Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts for the Jetsetter
Travel - Moody Girl In New Orleans
New Orleans is most known for coming to life during Mardi
Gras, but the Big Easy actually has way more to offer than colorful beads and
partying on Bourbon Street. This past weekend, I learned that there are so many things to
do in New Orleans that families, foodies and serious night owls can all enjoy. Whether you want to enjoy live jazz music,
take a walk through sculpture gardens or just eat lots of local Creole and
Cajun cuisine, then New Orleans is the best place for your next vacation. I’ve put together a quick guide for you to
make the most out of your next trip. Check it
out below and let me know what you think.
WHERE
TO STAY
HOTELS: My sister
and I stayed at the Sheraton New Orleans off of Canal Street in the central business district. Our
room was really nice and the location was perfect because we were in the heart
of the city. I’m sure it might sound
tempting to stay in a hotel on Bourbon Street, but be prepared to pay a little
more money and to hear round-the-clock noise from the never-ending street party
outside your room every night. Some
other hotels that you might want to check out include The Roosevelt Hotel, the Hilton New Orleans Riverside and the Loews Hotel.
TRANSPORTATION
RIDE A STREETCAR: There’s
no need to rent a car in NOLA because the neighborhoods are close enough for you
to access by foot or bicycle. And it you
get tired of walking you can give your legs a rest and ride a streetcar
instead. Total cost: One-way fares are $1.25 or you can purchase an all day
pass from the conductor to $3.00. Be
sure to have cash and the exact change.
Of course you can order an Uber/Lyft or grab a taxi for any of your transportation
needs. We opted to ride the streetcar
and do more walking to walk off all of the food we were eating all weekend.
PLACES
TO EAT & DRINK
One thing New Orleans certainly has a lot of is amazing
restaurants serving local Creole and Cajun cuisine. When you’re visiting New Orleans, you must-try
the following dishes to understand the city’s love affair with food. A few
things I enjoyed trying this weekend were the charbroiled oysters, gumbo, red
beans and rice, Creole bread pudding and some fresh crawfish. Here’s a list of
a few restaurants that I got to try:
ACME OYSTER HOUSE: As
soon as I got into town last Wednesday night, my sister and I made our way out
to find some food and ended up standing in line at the Acme Oyster House.
Luckily we only had to wait 15 minutes for out table, but I’ve heard that you
could stand in line for up to an hour sometimes. So if you see a short line at
the door, then jump in it immediately. The menu includes a variety of seafood
dishes from fresh fish platters to po-boy sandwiches to oysters. They are also
known for their Boo Fries (which include roast beef gravy and cheese). We ordered the chargrilled oysters to share
and the New Orleans Medley and an order of the Fried Half and Half Platter with
shrimp and oysters. Everything that we
ate was pretty amazing!
BAYOU BEER GARDEN: For a real
taste of the local cuisine, then you’ll need to order some fresh crawfish. My
sister and I really wanted to find a crawfish boil and found one at the Bayou
Beer Garden. They serve 3lbs of crawfish
with fixings for $12 at 3pm on Friday and 1pm on Saturday and Sunday. They also have a regular menu if you don’t
want to eat crawfish and an extensive beer list with over 150 beers to choose
from as well as a cocktail menu. Total cost: $12.00.
CAFÉ DU MONDE: Eat beignets at
Café Du Monde for a quintessential New
Orleans breakfast or a quick afternoon snack. What’s a beignet? It’s basically
“fried dough” in French. This tasty treat is a deep-fried square, doughnut-like
pastry topped with tons of powdered sugar. They are sold only in a group of
three for about $3 after tax. And make sure you bring cash, they do not accept
credit cards. Café Du Monde is famously
distinguished by its green-and-white striped awning on Decatur Street across
the street from Jackson Square. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
except on Christmas and the occasional hurricane. My sister and I grabbed more
than our fair share a beignets while we were there. Total cost: $3.00.
