New Orleans in May, what to do?

Can’t argue with a doctor, now can we? :slight_smile: I wasn’t trying to call attention to you, but I’ve seen you here and there on the boards, and this IS a town where people do a LOT of drinking and I figured you wouldn’t. We have drive-through daquiri shops! One of these days I’m going to have to get one just because I can. I don’t drink much myself, and I can testify that it is still possible to have fun sober. Really.

There is a local beer, Abita, that is quite popular. I don’t like beer, so I can’t say, but you might want to give it a try.

WhiteRabbit, I understood your intentions perfectly, no worries there! And, no, we can’t ignore the doc; in fact, my faith teaches that if a legitimate doctor gives you advice that conflicts with the advice in our Holy book, you follow the doctors’ advice. This kind of pragmatism is one of the things that attracted me in the first place! So, I may just have to check out the local beer (I’m not big on wimpy American beer, anyway; if I drink American beer at all, it’s Sam Adams. I mean, just because I’m drinking it for medical purposes, that doesn’t mean I can’t pick one I like does it? Cuz otherwise, I’ll just have to switch to Red White and Blue :smiley: ).
Not to hijack my own thread, but the doc gave me this beer advice while I was in hospital; I asked him if I could have beer in the hospital, and he told me that he could write me a prescription for a beer, and the pharmacy would send it up. Well, I just knew that if we did that, they’d send me something crappy, and charge $10.00 for it or something. So, I called hubby and had him bring me a decent beer in a travel mug!

:smiley: Prescribed beer! Brilliant! I didn’t know they did that at all these days.

If you have time and $$ you can catch a ferry to Algiers and check out Mardi Gras World. I haven’t been there, but it’s open year-round and they have all sorts of floats and stuff on display. It’s supposed to be good. It’s $13.50 for an adult, which may or may not be in your price range. It is fascinating to me to see how the krewes and all the Mardi Gras stuff is such a part of the culture here, looking at it from an ousider’s point of view.

Abita beer is very good, and comes in several different varities. Turbo Dog and the dark beer (forgot its name) were among our favorites when we went.

Thanks, Big Bad Voodoo Lou. I assume that Abita’s good because this town is so focused on good food, and good beer would make sense next to the food. I just can’t say MYSELF. I’ve watched people drink large amounts of it quite happily, if that counts for anything. :slight_smile:

Depending on when you’re here in April, you might be able to catch the French Quarter Festival, which is a free music festival with, this year, 14 stages set up through the Quarter and along the river, and lots of wonderful samples of local food for $4 and $5 for quite generous portions. This year it’s a bit later, however, April 16-18, but that’s okay; there’s always tons of wonderful music. There’s a bunch of itty bitty clubs on Frenchman Street in the Quarter in particular where you can get some fabulous music for not much. That’s only after your visit to Preservation Hall, however!

The streetcar ride is always fun, and if you like zoos, get off at Audubon Park and catch the free zoo shuttle to the zoo for an enjoyable couple of hours. The swamp exhibit is great, huge happy fat gators. :slight_smile:

Weather that time of year should be about as nice as it gets in New Orleans. Temps probably in the 70s during the day, with (for New Orleans) fairly reasonable humidity, and even a chance of a nice breeze. You’ll probably need a light sweater or jacket in the evening; it still gets a bit cool at night through April. But plan on dressing lightly.

The antique shops on Royal Street are great for a window-shopping browse. You can often get a mule-drawn carriage tour of the Quarter for about $10 a person, which we’ve done a couple of times when we had out-of-town guests; the carriage drivers tend to tell lots of tall tales, but it seems appropriate under the circumstances!

I’m trying to think of anything else that hasn’t been recommended. They’re working on reopening the streetcar that runs up Canal Street to Desire (yes, the Streetcar Named Desire will shortly be back in operation!), but I’m not sure if it will be open yet then or not.

Oh, if you do go up to Jacque Imo’s (which has FABULOUS food), there’s also a couple of tiny clubs up there for local music, particularly the Maple Leaf. You’ll often catch one of the brass bands (Dixieland jazz bands) playing there or at Tipitinas, which is on Tchoupitoulas at Napoleon. Be warned, though: the music scene here also often starts VERY late. We went to an allegedly 10 pm show at Tipitina’s once and the band didn’t even start setting up till nearly 11 and didn’t start playing till about 11:30. (They were worth it, though!)

