New Orleans, Louisiana

The month of December is always a busy one in the airline industry but I was lucky enough to secure a few days off to go on another Mummy and Singh adventure. This time our travels took us a bit closer to home, to New Orleans in the United States. A short hop from Orlando on a Frontier flight, the Crescent City has been on my travel bucket list for a while. I’ve always wanted to see the French Quarter and try some authentic beignets while listening to live jazz music.

We took a late afternoon flight and booked a hotel on the fly (pun so intended) using the Hotels Tonight app. This is a great app for your last minute trips and since it’s affiliated with the Capital One Venture credit card, you get massive bonus points and additional savings. If you travel as much as I do, you will definitely want to look into getting the Venture card, it’s amazing for earning points for anything travel related. While waiting to board our plane, we found a cute little boutique hotel right along one of the main roads in the French Quarter called the Saint Philip Hotel. It was very well priced for this frugal flight attendant and had plenty of room for a roaming toddler. We booked it with one click using the app, boarded our plane, and heading for the Big Easy!

For those of you who don’t follow me on Facebook, you may not be aware of my son’s current obsession with Home Alone. I wish there was a stronger word than “obsession” because whoa. Singh is hypnotized by the franchise. This kid has hardly watched any movies since moving out of the orphanage yet Home Alone 1 and 2 are his jam. So Kevin MacCallister joined us on our flight and in our hotel room during our adventure. I used to love those movies but now I can barely tolerate the crazy antics of an eight-year-old left to his own devices. I guess that’s what happens when you become a parent.

Once we hopped off our short flight, we walked to the Uber station and waited for our car. Ride sharing is a fantastic option if you plan on spending your time exploring a city by foot. Plus renting a car would have meant finding a place to park it, an additional expense. I like to travel as inexpensively as possible, remember? The Uber dropped us off at the door to our hotel just as the sun set and the Christmas lights illuminated the French streets.

After we checked in, we set out to explore the quarter and find some food. I heard about a vegan hotdog shop that was within walking distance, so we headed to fill our stomachs. We arrived at Dreamy Weenies and it smelled amazing. It was kind of chilly out and a hot dog sounded perfect. That is until we found out they only take cash. We actually arrived at the conclusion during this trip that the majority of places in New Orleans only take cash. Yikes! This mommy typically only carries card. You don’t earn bonus miles from cash. Well, I knew I had some cash tucked away at the bottom of my suitcase that I typically saved for tipping van drivers. But that was back at the room and the toddler patiently holding my hand wouldn’t survive a walk back to the room then another to the hotdog shop. Dreamy Weenies would have to wait until the following day. We walked along the famous Bourbon Street, stopping at every restaurant until we found one that took credit card and had vegan options. I honestly don’t remember the restaurant because the food was subpar for the price we paid. But lesson learned: Always carry cash.

After dinner we watched Home Alone twice until the little guy finally fell asleep. I stayed up to do some bidding for my schedule the following month and finished up some last minute freelance work. I was rudely awaken at 3am, though, by a call from Crew Scheduling asking if I would be willing to work a 6am flight out of ORD. Cool, can you positive space me from New Orleans and let my son come along? No? Then no thanks because I’m on a Mummy and Singh trip! Click.

Despite the grey weather, we took to the streets early because we were starving. The cute and eclectic hotel we were staying at was about two blocks from the famous French Market where I had been told there was a GF VEGAN CREPE CART. Did you read that right? The Crepe Cart as it is obviously called, was perhaps, my favorite thing in New Orleans. Bummed about dinner the previous night, I was happily surprised at what awaited us at this little stand in the middle of the bustling French Market.

The stand offers a vegan and gluten free menu as well as a regular menu for those not restricted by dietary needs. I couldn’t believe how many options they had and ended up ordering a vegan Nutella and banana crepe for Singh while I decided to try the pesto crepe at the top of the menu board. Oh. Em. Gee. First of all the crepes that were made in front of us were huge. Like bigger than my head! Singh kept saying “big!” in between giggles as we watched the crepes being stuffed witch chocolate and fresh ingredients. And wow did they taste amazing. Singh’s stomach isn’t as big as mine, so to not waste any I devoured mine and whatever was left of his. Hey, I don’t typically have this much incredible food when I travel, so this was quite the experience!

