New Orleans

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I was fortunate enough to spend the week in New Orleans for a work conference this week. It was an incredibly interesting place and I look forward to returning at some point to spend more time visiting museums and learning more about the history.

Day 1
Spent the whole day in transit. I really do forget how large this country is sometimes. On the plus side, I got to try out the Amex Centurion Lounge in SFO for the first time. I so appreciated the free breakfast and coffee before my early flight.

Once I got to New Orleans I got settled at my Airbnb and got out to walk around. It’s humid, but wasn’t uncomfortably hot. Glad I packed my tennis shoes, I ended up walking/running over 15 miles over the course of four days.
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Day 2

I dragged myself out of bed for a short run, so that I could see some of the area before my all-day conference started. I’m so glad that I did because I was able to run in this ethereal mist along the Mississippi River. It burned off quickly and just became a beautiful sunny day.
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After the conference wrapped up for the evening I went walking around the French Quarter and explored until I needed some dinner, made the mistake of walking down Bourbon Street (it was this wild, on a Wednesday), got a salad to go and called it a night.
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Day 3
I got up early again for a short run, which ended up being through Crescent Park, an old industrial wharf turned waterfront park on the Mississippi. It was really neat–if you are in the area very worth a walk.
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I took a route back through more of the neighborhoods and really enjoyed seeing the architectural styles that I wasn’t familiar with. You can read about some of them here: Buildings & Architecture of New Orleans

Shotgun house

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Creole townhouse

St. Louis Cathedral

After the conference I attended a dinner event at Tableau, which was a lot of fun and served delicious food. Their bartending staff was incredibly good and provided drink suggestions. One of their suggestions was the house cocktail ‘Just As Well’ which was so delicious that I will need to attempt to recreate it. From their menu, it is made with: bourbon, rosemary syrup, lemon, and summer berry bitters, served with a fresh rosemary sprig.
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After dinner some colleagues and I walked to Frenchman Street, where there was very good live music in every bar, and even just in the streets. If you are ever here visiting, I highly recommend checking out Frenchman Street, most of the bars don’t have a cover fee and those who do usually just have a 1-drink minimum.

Day 4
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I did not plan very well and forgot a rain jacket this trip. Unfortunate, because a major rainstorm came rolling in this morning, complete with thunder, lightning and flooding. I asked my Lyft driver back to the airport if this was normal weather for them and he explained that yeah, the rain is always pretty heavy and their water drainage infrastructure has never been able to handle the sudden volumes that come down. He drove through the flooded streets like it was no big deal.
fullsizeoutput_95e fullsizeoutput_95f It was another full day of travel to get home, made easier with a layover in Houston where I was able to use another Amex Centurion Lounge. Free lunch, drinks, and coffee. Made my travel infinitely more pleasant.
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Got home, took a hot bath and went to sleep.