Standard good restaurant fare in the Quarter should run you around $10 for lunch, $20-25 for dinner. If you want to go to Commander’s Palace, go for lunch and try not to gasp out loud; Papa Tiger and I ate lunch there this week (courtesy of a corporate award, we couldn’t afford it otherwise!) and our check for the two of us, without alcohol, was $47 – not including tip! But worth EVERY penny, I hasten to add.

If you want more local advice, send me an email and I’ll give you our phone # for when you get to town. It’s always fun to play tour guide!

Since no one has mentioned it yet, check out Port of Call right off of Bourbon for some of the best burgers on the planet. And if you manage to get a doctor’s note, you may want to try a Monsoon of Gumbay (sic), the best alcoholic beverage that has ever touched my lips (The Gumbay being the less alcoholic version of the Monsoon, though finishing one will be plenty enough to knock you out for the night)…

I forgot to add that as added incentive to drop me an email, we have a zoo/aquarium membership that allows us to take someone in free. Which, since the aquarium is something like $15, is a nice benefit.

And a recent very popular addition to the local scene is the D-Day Museum, which, while it tends to draw an older crowd, is also a fascinating look back in time. Especially since they won’t accept an item for donation without a story accompanying it, so everything in the museum is very personal.

All that being said, bring comfy walking shoes and your appetite, you’re in for a good time!!

That reminds me. In the Quarter, be wary of con men who come up to you and say “I bet I can tell you where you got your shoes.” Just smile and walk away. The answer will probably be “On your feet,” but you don’t want to deal with these guys.

And carry your wallet in your front pocket and your purse close. It’s always good to be better safe than sorry when you’re in a strange new place, but New Orleans is famous for pickpockets. I’ve never had a problem there, even at Mardi Gras, but you hear things.

Heehee! Well, in the first place, I cannot imagine why a doctor would recommend me drinking the hard stuff (although if I choose to, that’s between me and God), but in the second place, since I’ve all but stopped drinking, stuff that gets other people pleasantly looped gets me sick-assed drunk, not to mention hung over the next morning! Not exactly the good time I’m lookin’ for :slight_smile:
MamaTiger, are you offering to take me to the zoo/aquarium? If you are, that’s very sweet! But you don’t need to bribe me into emailing you, just ask; I’m a very sociable girl (and I use the term ‘girl’ lightly :smiley: ). Also, I won’t be there in mid-April, only the first couple of days.
Big Bad Voodoo Lou, thanks for the heads up on the pickpockets! Actually, since I left the Baltimore area, I’ve gotten way too casual about keeping my personal belongings close. In fact, just yesterday, I had my 4-year-old at McDonald’s, and she had to use the restroom; we were halfway done in there when I realized I’d left my purse at the table! Well, this being Cumberland, it was still there when we got back, of course, but still, it was dumb and careless of me.

Well, I was TRYING to help, but other people are obviously better equipped. Even my own mother. Arrgh. (Mama Tiger.)

I thought it was warmer in April than that?

Glad you’ll be coming our way, norinew. Here’re some additional thoughts on things to do and see. Be forewarned: I didn’t read every post in the thread, so I may be duplicating.

(1) Streetcar is great, so dittos there. HOWEVER: you aren’t going to see one square foot of the Garden District unless you get off the St. Charles Line somewhere between Jackson Avenue and Washington Avenue and walk into the neighborhood on the river side of the tracks (get a map). You can simply stroll around the area between St. Charles and the river between Jackson and Washington. The area is relatively safe, but I’d keep my eyes open and go during daylight hours.

By April, the Canal Street and N. Carrollton Avenue Streetcar lines should be open. These cars will be air conditioned, so it’s a cooler way to get around than on the St. Charles line. The cost for these new routes is likely going to be $1.50 a ride, making a 3-day visitour pass (ask your hotel concierge how to get one) worth the price. You can ride out to City Park and to the Cemetaries on these new lines. If you go, it’s worth stopping at the intersection of Canal and N. Carrollton and walking two blocks up to Angelo Brocato’s ice cream store - - his granddaughters still serve up the century-old Sicilian recipies, and it’s cheap, too!

