Beignets, Jazz and History- Family trip to New Orleans

Tracy
May 10
5 min read

Updated: May 17

Our family is attempting to travel to all 50 states through creative road trips. We prefer to choose a route which may have several destination stops throughout the trip. This often results in spending a short amount of time in one city. We love to get the flavor of the place that we are visiting by experiencing dining experiences, seeing a well-known icon from that area or simply experiencing the understated charm of that particular area.

This post shares about our time in Louisiana. We traveled from Indiana through to Louisiana to enjoy time in New Orleans.

We arrived in New Orleans late afternoon and checked into our hotel and explored the surrounding area. We stayed at Hotel Provincial. We loved the location and beauty of this hotel. The courtyard is adorable! We chose Hotel Provincial because it is located on a quieter portion of the French Quarter, but is still easily accessible to the attractions. And, to be honest, I loved the pictures of the courtyard. I was also eager to stay in a historic New Orleans hotel with a walk-out balcony. This pick did not disappoint! Do be aware that the hotel rooms are smaller than most, but our family of four still had enough room. The hotel does have several buildings so it is likely that your room may be in a building different than the main hotel portion. A breakfast is not included with the stay, but there is a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch. I would definitely stay at Hotel Provincial again. And, honestly, who needs breakfast when there are beignets!

We decided to walk around the French Quarter for a bit. We found ourselves near Cafe Du Monde so we it was time for beignets! When in New Orleans, it is always beignet time. We explored the French Quarter for a bit and then took the New Orlean Streetcar to the Garden District. We took the St. Charles Streetcar Line. This allowed us to see more parts of the city while on the streetcar. We arrived in the Garden District. We wandered Garden District taking in the beautiful architecture and historic homes. We wandered looking for homes of the famous such as the Manning family (Peyton is a legend in Indiana), Sandra Bullock or John Goodman. Of course, we weren't sure if we had found the correct homes, but we imagined them in their beautiful homes. After wandering for a bit, it was time for some dinner. We chose Joey K's Restaurant and Bar which is on the well-known Magazine Street. My daughter enjoyed her red beans and rice. We loved trying the fried green tomatoes and cornbread as well. After dinner, we took the streetcar back to our hotel. We got some rest so that we could pack more fun into the next day.

The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at a different beignet bakery. (We were told that they aren't all the same.) This morning, we enjoyed beignets at Cafe Beignet. This pastry shop was so cute and a perfect way to start the morning. For our morning activity, we decided to do a walking tour of the French Quarter. My advice is to always check Groupon for deals. But, always book in advance as tours sell out. I was disappointed because there was a Groupon for a particular tour company, but I was reluctant to book until I knew our schedule. By the time I tried to book, they were sold out. We were able to find a morning tour with another company and had a great time. This was a great way to explore the French Quarter and to learn about the history of the area. I think walking tours are the best way to learn a lot when you have limited time.

Following the tour, we had a little bit more time to explore before our lunch reservation. We visited the Jazz National Historical Park which is an NPS stop in New Orleans. My girls have NPS Passport books so it was fun to get a stamp and to learn a bit about the history of jazz.

Our lunch recommendation was a recommendation courtesy of the lady working at the Louisiana travel stop. Sometimes, it is a benefit to not have every part of the trip planned out. She highly recommended the jazz brunch at Court of Two Sisters. It would be beneficial to make reservations. We were so pleased when reservations were available the day before. Court of Two Sisters offers a large buffet with iconic New Orleans items such as gumbo, turtle soup and fried catfish. However, it also offers a variety of common items such as eggs, sausage and hash browns. Make sure to request a table in the courtyard. Their courtyard is beautiful. There was a jazz trio playing in the courtyard which and we were lucky to be seated nearby. It was a beautiful afternoon! Check their website for current pricing. When we went it was around $30 an adult and $14 for a child. This is more than we would typically spend for a lunch, but I thought it was a fair price for the variety and quality of food, the beautiful courtyard and the jazz playing. It was truly an event that will be a classic New Orleans memory.

We explored a bit more and then bid fair well to NOLA. Our next stop to explore Louisiana was a swamp tour. We booked our Jean Lafitte Swamp Tour through Cajun Encouters. We did get a discounted rate by booking through Groupon! Always check Groupon for tour rates. It took about 30 minutes to get to Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve. We arrived, showed our tickets and boarded our boat for a 90 minute swamp tour. Airboat tours are available as well, but we chose the traditional swamp tour. It was so fun to see the wildlife and learn about the ecosystem. The guide was very engaging and we learned a lot about gators and swamp wildlife. We were able to see several different types of birds including a great egrets, bald eagles and an anhinga ("water snake bird.") I had never seen (or heard of) an anhinga! We saw so many turtles, and, of course, many, many gators. The guide is familiar with the gators and will often tell you their "names" and how old they think they are. A swamp tour was such a fun experience, especially since we don't have swamps in Indiana. It was a great way to end our Louisiana time.