Weekend in NOLA

Last weekend, Ryan and I had the rare priviledge of getting away for a few nights as just the two of us. We were able to do this because my mother-in-law Gail (aka Nana) came to visit for the week and offered to keep Evan for us for a few nights. It was a much needed break from the roles of Mommy & Daddy, and time for us to just enjoy being together and going about the days at our own pace (rather than our toddler's!). Thanks, Nana!

We had been wanting to visit New Orleans again, especially since we live a little less than 3 hours from there now, and because we had only been there once, the summer following Katrina to do relief work. At that time, it was still largely abandoned and destroyed, so we did not get to experience the true spirit of the city. This time we definitely got to see what everyone loves about New Orleans!

First of all, the food is AMAZING! We definitely had some great French food, as well as beignets at the famous Cafe du Monde (mmm...a guilty pleasure of deep fried dougnuts with powdered sugar). Secondly, the streets are truly flooded with music--street musicians, people playing in restaurants, etc. We even got to listen to live jazz at the well-known Preservation Hall. We also enjoyed just visiting the local shops & art galleries. On our last day, we visited the National World War II Museum, which, come to find, is HUGE, so we only watched the new 4D IMAX Film on the War, narrated by Tom Hanks, because we didn't have enough time to tour the whole museum (we'll go back for that one day!). The film was an amazing summary of the entire war, much of which we realized we didn't even really know.

In short, our trip was awesome, and we will definitely go back. If you are thinking about visiting New Orleans some day, DO IT! It is truly a one of a kind city!

Preservation Hall (Looks like it's been bombed, doesn't it?)


Live Jazz (front row seats at Pres. Hall!)


Childhood Home of Peyton & Eli Manning (Parents still live here)


The National WWII Museum