Proper N'awlins Update
Saturday, Dec. 11, 2004, 20:01
But first things first......HaPpY BiRtHdAy to ME!!!!! YEEEEEEEE! I am officially 36 years old as of 8:46 PM.
On Friday (Dec 3) my friends and I arrived at our hotel, the Pelham to find that it was overbooked and were sent down the block to the St.James Hotel. Our room was gorgeous. It was on the fourth floor in what appeared to be old attic space. The dark wooden ceiling and rock walls gave an absolutely romantic and rustic feel to the room. I really regretted that I was alone for this trip but decided not to dwell on my misfortune at the moment. We had already registered for the AARC Conference at the convention center, so we headed out to eat after we got the bags up to the room. We went to Huey's 24/7 Diner where we had Craw fish Andouille Etouffee and fried macaroni and cheese. After dinner it was off to Bourbon Street to experience the excitement. The street was packed because there were several conventions in town as well as the Saints were having a home game. We bar hopped in such places as Fat Cats (the cutest guy works there passing out the little Tube drinks) and Famous Door, but had the best time at Howl At The Moon where we joined in the festivities of the "Dueling Pianos".
The next day we attended classes and lectures, attended the bust of a welcome party ( the only highlight was meeting a cutie patootie, Chris from Illinois) and then went to Bourbon Street once again. On Sunday we attended lectures during the day and went to an awesome party that night sponsored by Bayer Healthcare (you know the aspirin people) at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. There were tables of food, loads of ice cream sundaes and an open bar. In addition there were fish bowls of Aleve, Alka Seltzer and Bayer aspirin all over the place. *Word to the wise, sample packets of Aleve are much too complicated to open when one is intoxicated. You have to fold on a line, find the dot and then tear at the dot. Have you ever tried to fold a straight line on a tiny plastic packet when you were drunk?? Felecia and I expressed our dismay to the drug reps the next day and they agreed to address the higher ups in product development about our concerns ;) Needless to say we ate too much, drank waaaay too much and a merry time was had by all. We left the party with Chris in tow, headed toward Bourbon Street and somehow ended up at Coyote Ugly. The bartenders did body shots, danced on the bar and lit the drain tray on fire. It was quite the show, if you are male that is.
On Monday (Dec 6) we had brunch at Mother's, a hole in the wall that has food "worth waiting in line for" as the t-shirts proclaim. We saw first hand the line stretching outside the door and were more than willing to wait our turn after all the recommendations we had received about the place. If you go to New Orleans, you have to eat at Mothers at 401 Poydras. The food is great, they call you by your first name, give great service and no tipping is allowed.From there, we attended afternoon classes and were treated to dinner at Emeril's Delmonico Restaurant and Bar by the Drager Medical Reps. We talked shop about our new ventilators, drank fine wine, ate Escargots with Garlic Butter, Filet Mignon
and Veal Marcelle, enjoyed Bourbon Vanilla Cr�me Brul�e with Fresh Fruit, Bananas Foster and Brown Sugar Baked Alaska with Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream, Flaming Frangelico Rum Sauce and Candied Hazelnuts
and soaked in the wonderful atmosphere. We left there, stopped by the hotel to change into street clothes and hit Bourbon Street for a famous Pat O'Brien's Hurricane (and their Rainstorm is not half bad either). On the way back to the hotel we danced and sang with a street musician who played the sweetest love songs.
Tuesday was spent sight seeing, riding the streetcar to the French Market, eating beignets at Caf� Du Monde, relaxing on the quiet Riverfront and reflecting on life at St. Louis Cathedral.
I did some soul searching, heavy thinking and made a few decisions during my time in New Orleans,but all of that can be saved for another day.
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