CENTRAL GROCERY AND DELI: Make
your way to Central Grocery Co. on Decatur to grab a thick, meaty muffuletta
sandwich from the home of the original muffuletta. This sandwich is a stack of meat and cheese
topped with olive salad and packed between pieces of locally baked handmade
bread in the shape of a disk. Total cost: $18.95 for whole and $9.95 for half.
DRAGO’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT: My
sister and I went to Drago’s inside the Hilton New Orleans Riverside specifically
for their legendary charbroiled oysters. I ordered a half a dozen oysters
and after the first bite, I regretted not ordering a dozen of them. These
oysters are grilled over an open flame and topped with garlic, butter, herbs,
and Parmesan and Romano cheese. They are served with two large chunks of French
bread that is perfect for sopping up the rest of the They have such great flavor that you’ll
remember them for days. I also ordered a
cup of the Chicken & Andoullie Sausage Gumbo, which was just okay. Next
time I’ll only order the oysters and I’ll be sure to get a dozen of them. Total
cost: $19.95 for a dozen and $11.95 for a half-dozen.
HOTEL MONTELEONE: The Carousel Bar at the historic Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter is
an absolute must see when you’re visiting New Orleans. The bar is an actual
functioning carousel that has been spinning for the past 65 years. Don’t
worry about the speed either, the 25-seat, bright circus-like Merry-Go-Round
rotates every 15 minutes. The bar serves classic cocktails and a food menu that
features gumbo, blue crab and crawfish beignets and mini po’boys.
MERIL: My sister and
I decided to try out Chef Emeril Lagasse’s newest restaurant, Meril, located in
the Warehouse District. The menu reflects the current trend of small plate options
that are perfect for sharing with family and friends. We ordered the Upside-Down
Cornbread (pineapple & house bacon marmalade), the Brussels Sprouts,
Meril’s Linguine & Clams, Jerk Chicken Thighs and the Candied Pork Ribs. At
first we didn’t think we ordered enough food, but everything was surprisingly
filling and not to mention delicious. We
were so full that we couldn’t even entertain ordering dessert. However, we were
able to try the birthday cotton candy courtesy of the guest at our neighboring
table. Quick tip: Make a reservation to reduce the wait time.
MOTHER’S RESTAURANT: No trip to New Orleans is complete
without experiencing Mother’s Restaurant.
They have been part of the New Orleans tradition since 1938. This
restaurant is open seven days a week from 7:00AM to 10:00PM and they don’t
take reservations, so be prepared to wait outside for a little while before
being seated. Mother’s is most famous for their ham po’boy sandwiches, but of
course they also offer creole/Cajun cuisine such as gumbo, jambalaya and red
beans and rice. The Ferdi Special Po’boy
(ham, roast beef, the original debris with au jus gravy) is the top seller, so I
decided to give it a try as well as a cup of the red bean and rice. My sister
ordered the Turkey Ferdi Po’boy instead and a cup of the gumbo. The food was incredible and very
filling. I wish we knew how big the
sandwiches were because we could have shared one instead. I would definitely go again to try a few
other things on the menu. Total cost for the po’boys: $11.00 - $18.00.
SOBOU: My sister and I stumbled
upon SoBou while looking for a bathroom after we shopped a little at the
French Market. SoBou stands for South of
Bourbon Street and it’s located at the W Hotel French Quarter. We were impressed by the modern decor of
illuminated clear and frosted glass bottles on the walls, cozy booths and the
large bar in the back.
This “spirited restaurant” has an eclectic menu that includes yellowfin
tuna cones with basil avocado ice cream as well as the sweet potato beignets
with a foie gras fondue & chicory coffee ganache. I didn’t get to try either of them, but they
both sound like they would be delicious.
I decided to order the Chef Juan Carlos’ 3 Course Tasting which included
the Louisiana Gulf Shrimp Skating on Ice for an appetizer, Bourbon Braised Beef
Short Ribs for the main course and the Louisiana Strawberries & Chocolate
Coma Bar.