(2) The ferry from the foot of Canal Street to Algiers point (leaves on the hour and half hour; returns 15 after and 15 till the hour) is free to pedestrians. You can walk down to the deck and ride at the rail - - great view of the F.Q., since you’re higher up than most of town (river level is higher than street level, in other words.)

(3) If you do Cafe du Monde, you’ve only had half a F.Q. experience. Go across Decatur Street and downriver a few short blocks to Luigi’s Fine Foods. Order half a muffaletta sandwich (Italian meats, provolone cheese, green olive relish, olive oil, great bread) get a bag of Zapp’s Chips, a beverage of your choice, and go eat on the levee or in Jackson Square. This is the authentic, working man’s lunch from the days when the F.Q. was a blue collar Italian neighborhood.

Ditto the Park Service tours. The Lousiana State Museum in the Cabildo (next to St. Louis Cathedral) and the Mardi Gras museum in the Presbytere (other side of the Cathedral) are great and not too expensive.

(4) Ditto Camellia Grill (facing bankrupcy, sadly, due to mismanagement - - still open, though). Cash only there; not cheap; need to get there before it opens (7:45 on the weekend) or the wait’s not worth it. If you come up to that neighborhood on the Streetcar, I suggest you skip Camellia Grill, go in the afternoon, and bring your walking shoes, get off at Audubon Park, stroll the paved walk that loops around the golf course (1.5 miles) and enjoy seeing everyone out - - family reunions, college students, little kids on bikes, little kids feeding ducks, etc. - - then get back on the streetcar, head Uptown. Go past Camellia Grill and get off at Oak Street - - only stoplight between the Riverbend and S. Claiborne Avenue. Walk into the neighborhood on the Rite Aid side of the street three blocks, left one block to the Plum Street Snowball Stand. Shaved ice after a hot walk is great - - there must be 50 flavors - - and they’re the best in town. The neighborhood is fine - - I live there - - it’s a city neighborhood, though, so keep your eyes open.

(5) The D-Day Museum is intense - - if you go, don’t try to see it all. Stick to the European Theatre exhibit and save the Pacific Theatre for another visit.

(6) Go ahead and get some beads. Please note that Mardi Gras is in February this year, and few (if any) locals wear beads during Lent and after Easter. It marks you as a tourist. Better to save them for giving to friends after you get home. If asked, you got your shoes on your feet and there are 12 letters in “your last name.”

(7) Talk some friend into taking a cab up to Dick and Jenny’s restaurant on Tchoupitoulas (chop-a-two-lis) near Napoleon Avenue. Dick used to be a chef at Gallatoire’s; the food is just as good as Gallatoire’s, you don’t have to be “dressed”, and Dick charges about 1/3 what you’d pay in the F.Q. There are lots of non-rice options there. If you go, you can order several appetisers and get a filling meal fairly inexpensively.

(8) Have fun! Say good morning to people in the morning. They’ll usually say good morning back to you. If somebody calls you baby, that’s a good thing, yes indeed.

[nitpick]

I lived in New Orleans (well … Metairie) from birth until the age of 29. The weather you’re describing sounds to me more like late October than first of April.

To me, the hot weather season in New Orleans begins sometime in March … sometimes late March, sometimes a week or two earlier. I’d think early April would be about 10 degrees wamer than you are suggesting: high temps in the mid-to-upper 80s, low temps (early a.m.) in the mid-60s.

[/nitpick]

I’m with with bordelond about the weather. You can expect 75 - 85 during the day; 70 - 75 late at night. Good chance of afternoon rain then, too, though you might luck into a cooler drier spell like we have through much of March. If you have a fair complexion, and will be outdoors for a while, wear a hat and/or sunscreen. I’ve burned here in February.

Ivorybill, thanks for all the great suggestions!
bordelund, thanks for the weather corrections; it will definitely make a difference in what I bring to wear.

As I’ve said, my best friend is going, too. We serve on the same community assoc., which is how we came to be invited to this conference. So, what I’m going to do eventually is compile a list of all these suggestions and sit down with my friend (by then we should have a better idea of how much time we’ll have), and make something like a definitive plan.