States Visit: NOLA Hang Out

Actual date of this event: 10-12 May

For our second weekend while in the States, Luke and I wanted to do a good ole New Orleans hang out. We have quite a few friends who live in or near New Orleans, three of which are Luke's best friends, and I had made awesome friends while living in Covington, so it was something we just needed to do. We wanted to play it like old times... no plans, no thought, lots of eating, lots of drinking. We tried stick to that!

When we made the plan to go to New Orleans, I had one request: visit Cedarwood (the school I taught at for four years before moving to the UK). Most of the teachers and a few of the students knew I was in the United States, but I only informed a few of them that I would stop by because I wanted it to be a surprise. They sure were surprised! It was great to see them, and I am so glad that I got a chance to say hi. 

While I was saying hi at the school, Luke and Julie picked up Albasha for take out. If you remember from way back, Albasha was out favorite restaurant when we lived in Covington. We thought we would never get to eat it again. It was such a treat eating the Greek yumminess one more time!

Then we made the oh so NOT FUN drive across the causeway. Covington/Mandeville (called the Northshore) is located north of New Orleans across Lake Pontchartrain. To get from north to south or vice versa, you must take the 24 mile long causeway bridge. On a clear day, you can see the city at the start when going south. On a not clear day, all you see is water. It can be freaky, but it is BORING because it is a straight line and it makes the city of New Orleans so far away. AND the cops are super strict so a 65mph speed limit literally means 65mph. And don't think you can tailgate because, trust me, you will get a ticket. And don't think you can drive even slightly tipsy because driving the causeway means going in a straight line which we all know is already difficult 100% sober! Moving on....

We checked into our hotel, and waited for the rest of the fam to get to the hotel. In the mean time, we made ourselves a cocktail. Of course. We had early dinner reservations so we made the trek to Irene's for dinner. The weather was absolutely terrible that night. Luke and I were reminded why rain jackets just don't cut it in the south! 

After our tasty dinner, Luke and I went with Austin and Betsy (bro and sis) along with Jay and Beth and Matt (friends of ours) to have a few drinks. And my friends Kelly and Donna came and met us also -they took the NOT FUN causeway from the Northshore as well. Kelly is moving to Germany this weekend (and will be documenting her expat process here), and I'm sure Donna will join for visits, so I can't wait to see them again soon! 

On Saturday, the family all went for breakfast at Cafe Fleur de Lis which I highly recommend if you ever want a good brunch. My friends Mandy, Lauren, Paulette & Errol came down for the day to hang out so we met up with them after eating - they took the NOT FUN causeway from the Northshore as well. We did some casual walking and drinking and walking and drinking and walking and drinking. And for dinner we ate at the super delicious Gordon Biersch. If you ever come across one of these restaurants, it is so so good! Afterward, we were all exhausted so we called it a night. 

I miss good Bloody Mary's. Making one from scratch is on my to do list!

On Sunday, the girls of the family split off from the boys of the family (baby boys included) to go see Wicked... the boys were left to fend for themselves. Hehe. It was Mother's Day and that is what Julie wanted! Wicked was AMAZING! The girl who plays Elphaba has the most spectacular voice - I am of course talking about the US show. Anyway, it was a great show, and I highly recommend it!

After the show, we drove back to Jennings saying our "see you laters" to the family. We had some not-so-good-for-you-but-so-worth-it Popeyes as our last Louisiana meal. Mmmm crispy fried chicken and biscuits!!! On Monday, Luke and I made our way back to Houston for the last few days of our United States visit...

 

(Want to learn how to make your own signature like mine above? Click here to visit Hubby Jack's tutorial on creating your own signature.)