Unfortunately, the restaurant sold out of the beef short ribs,
so they substituted the meal with the Black Angus Grilled Ribeye Filet, which
was perfectly tender. And my sister
ordered the Geaux Fish a la Plancha which was pretty amazing. Overall, my tasting meal was fantastic. I
wish we were able to order the Cherries Jubilee & White Chocolate Bread
Pudding, but they need 25 minutes advanced notice to make it and we didn’t feel
like waiting for it. However, it’s
definitely on my list for the next visit.
SNUG HARBOR JAZZ BISTRO: Snug
Harbor Jazz Bistro is a small, intimate jazz club that has a large dining
room and bar attached to it. You’ll have to pay anywhere from a $15-$40 cover
charge for access to the music room to watch some of the best performers in the
country. We went to an 8pm show on Saturday night and made our way to the
dining room afterwards for dinner. The
dinner menu at Snug offers great examples of traditional New Orleans fare.
However, I wasn’t that impressed. We ordered the Blackened Fish with a baked
potato and my sister ordered hers with asparagus. Both of our meals were just okay, so I
probably wouldn’t go there for dinner again. The dessert on the other hand was
pretty amazing. We ordered the bread
pudding and we were not disappointed.
TWO CHICKS CAFÉ: On Saturday
morning, my sister and I headed out for breakfast at what we thought was the
Court of Two Sisters. Only to find out
that we got our signals crossed and ended up at the Two Chicks Café, which turned
out to be a happy accident. When we got
to the restaurant, there was a long line at the door. Luckily, we didn’t wait too long to get
seated. The menu offers all of your favorite breakfast/brunch items with a
modern and creative twist like the Papa’s French Toast, the Crab Cake Benedict
and the BBQ Shrimp & Grits. I
ordered the Under the Sea Omelet which was filled with lump crab meat and
shrimp with a side of potatoes and my sister ordered the Crab Cake Benedict,
which were both delicious. Definitely
recommend checking this place out if you've never been!
WILLIE’S CHICKEN SHACK: If you want a quick drink that you can take
with you as you walk around the city, then grab a drink from Willie’s Chicken
Shack. Willie’s features a large
selection of alcoholic beverages including signature drinks like Hurricanes and
frozen daiquiris by the yard. My sister
and I grabbed a couple of the frozen Hurricanes while we were in town. We were both surprised with how much it
really packed a punch. Total cost: $10.00
- $12.00.
THINGS
TO DO
VISIT JACKSON SQUARE:
Take a walk around the historic Jackson Square for local art and quirky
street performers. This is also the home of the St. Louis Cathedral, the
oldest Catholic cathedral in the US. The
Cathedral is open daily from 8:30 am until 4:00 pm with daily Mass at 12:05pm. We didn’t get to go inside, but we next time.
FRENCH MARKET: If you’re
looking for souvenirs, hand-crafted jewelry, fresh local produce and specialty
food items, then make your way to the French Market. This 250-year-old market is
open daily from 10:00am to 6:00pm and it covers 6 blocks. We made it out there a couple of times to
grab some keepsakes from our trip.
SHOPPING ON MAGAZINE STREET: While in
New Orleans, don’t miss the opportunity go shopping along Magazine Street like
my sister and I almost did. I never
heard about this street before, but now that I know about it I'll be back to do some more shopping. There are dozens of antique
stores, specialty boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants to choose from stretching
over five miles to downtown New Orleans.
CEMETERY TOUR: Only in New Orleans could cemeteries be major tourist
attractions. Explore the famous above-ground tombs in the city’s
cemeteries. You could pay for a guided walking tour or you can wander around on
your own. Most tours will focus on the St.
Louis Cemetery No. #1 on Basin Street because it’s the final resting place of
Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. With a guided tour you’ll learn more about the
burial practices along with wall vaults and family & society tombs. This
tour asks that you pay a $2.00 preservation fee.
WALKING TOUR OF THE GARDEN DISTRICT: Wander through the Garden District and admire the historic architecture of some amazing
Victorian homes. There are self-guided walking tours available and walking tours
available to help provide a history of the old plantation homes. Total cost:
Free.
