J and I just got back to our hotel room and are sitting around en dishabille*. AHHHHH!
We're in New Orleans again at last. This is SUCH a great city! It's been about three years since he left the job that introduced us to it; I paid a visit here with our daughter about a year and a half ago, but he hasn't been back before now. NOLA (and especially the French Quarter) remains the warm, charming town full of outrageously good restaurants that we fell in love with, back in '08.
This morning we ate a wonderful seafood omelette and had a delightful chat with our server. We visited a number of bars and eating-houses with the friends we rendezvous'ed with, and had terrific cocktails made and served by a really interesting variety of people. Our supper was at a restaurant with an excellent reputation with locals as well as visitors, and our waiter, again, contributed to the pleasure of the experience.
How can anyone not love this town? Make an effort to meet everyone halfway, and they'll not only meet you but take an extra lap around the earth!
Okay, okay -- so I ate a little of the French bread, and several fork-fuls of potatoes! They were outstandingly good, and I enjoyed every bite. I also walked innumerable blocks, and i'm sure I worked off the unusual amount of carbs I consumed. That's what we base our intake on, isn't it -- the amount of exercise we get? The virtue of old cities is, you don't DRIVE to where you're going, you WALK; and studies show that denizens of places like New York are leaner than (say) Midwesterners because nobody gets a car out to go a quarter-mile....
I HAVE stayed away from the sugary cocktails that are famous here. I had black coffee with my omelette, white wine with my cheese, and red with my lamb chops and haricots verts. At those funny little dives we visited, I usually ordered what Robb Wolf calls a Norcal Margarita -- tequila and soda with a twist of lime.
So i'm reporting in to you with a full belly and sore feet. And EVERYTHING has been worth it!
Greetings from New Orleans, everyone! A city which I wish all of you might visit someday!
_______
* I can't be sure my French is acceptable, but I have to try, here! :-)
Mon Dieu Mon Dieu Tess ! What a lovely post ..... my humble apologies if this French is not correct or used in the wrong context ?
ReplyDeleteI wish I (we) were there it sounds very relaxing. Relations of ours spent time in New Orleans a few years back and fell in love with the place - they said the feel of the place and it's people were so welcoming.
I agree with you, it's good to leave the car behind, or parked somewhere, and walk.
We spent a little time in East Sussex,or 1066 Country, as it's sometimes called. Rye and its bay was very enjoyable and interesting to walk around - in fact this year they have a Scallop Week in February with various events on ... now that sounds as if it may be worth another visit.....
All the best Jan
so many wonderful places to visit, so little time.... we owe it to ourselves to check out as many great places in our respective countries as we can. ...and I think my husband would go crazy over a Scallop Week! :-D
DeleteThe Primal Blueprint Cookbook by Mark Sisson has a recipe for Jambalaya. Haven't tried it, but every recipe I have tried in the cookbook has been great.
ReplyDeleteScallop week sounds like pure heaven!
Re: people being thinner in cities, it's probably a lot of little things: walking, expense of food, more pressure to look good.
I have a couple of his cookbooks, but I don't think that's one of them.... does it call for cauliflower instead of rice? i'm partial to gumbo myself, which can easily be made low-carb.
DeleteCauliflower and probably some onion, which I don't use anymore because it's so carby. I don't even miss it.
DeleteTravelling makes most people happy and exited, I am glad for you enjoying yourself in a Gulf Region, so close to my North Florida.
ReplyDeleteI hope you got to enjoy the beautiful weather between rain-storms that we did. :-) it's been great here, most of the time!
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