Friends we’ve traveled with for probably 20 years went to New Orleans for our “Spring Break” trip. Now spring break doesn’t always happen in March but has taken place in May, June, August and even October depending on who’s in charge.
I’m calling our trip to New Orleans an “eating” rather than an “outing,” because we focused so much on that activity, and it was almost always spectacular.
We stayed at a darling place, the Chimes B & B run by lovely people Jill and Charles Abbyad. Each couple had its own room and bath and we shared two courtyards. Individuals had volunteered to plan different day’s activities. So on Wednesday when we arrived in the evening we got on the trolley 
(totally loved the public transportation) to ride to the Superior Seafood which it was. I had the first of several grilled shrimp salads.
Thursday morning, we had brunch at Brennan’s and got a tour of the place.
The Queen’s Turquoise Room.
Thursday afternoon, we went to The National WWI Museum. This was a fantastic experience. Pretty much everyone had tears in their eyes at the end of the one-hour movie narrated by Tom Hanks. The displays were amazing. We could’ve spent way more time there. If you go to New Orleans, it’s a must see.
Thursday evening, we went on a ghost tour planned by moi. 😊 We learned lots of history as well as hearing ghoulish stories. Then we hit a couple of bars to listen to some great jazz including the bread pudding at the Roosevelt Hotel and enjoyed bread pudding. Seeing the memorial to Katrina victims was very moving.
Friday afternoon a group went on a cocktail tour, checking out various bars in the French Quarter. The heat made me skip out on this one. But then we met up for supper at Arnaud’s, where our B & B host is the Maitre’D. Truly amazing service.
Saturday, everyone did their own thing. Bob and I walked down Magazine Street. It was only a few blocks from where we stayed, and of course, we found a great place for lunch: another super shrimp salad in a lovely old home. Cavan had been remodeled but left to still look old. You could see several colors of paint on the walls. Incredible molding.
Saturday night we went to Miss Ellie’s Commander’s Palace for their famous bread pudding, well and other stuff, too. I had wanted to return to this restaurant after a visit back when I was on the school board, and we went to New Orleans for a National School Boards Conference.
Oddly, I couldn’t match the current reality to my memories of the restaurant.
My meal Saturday night was the very best of the whole trip, another grilled shrimp meal with garlic spinach. Divine with a nice little kick. One of my friends who doesn’t like spice, had the same meal, but the chef made hers mild. Now that is really service. Bread pudding and creme brule were the deserts.
Marsha R. West, Author 
That sounds such a great holiday, Marsha. My daughter went to New York and New Orleans for her 30th. It was a place she’d always wanted to visit, and she loved it – the food and music especially. I hope to get to visit one day…
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Hey Helena. What a fun BD celebration for your daughter. Both unique cities. Love to visit with you in one of these cities. Thanks for stopping by.
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Your trip sounds wonderful! What fun to have a group to share the city with. I remember we spent Thanksgiving in NO. We had just finished a mission trip in Baldwin, LA, so we went thru NO on our way to FL. It was cold and rainy. We ate Thanksgiving dinner with a pack of strangers. We did enjoy having the beignets and touring the French Quarter. So much traffic because of a rival college football game on Sat pm. We were told to leave the streets before dark and we did. I don’t think we got the entire NO experience.
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Hey, JQ. I gotta think the time of the year of your trip was better than ours. You wouldn’t have had the heat to deal with. Interesting they told you to get off the streets. They must’ve had some negative experiences on those football nights. The beignets remind me of sopa pillas. Hard to argue with fried dough. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
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It was quite a trip! While you repeated your grilled shrimp salads, I repeated gumbo on more than one occasion. I agree, fabulous B&B and great friends. I’d go back any time! And yes, the WWII Museum is worthy of another, longer visit.
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