BOURBON STREET: Bourbon Street is one of the most touristy areas in
New Orleans. This street, located in the
French Quarter, is similar to a Fat Tuesday celebration every day of the week. Although
Bourbon Street can get pretty rowdy, but it can also be a lot of fun, depending
on what kind of experience you’re looking for.
FRENCHMAN STREET: Stroll
down Frenchmen Street any night and you’re sure to hear some of the city’s best
musicians. You can hop from club to club
to hear a variety of sounds like jazz, funk, Latin, brass-band, folk and other
kinds of music performed by local celebrities as well as visiting acts. Places
to check out include: Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, The Spotted Cat, Blue Nile
and Café Negril.
Happy New Year and New Goals!
I know that I’m a little late, but I wanted to
wish all of you a blessed, prosperous and healthy new year! Over the past
several days, I’ve been reflecting on the ups and downs of 2016 and I’m
currently working on my list of goals for 2017. I’m really hoping for some big changes in the
new year and I wanted to share a few of my goals with you here on the blog.
(photo via)
Put God
First: All
Christians face the challenge of maintaining spiritual focus. This physical
world can be distracting and it often takes us on a path different from what
would benefit our goals as Christians. I will continue to work on drawing
closer to God by putting him first. I
plan to schedule some time each day to focus on reading the bible and
meditating on the passages I’ve read. I
also want to get more involved in my church by taking an active role in a small
group and by volunteering more with different service projects in the
community.
I continue to struggle with this goal each day, but
I have to remind myself to trust God and surrender my fears to Him. I know that the more I do it, the more I’ll
notice His work in my life, which will strengthen my faith and inspire me to
keep making my relationship with God first in my life.
Travel: One thing I didn’t get to do a lot of last year
is travel for fun. I travel every week
for work and while I love my job and all of the perks, the traveling back and
forth gets a little draining after a while.
On my down time, I just want to relax in my own apartment and stay
close to home, but that’s no way to live. I need to just suck it up and make
time to explore new places again. So I’m
currently planning a trip in the Spring to visit my cousin in London and I’m
eagerly planning a trip to Morocco with my sister – I’m really looking forward
to both of these trips.
Buy a Home: Lately I’ve been
obsessed with watching HGTV, picking out furniture and adding new pins to my
Pinterest page for the new home that I haven’t bought yet. Can any of you relate? Another
reason that I didn’t travel too much last year is because I was planning on
buying a home. However, my plans fell through unexpectedly, so home
buying was delayed to this year instead.
Hopefully by the end of the year, I’ll be in my new home.
Get Healthy: Like everyone else in the world, I’m
going to focus on getting back into shape.
I’ve been on a downward spiral ever since Halloween and the pounds slowly
continue to creep on, so I need to change that ASAP. I’ll start eating healthier and utilizing the
21-Day Fix system to eliminate the crappy foods I’ve been eating lately - goodbye french fries, brownies and cookies! I also plan to add more weight training to my
already existing workout routine. I’ll
start off by lifting weight at least 2 days a week – I don’t want to go too crazy
just yet.
Start Running (Again): This goal is part two of the Get Healthy goal
above, but I felt that my running journey needed a separate entry. I have to admit that I haven’t been running
as much as I used to over the past few years and I’m not really sure why. Overall, I think my body and my mind just
needed a break from all of the training and races that I completed in the past. But now I feel like I’m ready to get back on
the pavement on a regular basis. For now I’m aiming to run three
days a week, in addition to my other workouts. I’m pretty confident that I can
stick with it, because it’s not too much running for now. Eventually, I want to challenge myself to add
a few more half marathons under my belt by the end of the year.
Well there you have it – I tried to
keep it pretty short and manageable. Do you all have any New Years
resolutions for 2017? What are they and do you think you can accomplish all of
them? I think we can do it. We just need to
remember: It is
better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great
leap forward only to stumble backward. ~ Old Chinese Proverb
Well, here’s hoping that 2017 is way
better than 2016!
