So I covered Saturday-Sunday of my New Orleans here.  This article will cover the rest of my trip from the Big Easy.

Monday:
After having about 4 hours of sleep, I wake up early to get ready for the Plantation Tour.  I asked the front desk which tour was the best and he suggested I take the Laura tour instead of the more famous Oak Alley.  He said the Laura tour had more information and didn’t shy away from the history of the slaves.  I take his advice and wait for the shuttle.  It turned out Brian was also the driver to the plantation.  Haha.  That’s cool.  There was probably a total of about 10 people going on the tour.  It was about a forty five minute drive but along the way we passed some really cool scenery.

On our way to the plantation

It started raining pretty hard as we arrived on the plantation.  We watched a boring 30 minute video on how the plantation was built.  I just walked around and took pictures.  After the video, we were finally on our way to the tour.

Water lillies in the plantation

The main house looked really nice with a huge tree in front of it.  I wouldn’t live in the house though because it’d be creepy as hell sleeping there at night, there’s just too much free space.  We went to the ground floor where it was really dark.  I noticed Katherine was having a hard time changing her DSLR lens, so I helped her out.  It turned out she had the same camera as I did but the Japanese version.  I had to help out several more times as she changed the lens a couple more times.  She was French but lived in Moscow.  That’s something you don’t see everyday.

Scary

We were given a whole tour of the plantation, including the slave quarters.  It was pretty small but I expected it to be way smaller.  I also learned that free black men back in the days also had black slaves.  Damn, that’s cold blooded.  At this time, the rain already stopped and made for some good pictures because the air was clear.

View to the main entrance

The tour ends about 30 minutes later and we go back on the shuttle.  Brian hooks us up and takes us to Oak Alley so we can take a look at it.  We take some pictures and go back to New Orleans.  In the shuttle, I talk pictures with Tulu.  I believed from Illinois and visited New Orleans with her friend.

Slave quarter

Plantation Field

Oak Alley Plantation

Brian ready to leave

Me and Katherine decide to get lunch but she had to go back to her hotel first because she was wearing sandals and her feet got dirty from the rain.  From her hotel to the French Quarters, it must have been a 30 minute walk.  Damn, I was getting dehydrated but I don’t think it even affected Katherine.  She must walk more than I do.  Katherine shows me Jackson Square and the pastry shop on my must to do list, Cafe Du Monde.

Jackson Square with Katherine

Afterwards, we eat at some cafe.  I wasn’t really feeling the Jambalaya, it was too dry but maybe I was just too dehydrated.  Once we got done eating, we checked out the Louis Armstrong Park where we almost got ran over crossing the street.

The dry jambalaya

My co workers texts me that they’re ready to go out so I say my goodbye to Katherine. I go back to the hotel where my co workers were staying at.  I take them to Cafe Du Monde and we have the begnets and iced coffee.  The begnets was really good, kind of like a donut and croissant combined with frosted sugar.  Iced coffee was a little bitter.  We walk some more around the French Quarter to kill time.

More of Jackson Square

For dinner, we ate at some restaurant whose name I’ve completely forgotten.  I ordered the crawfish etouffe.  This was also okay, my co-worker’s, scallops were much better.  We shared our food as usual so we can have variety.

The scallops

After dinner, we hang out at the lounge at the W Hotel.  It was pretty empty.  I call it a night and get ready for the next day: multimedia convention.

The crawfish etouffe

Tuesday:
Wake up bright and early again and transferred to the hotel where the convention was held.  Sitting next to me for the whole event was John and James from Texas.  They were from the same company.  The first day’s convention ended around 4 p.m.  Afterwards, they decided to hit up the Jazz club, Preservation Hall, in the French Quarter.  I tag along with them and pay the $10 admission.  I was really glad they invited me because I missed Jazzfest.

Inside Preservation Hall

Preservation Hall is a small joint that serves no liquor but let you in with it.  I was told by the door person that they don’t serve liquor so the minors could get in.   The place is fairly small with a couple of benches but I loved the place, it looked old with cracked walls and the lighting was great.  James and John sit down while I stand in the back so I can take pictures.  While I was taking pictures in the back, I started talking to Boi and Nicole from the Netherlands.  The sweetest couple in New Orleans.  Nicole even defended me when the drummer thought I was video recording the performance.  Thanks Nicole!  They told me they usually go to New Orleans once every three years and stay for a month.  The band played for about 30 minutes and it was one of the highlights of my trip.  They were very talented and it everything was smooth.  After the show, I take a picture with the drummer who thought I was video taping them.  He said he thought I had a video cam, then Nicole backed me up again and set him straight for the second time.  Haha.

The Jazz drummer

Boi and Nicole

Outside the venue

After the show, I check out a voodoo shop and checked out some of the cool masks.  Next up for me and my Texas pals was Bourbon Street.  We went to a Western bar.  It was pretty cool, they had a dance floor and a mechanical bull.  We got hungry, so we ate a damn greasy pizza.  It was actually pretty good but it looked like it would suck.  Afterwards we walk some more and call it a night.

John and James.