After stuffing ourselves, we spent the rest of the morning walking around, pokemoning (hey don’t judge), and exploring the shores of the river. We saw horse drawn carriages, colonial architecture, and walked through a few of the landmarks that are mentioned in the 1,000 Things to See Before you Die book. We pointed out holiday decorations and ate fudge sitting in the shadow of a towering church. Singh ran along garden paths and enjoyed handing random people leaves. It was his mission during his trip to pick up every leaf he saw along the French Quarter. You’re welcome, New Orleans.

A nice thing about staying in the French Quarter is our ability to head back to our room and rest during the afternoon. I was successful in putting Singh down for a nap while we watched Home Alone…again. I suggest anyone traveling with kids to allow a few hours in the middle of your day to come back to the room and relax before venture out in the evening. Singh was an enjoyable and cute kid the rest of the night, so my investment in his nap paid off, big time.

With a new spring in our steps, and cash in hand, we tried our luck again at Dreamy Weenie for a late lunch. And it did not disappoint! I ordered Singh a plain sausage with ketchup while I enjoyed a beer brat slathered in vegan mayo and sauerkraut. Oh man was that amazing. Like get in my belly amazing. Singh loved it, too, as he actually ate the entire hot dog. The vegan food scene in New Orleans in seriously on point.

Bellies full and giggles all around, we left the French Quarter to go explore the Garden District. Large mansions and ivy-covered porches are hidden among towering oaks and overhanging trees in this neighborhood just outside of downtown. Flickering candles along the famous Lafayette Cemetery help to create an atmosphere welcoming to vampires and ghosts alike. I will admit that peeking through the cracked walls into the eerie graveyard was pretty creepy but crazy cool.

It started to rain as we finished up our self-guided tour and my stomach was growling for more food, so we hit up the Happy Cow app to find some vegan grub in the Garden District. Just a few streets away was a place called Seed, and you guys, this place was Ah. Maze. Ing. Like holy shit we ate vegan po boys and stuffed our faces with vegan beignets. I need to find a recipe for the tofu they used because my new goal in life is to fill a swimming pool with vegan po boy tofu and just eat until I explode. They were that awesome.

We hit the sack hard without even watching our favorite 8-year old on the ipad, both full and very happy with our discoveries in the historic town.

Our final morning in New Orleans was spent at the Mardi Gras World near the river. (After another stop at the Crepe Cart for breakfast, obviously). As cool as it would be to experience the fantastic tradition of Mardi Gras with Singh, it’s a bitch to non-rev and find a hotel during the celebration. Yeah, forget that. If you want to learn the history and see that actual floats being made, I highly suggest stopping by the Mardi Gras World. For $20 ($10 for kids), you get a historic presentation on the tradition, taste real King Cake, try on costumes, throw beads, learn about the different parades, tour the float buildings, and watch craftsmen making the new floats. And since it was the holiday season, they were offering a special where you could make a mask for free. It was insanely awesome and both Singh and I had a fantastic time laughing as we added sparkling glitter to his mask. Did I mention how much I love this kid?

After we explored all of the floats, it was time to catch our afternoon flight home. Although our trip was short to this lively city, we filled each and every minute with amazing vegan food, new experiences, and fantastic memories. If you are looking for a short and family-friendly vacation, look no further than NOLA.

TRIP PLANNING LINKS & RESOURCES
Hotels Tonight App: A great app to use for last minute hotel bookings.
Capital One Venture Card: A great card to rack up bonus points to use for travel. 
The Saint Philip Hotel: A cute boutique hotel right in the heart of the French Quarter. 
Dreamy Weenies: Ah-maz-ing vegan hot dogs. Not GF, but well worth it! 
Crepe Cart: GF and vegan crepes! 
Seed: GET THE PO BOY. 
Mardi Gras World: Experience Mardi Gras without having to deal with the crowds!