Labels:
Goals,
Happy New Year,
Lifestyle,
New Year,
New Year's Resolution,
Travel
Traveling Mood: Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC
Hey guys! So,
I’m traveling today back over to the West Coast again. I’m currently headed to Seattle, WA for a
little sightseeing and then over to Vancouver, BC to run in the Lululemon
SeaWheeze Half Marathon. I’m meeting my bestie again and my mom is also
coming along for the fun. I’m definitely
not ready for the half marathon this year, but I’m looking forward to the
festivities. Be sure to check out my Instagram and Twitter account for the most up to
date posts while I’m at sightseeing and running.
Also, check out the video recap below from last year's Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon. We had a blast!
Also, check out the video recap below from last year's Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon. We had a blast!
My BlogHer ‘14 Recap (Part 3)
Saturday, July 26th
So you’ll
never guess what I did on the last morning of the conference. I ate breakfast in my hotel again, but this
time I woke up a little earlier so I wouldn’t miss too much. I’m not sure why I
didn’t get the memo that a hot breakfast would be served in the mornings, but I
really had no idea. Lucky for me both breakfasts at the hotel were
complimentary, so I didn’t pay out of pocket.
At least I know what to expect for the next BlogHer conference.
Richelle and I |
Anyways,
when I got to the breakfast, I realized that I did miss two of the 10x10
speakers. By the time I found a table
and sat down, Kara Swisher, the co-CEO of Re/Code, was getting ready to
interview Melissa Barnes, the Head of Global Brands for Twitter. They were both pretty awesome. Next, the Re/Code reporter, Nellie Bowles
interviewed Richelle Parham, CMO of eBay North America, on exploring the
untapped opportunity that e-commerce represents for online influencers. I love what Richelle had to say about the
future of blogging with eBay. She said
that in order to get your voice heard, have a point of view and just say it.
Arianna
was unexpectedly funny and she always something witty to say when Guy was able
to get a question in. During the
interview, Mrs. Huffington explained how important it is to take care of
yourself and avoid burning out. In her new book, Thrive: The Third
Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and
Wonder, she explained that she outlines 12
steps to reconnecting with ourselves to renew and recharge ourselves. Here are a few things that I took away from
the discussion:
- Sleep your way to the top: She wasn’t talking about what initially first comes to mind either. She literally means get some sleep. This was something that she didn’t do in the past, but now she gets at least 7 hours of sleep each night. I’m definitely going to give it a try. I’m lucky if I get 5-6 hours of sleep and that’s on a good night.
- Stop glamorizing being busy: Everyone is busy and it isn’t a badge of honor, so we shouldn’t act like it is.
- “No” is a complete sentence: This one speaks for itself.
Towards
the end of the interview, Guy asked Arianna a series of questions. He asked her if she liked “Mac or Windows?”
(She said both), “Harvard or Stanford?” (She said Yale), and “Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo?” (She said Manolo Blahnik.) The entire ballroom burst in
laughter when she said that Jimmy Choos are not comfortable because “they
are made by men who hate women.” Not
sure if she got any backlash from that comment, but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t
care. This was a short recap of the highlights, but
you can watch the interview here
if you’re interested.
By the
time that Arianna left the stage, a large group of women ran out of the
ballroom to get their copies of Thrive signed. Unfortunately, I didn’t buy the
book before I left for the conference, but smartly Arianna had copies on hand
ready to sell. Naturally, I had to buy a
copy of the book for myself. I stood in long
line to purchase the book and then another long line to get the book signed. From
what I could gather from that day, Arianna stayed to sign everyones’s book
despite the fact that she was in a rush.
Unfortunately, my interaction with Arianna was very brief, but there was
a photographer on hand that captured the moment.
![]() |
Photo Credit: Danielle Tsi
|
After I
got my book signed I stood in line early for the lunch and keynote conversation
with Kerry Washington. I wanted to make
sure that I had a good seat towards the front of the stage. Not surprisingly, there was already a long
line forming for access to the ballroom.
It was pretty cool to stand in line with some fellow obsessed Scandal
fans. I hung out in line with several
awesome ladies I met while I waited in line to buy Arianna’s book. When the doors to the ballroom opened, all of
the women in line rushed the stage to find the perfect seat.