Voodoo Masks

James enjoying his pizza

Wednesday:
After the conference, I decide to go on a ghost tour.  The starting point of the tour was pretty far and a good 20 minute walk, it was on the other side of the French Market.  I passed by Cafe Du Monde again and I had time to spare so I stop for a quick snack.  This time it was better, maybe Cafe Du Monde is better experienced when you’re alone and concentrating on the food all by itself.  I found it interesting that the workers would sit down and read books when they weren’t busy.  Made me wonder why they didn’t talk to each other.

Beignet and iced coffee

After the delicious food, I walk along the Mississippi River.  Nothing too exciting.  You see an old school boat and a huge bridge.  Kept on walking towards my destination.  The tour started at a bar.  There were about 15 of us.  The guide was awesome because she had a great sense of humor.  She took us to the “haunted” spots but more than anything, it was a “city history” tour, which I found mildly interesting.  The most fascinating part of the tour was the talk of the vampires and we were taken to a house that was in Interview With The Vampire”.  The tour lasted for about 2 hours.  I’d reccomend the tour if you’re into photography because the tour takes you to creepy looking houses that you’d never find on your own or if you’re into the history of New Orleans.

The not so interesting river

Beginning of the ghost tour

House in Interview With The Vampire

Afterwards I hang out with my Texas buddies at Fat Catz on Bourbon Street where they were play 80’s music.  John was enjoying the music the most.  You can’t have a full New Orlean’s experience until you get harrassed by girls selling hard liquor in what looked like test tubes.  They pretty much have these girls at every bar I went to.  They’ll hassle you for a drink and to their credit, they don’t give up.  I’d be lying if I said I was annoyed by them, they were pretty cool once you got to know them.

Thuggin It Up =)

We walk the streets after we got bored.  Wow, there’s plenty more people than the previous two nights.  It’s actually better when it’s crowded because it feels more like a party.  We go to another bar and we take a couple of shots.  Thanks for the drinks John!  Afterwards we went back to the Western bar where John and I rode the mechanical bull.  It’s no easy task riding that thing, I quickly got tired because I wasn’t breathing as I tried to stay on.  Plus, the pressure is on you because the whole crowd is watching.  That was fun.

After one shot – lightweight style

It was around 1am at this time and John and James decide to call it a night.  I decide to check out a couple of bars since it was my last night.  The street was pretty empty but I did see Dennis Rodman with 3 hot girls.  I didn’t bother him because he looked focused and drunk.  After about 30 minutes of walking, I surrender and call it a night.

Crowd control

Thursday:
We get out of the conference around noon.  I say goodbye to my Texas friends and quickly head to a cemetery.  It was in the Garden District so I took the street car again.  The cemetery was pretty small but it still gave me the creeps even though it was in the daytime.  There were barely people in the cemetery and the caretaker was also creepy.  He started to organize a free tour but when no one was interested. He got pissed and started complaining how no one appreciates the history of his cemetery.  Took some pictures and headed towards Magazine Street where the high end shops were at.

Tombstone

The crazy dude

I was planning to get a couple of cool shirts that my co worker got the previous day.  He said he got it at one of the stores on Magazine.  The area had to be the snobbiest place in New Orleans.  Most of the people were artsy and had the “I’m too good for you mentality”.  I asked a couple of times if they knew of any clothing stores around the area and most didn’t want to be bothered.  All of them didn’t know where these stores were at either.  I walk for about 45 minutes trying to look for it and give up.  I go back to my hotel since I was leaving for the airport in a couple of hours.  I ride the street car again.  As we were closing the hotel, I see Brian again in his shuttle.  Friendly as usual and waving to us.

This wasn’t the store I was looking for

I have about one hour left so I decide my last meal was going to be fried chicken at “Mother Cluckin”.  I go in and hope that my last meal would be awesome.  To my surprise, the restaurant is owned by a Vietnamese family.  I order the 12 piece cajun wings.  The chicken was great.  Crispy skin but it wasn’t breaded and the meat was soft and juicy.  The flavor wasn’t bad either: I could taste the spices but not too salty.  I’m glad this was my last meal.

My last meal

I head for the airport and wait a couple of hours for my flight.  I got there too early.  I’m sitting down, bored out of my mind, when I noticed a really tall guy walk pass by me.  I was thinking, wow that guy must be a college basketball player.  If he was an NBA player, he’d have an entourage.  The tall guy goes to the gift shop and looks around at some candies and walks  all the way to the end of the terminal.  I was thinking could that be the Big Arostitle, the guy from the classic movie, Kazaam?

I go towards the end of the terminal to make sure if it’s really him.  I look at his bag and it said “Police”.  This confirms that it’s the Big Diesel.  I go up to him:

“Hey Shaq, I’m a big fan of yours, can I take a picture with you?”
“Yeah” – He looked really tired.

Another person comes in and asks Shaq if his little daughters could take a picture.  He agreed.  At this time, the airline employee called Shaq over and told him that he was ready to board.  Shaq told the guy if he can wait a couple of minutes because he wanted to take pictures with us.

I take a picture with Shaq and tell him thanks for being cool to his fans.  He nods but he looked really tired, just like I was.   He was on the same flight as I was to Houston. What a way to end a crazy trip.

Shaq pack baby!

I’ll be coming back to New Orleans for sure =)

More pictures of the trip is in the photo gallery.

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