bemusing to see people genuinely care about each other. We also went on a ghost tour. It started torrentially down-pouring and thundering/lightning so we had to hold the tour inside. Equally spooky when the power went out! Muaahaahaa!
Being from New Jersey, we have crazy rules about purchasing alcohol. You can only buy alcohol from liquor stores, certain grocery stores, and certain bars. In New Orleans you can buy alcohol everywhere...literally. In drug stores, deli's, grocery stores, and Target! Insanity! We went to Sucre for dessert and there was a woman in athletic wear who brought her own bottle of red wine! *Sucre is a fabulous bakery*It was so funny because we thought she was alone...drinking wine...in a bakery. Zach said, "Guys, if I ever wear leggins and bring my own wine to a bakery..." his roommate cut him off and said, "You are wearing track pants and that's kind of the same thing..." We all died! Soooo funny!
On my flight home I had a connector in Atlanta! When people say Hotlanta they are not lying! Everyone I encountered was beautiful! Gorgeous people live there! There were so many hot soldiers/sailors/marines/and pilots at the airport. It made my day! (I love men in uniform) Another bonus of the Atlanta airport? The mall inside! There is a full on mall there! They have so many good restaurants too! But where do I choose to eat? Domino's Express! I'm lactose intolerant so I can't have the cheese on pizza. Domino's is the greatest no cheese pizza! It tastes like the world's best garlic bread with marinara sauce on it! Aaaaamaaazing! My flight back to Philly got delayed. I was supposed to be home by midnight but we didn't take off until 1050! It was okay though because I'm sure there was a problem with the left philangees and a small colonial woman standing on the wing!! I love FRIENDS and Bridesmaids! So I had to reference them! I had to keep these thoughts to myself because I didn't want to scare the other passengers! I loved this trip!!
I know this was a long post but I wanted to share everything! I know there's so much I left out but I tried to include the highlights!!
xoxo
Erin
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