![]() |
Photo Credit: Danielle Tsi
|
We also heard from, Morra Aarons-Mele and Luuvie
Ajayi, the two 10x10 speakers scheduled to take a look back at what the
blogosphere built and to take a look ahead to where we’re going covering 10
years in 10 minutes. Morra started first
and then the conference organizers said that they were going to change the
schedule up a little and have Kerry come out before Luuvie. During Luuvie’s performance, she joked about
change in the schedule and mentioned that she was so happy that Kerry
Washington opened for her.
Demetria Lucas, the author of A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living
Your Best Single Life and the
creator of the personal blog, A Belle In Brooklyn had the
distinct pleasure of interviewing Kerry Washington. Kerry
talked about how she keeps her personal life private, Scandal, social media and
fashion. I pretty much lost my mind when
she came out. I must have taken over a dozen
pictures of the duo to make sure I had one perfect shot. I even walked up closer to the stage to take
pictures and I ended up sitting the floor until the end of the interview. Kerry
she was so down to earth and she even took a selfie with the crowd, which was
pretty cool. Unfortunately, I didn’t
make the picture even though I was right in the front row. You can see me in my pink
skirt trying to make the shot. If you want to watch the whole
interview, then click the link here.
![]() |
Photo Credit: Danielle Tsi
|
![]() |
Photo Credit: Danielle Tsi
|
After the
interview, I attended the Style Mini-Conference. Out of the entire break out
sessions offered, I was most excited to attend this one. The discussion leaders
for this 2.5 hour session included Jane Park, the CEO of Julep, CeCe Olisa,
from Plus Size Princess, Monica Barnett from Blueprint for Style, and Natalia
Simmons from Ma Nouvelle Mode. I really enjoyed learning some helpful tips from
these experienced fashion bloggers.
Finally,
I attended the Closing Keynote, which was titled The Intersection of Race,
Gender, Feminism and the Internet along with 2 more 10x10 speakers. The panel of 6 women of color included
Feminista Jones from FeministaJones.com,
Grace Hwang Lynch from HapaMama, Kelly
Wickham from Mocha Momma, Kristen
Howerton from Rage Against the
Minivan, Natalia Oberti Noguera from Pipeline Fellowship
and Patrice Lee from Generation
Opportunity. I was so impressed by
the diversity and activism on the stage and blown away by their courageousness.
If you like, you can watch a clip of the session here. During the day I also got to meet Stacey Ferguson from Justice
Fergie in person. Stacey was one of the closing 10x10 speakers and she
shared her experiences and information about the Be Blogalicious community and
conferences that celebrates diversity among women in social media.
![]() |
Photo Credit: Danielle Tsi
|
Later that
night, I danced the night away at the official closing party hosted by McDonald’s.
I’m definitely not the biggest McDonald’s
fan in the world. I mean if I had food options,
9 times out of 10, McDonald’s wouldn’t even be on the list. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy
a happy meal every once in a while. So
it was a nice treat to be offered various happy meals, side salads and their
fruity smoothies during the party. McDonald’s transformed an empty parking lot into an outdoor lounge,
complete with lanterns, couches, and tents. They even hired Rev. Run of the
legendary rap duo Run DMC to get the party started. Rev Run had everyone at the party singing and
dancing to his old school mix of 80s and 90s hits. I didn’t realize how loudly I was singing until
I woke up the next morning and I barely had a voice. Overall, the closing party was the perfect
ending to the conference.
I have to
say that I’m very happy that my first blogger conference was BlogHer ‘14. This
conference was exactly what I expected it to be and I couldn’t be more pleased.
I heard from some veteran BlogHer participants that the conferences in the past
were bigger and better than this one, but I would never know the
difference. I connected with some
fabulous ladies and learned a lot about blogging and I that’s what I wanted. So
if you’re wondering if I would attend another BlogHer conference. My answer would be yes, absolutely!
Have you been to a BlogHer conference in the past?
Were you there at BlogHer ‘14? What did you think? Have you
ever been to a blogging conference? I’d love to hear about it!
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