Day 29: 3 April - Welcome to the Big Easy

"Laissez les bons temps rouler" - Let the good times roll

I got into New Orleans (NOLA or N'awlins as the locals pronounce it) at about 6.30am. When I walked into the station I had the terrible realisation that I had nowhere to go, as I hadn't been able to find anywhere available/cheap. I had one final look online and found one available place in a good area, but it was not cheap! I settled for paying $60 for one night at the NOLA Jazz House Hostel. The price was ridiculous, but NOLA was in very high demand this long Easter weekend.

I hopped onto the streetcar outside (a sort of tram) and headed straight for the hostel for a nap! NOLA is a beautiful city and I got to see so much on the streetcar. It was a wonderful way to get around and took you to all the great places!

NOLA Streetcar

I got to the hostel and instantly found found a couch, as they couldn't check me in until 12pm. I slept for ages and completely wasted the morning. An Aussie couple came in and put on Avatar, so watched that with them. Then checked in, put my stuff away and headed to the French Quarter.

The french Quarter is beautiful! It is so full of culture and history, and the architecture is just amazing. I walked down the famous (infamous?) Bourbon St, which was super seedy. It was about 2pm and there were so many drunk people out! I found a cool bar with some live jazz music and tried the local Jambalaya, which was incredible! I went down to the riverwalk, along the Mississippi River, a little later, but everything was closing down so I hopped back on the streetcar.

One of the performers on Bourbon St in the middle of traffic!

Back at the hostel, I ran into my dorm mate, Armon, a guy visiting from Switzerland. We were keen for a beer, but there aren't really many bottle-o's in NOLA. They have this wonderful law that says you're allowed to drink outdoors, in public, just as long as it is in a plastic container (and it doesn't need to be enclosed). We headed down to the local bar and got some take away beers!

As tired (and a little tipsy) as I was at this point, we ended up visiting Bourbon Street again. In the dark of the night, the street seems a lot less seedy and a lot more fun! Bars, clubs, restaurants and strip joints lined the blocked off street, and thousands of people were walking around outside, drinking their beers and cocktails. I'm pretty sure NOLA is also the hen's/buck's party capital of America! We treated ourselves to a couple of Frozen daiquiris, picked a cool bar and watched live music and danced for hours!

Only pic of the night!