Pre-Quarantine New Orleans Trip
Leather jacket and jeans: Zara, Top: Madewell, Shoes: Golden Goose, Bag: Marc Jacobs
Over my spring break and during the last weekend before COVID-19 really escalated and we all started quarantining, I was lucky to take a trip to New Orleans to visit my sister at Tulane. Little did we know it would turn out to be the last weekend of her freshman year! We had such a fun time though and I absolutely loved New Orleans. It’s such a unique city and so hard to compare to anywhere else - I’m already looking forward to visiting again in the future!
Wednesday
I flew out of San Francisco early Wednesday morning and arrived in New Orleans that afternoon. The New Orleans Airport is slightly outside the city and there was a lot of traffic, so it took about 45 minutes to get from the airport to Tulane. Once I finally got there, my sister gave me a tour around the beautiful campus. That night we went to Saba for dinner, a restaurant with Middle Eastern food my sister had been wanting to try. The food was delicious and the restaurant had a sophisticated but not stuffy atmosphere. We shared hummus with pita, an arugula salad, falafel, and sweet potatoes. The restaurant’s on Magazine Street, which is quite close to Tulane’s campus, so technically we could have walked but unfortunately it was pouring rain so we took a quick Uber there. Afterwards we went to Creole Creamery, another nearby spot, for ice cream for dessert. I had café au lait in a waffle cone and it was so good!
Thursday
On Thursday morning my sister had class so I just hung out and worked on some homework. That afternoon we went to lunch at La Boulangerie, another spot on Magazine Street. It’s a super cute French café and you could easily feel like you’re in Paris sitting inside it. It also has a huge selection of mouth-watering pastries that we obviously couldn’t pass up! Later that afternoon we went on a little walk through Audubon Park, which is right across the street from Tulane. That night we had dinner at Nolé, a Mexican restaurant in the Garden District (it’s actually located inside a hotel called the St. Charles Coach House). It was pretty quiet when we were there, but it has fun decor and really yummy food and drinks. After that we went to The Boot, a bar that is located basically just outside of Tulane’s campus and obviously where all the Tulane students go. In New Orleans you can actually go to a bar once you’re 18 and overall its rules are a lot more relaxed, so it definitely feels very different from California (or really most other cities in the US).
Friday
On Friday morning we had brunch at Satsuma, a super cute café on Maple Street, which is within walking distance from Tulane’s campus. That afternoon we went to The Fly, which is where a lot of Tulane students typically go on Friday afternoons when the weather’s nice. (And luckily the sun was out today after the past few days being cloudy). It’s an area of Audubon Park overlooking the Mississippi River, and people set out picnic blankets and bring snacks and drinks. That night we had dinner at Ba Chi, a Vietnamese restaurant that is actually across the street from Satsuma. It’s kind of a hole in the wall, but it has good food, is cheap, and you can bring your own bottle of wine, so obviously college students like it!
Saturday
On Saturday morning we walked to French Truck Coffee on Dryades Street for brunch. It was about a 30 minute walk from Tulane, but New Orleans is practically all flat so it’s really easy to walk places. French Truck Coffee is absolutely adorable and the coffee and food is so good too. I had a breakfast sandwich on a waffle and it was amazing. After that we continued walking down to Magazine Street. We ended up walking along almost all of Magazine Street - we sure got our steps in that day! Magazine Street is so cute and is lined with restaurants, boutiques, and cafés. Our first stop was at the Ashley Longshore Gallery. Ashley Longshore is a famous New Orleans-based artist and total girl boss. Her gallery/store is so cool and basically asking to be Instagrammed! We also popped into some boutiques, including a clothes store called Shake your Bon Bon where I bought a Sage the Label skirt and a New Orleans themed gift store called Fluerty Girl where my sister and I got matching New Orleans jewelry trays. We stopped at Drink Beauty on the walk back, which is a super cute combined coffee shop and make-up store. We didn’t want to have more coffee, so we both tried the Iced Matcha Lemonade and it was so yummy. That night we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Josephine Estelle, which is located in the Ace Hotel in the Central Business District. We were looking forward to this being our “fancy” dinner, so we got all dressed up for it. It’s a pretty high-end restaurant and has a very sophisticated atmosphere, and the food is really good too. Definitely worth a visit!
Sunday
On Sunday morning we went to brunch at Cavan. The restaurant is actually in a beautiful old Victorian house and the decor is very elegant. Our food was good but the menu is pretty limited and the portions are small, so you’re definitely paying for the ambiance. Cavan is also on Magazine Street, so after brunch we walked down a few blocks to catch the streetcar off of Magazine Street and rode it to the French Quarter. The streetcar is not only a convenient method of transportation but a quintessential feature of New Orleans, so riding it is a must during your visit. We walked around the French Quarter and saw Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, and of course had to stop at the famous Cafe du Monde for beignets. There was a bit of a line for Cafe du Monde (as there typically is) but it was well worth the wait. Once we got back to Tulane we walked around some of the area surrounding Tulane that I had not gotten to see yet. Tulane is in a residential neighborhood and literally right outside the gates of the campus there are streets lined with such beautiful classic Southern houses. We fit in one last late afternoon meal of sandwiches from Good Bird on Freret Street before I had to leave for the airport. As you can see, my sister was an amazing tour guide and I really got to experience what her life is like at Tulane. It was such a great trip and looking back on it now I feel so lucky that I got to get to New Orleans when everything was still normal. The city relies so much on tourism, so I’m hoping it is able to bounce back from coronavirus as quickly as possible.
My sister and I at Josephine Estelle (Top: Zara, Jeans: Madewell, Boots: Steve Madden)
The Ashley Longshore Studio Gallery
French Truck Coffee
Tulane
Cavan
The Garden District
The streetcar
Jackson Square in the French Quarter
Beignets from Cafe du Monde
