WHEN IN NEW ORLEANS, LA: LODGING AND DINING

The nature of my trip to New Orleans was 90% work related with the remaining time available for some pleasure. So I wanted to be as close as possible to the Convention Center, strictly for convenience. It was short, just under 30 minute ride from the MSY Airport to the business sector of New Orleans.

Honesty hurts some of the time

Mercedes-Benz Super Dome: Home of the Saints

The stay at Hampton Inn and Suites was great with clean rooms, prompt service, and nice pool as a bonus which I never had the chance to use. The best part of the stay was the complimentary continental breakfast which had a nice Belgian waffle maker and good coffee. It's the simple things that matter, the convenience of not searching for another place to eat, especially first thing in the morning. 

Spectacular view: "I didn't ask for a better one"

Right across the street there is a nice little park dedicated to someone famous, that several people from the hotel used as a track to add to their miles of running. In front of the park was a really neat monument as tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. 

WOOD PIZZA BISTRO AND TAPHOUSE

First day in a new town, the safest place to eat is a local pizzeria. Even the worst pizza can still be eaten. Fortunately, NOLA is known for its great food, including this pizzeria and bar. I quickly noticed that most restaurants had some synonym of the word "bar" in their name. This place was a quick find on Google and it was a 5 minute walk on a very rainy evening.

Later that night I found out on the news that because of that evening's rain there was major flooding in several parts of the city. The reason for the flooding was later explained by my swamp kayaking guide who said that NOLA is below sea level. Three hundred years ago when New Orleans was founded, the area was drained and built on because that sounded like a "very wise" idea. And they have had problems ever since. The smaller amount of rain usually floods some part of the city. 

TWO CHICKS CAFE

Just two blocks away from the hotel, I found this place just before they closed for a late lunch. Based solely on observation this place only had female employees and my next assumption is that the owners may be two women as well. I was seated quickly and found some great options on the menu, most of them were very healthy creations. So I started with a healthy ham and cheese sandwich with horseradish which gave it a nice kick. The second choice wasn't as healthy but really delicious Nutella and strawberry crepes. All washed down with the best NOLA swamp filtered water with a lemon. Three  hours into my trip I quickly realized I'm going to miss my twice filtered house water (AquaOx Whole House filter and Berkey filter). 

CAFE DU MONDE

Before coming to New Orleans, several people recommneded that I have to try the beignets (pronounced Ben-yays). And so I did and I was really glad I didn't buy 10 but only three. Let me summarize the experience: fried dough with a ton of confectioners sugar. Nothing special or exciting, because the best fried dough is sold at the local NY State Fair every year.

EL GATO NEGRO

Amazing Mexican food on this side of the border. This may be the best Mexican food I have eaten in my entire life, so far. At this place, the waitress recommended El Macho Man Combo, which included the following things: 1 beef, 1 chicken, and 1 three cheese enchiladas; pork tamale; chorizo quesadilla with sour cream and guacamole. The entire entree was a great sampler of a few really delicious Spanish dishes. The one thing that stood out the most was the salsa that was served with tortilla chips before the entree. The salsa was so good that I wanted to take some home but they didn't sell it.

THE CORNER OYSTER CAFE

By day 3 of my trip, I was ready to have some authentic southern food and I went on a search for something that will catch my eye on the menu. The corner cafe enticed me with grilled garlic oysters and gator bites. Quite honestly I could have eaten another dozen of the oysters. The gator bites are best described as, "it tastes like chicken." 

MULATE'S

Over the last few days I passed this place a few times on my way to the French Quarter and decided to try it out. I was in a crawfish kind of mood and decided to go with the Cajun Triple Play Platter which included golden fried crawfish tails, crawfish au gratin, and crawfish etouffee. The sides were homemade Cole slaw and a twice baked potato. Every part of the entree was a new and pleasant first time experience. I also couldn't skip out on the bread pudding with a bourbon glaze. 

COCHON

Cochon means "domestic pig" in French. Fifty yards from the building, my mouth started to water because there was a strong smell of smoked wood from the smoker. The inside aroma was even better, a smoked meat flavor. My entree choice was pulled pork with a twice baked potato. The meat was delicious but the potato was not very impressive. The meat was spicey and so was the potato but when eaten together it was too spicey. 

The overall food experience was awesome. However, it's not the healthiest of choices for eating every day. So a once in a great while was perfect.  

CENTRAL PARK, NYC: EXPLORING THE GREEN SURROUNDED BY STEEL!

Sometimes you have to be spontaneous and that is how this trip happened. With a couple days off and literally no major plans we decided to check out a part of the big city that we have not seen before, Central Park. Being a New Yorker, we have visited the Big Apple countless times but never to place were there is actually grass. 

It was also a new experience to actually drive to Manhattan inside of taking the train, subway or bus. It took me a few minutes to understand the maze of one way streets and avenues but its rather simple. I also picked up some taxi "illegal turns" that actually worked. 

Our last minute hotel, the Salisbury, proved to be in a great location (57th Street), only one block from the park, 10 blocks from Times Square and surrounded by great places to eat and shop. The building itself is elderly and not worth a star but our idea of hotels in the city, is for sleep only and not hanging out. We got upgraded to a suite, which was really nice and accommodating for the kids. They provided great parking, $35 for 24 hrs, one block over (56th Street). 

The kids were media (more specifically TV/movies) starved for 2 months and so at first they spent more watching then actually eating. But they binged for 30 minutes and off we went to explore the city. 

  CENTRAL PARK

The massive rock throughout the park was very impressive. It added great character to entire place, as well a great views and cool opportunities for kids to scramble up the rock.

On the way to Central Park Zoo we passed some colorful cherry blossoms. The aroma was inviting for a few photos. 

CENTRAL PARK ZOO

Although the zoo itself is small, it did however have some cool attractions that captivated the kids and adults alike. The sea lions put on a great show and it was very interesting.

The stroller was used for clothing and bags, as my youngest daughter did a lot of exploring on foot. It amazed me how much she walked and still remained awake for most of the trip. She is also a master copy-cat and it was often seen at the zoo, repeating everything she could after her older sister and brother. 

On the way to the Kids Play Zoo, we came across a man playing a saxophone under a bridge, creating some beautiful sounds. He even managed to play a couple children tunes during which the youngest dancer had a little performance. 

BACK TO THE PARK

From the zoo we went further north into the park. We took every opportunity to climb the higher rocks and check out the views. 

The central section of the park is lined with statues to respected individuals with plenty of benches to sit, relax and enjoy the views. As we continued to explore into the afternoon, some sections of the park had strong cold wind whipping through and other areas had no breeze and warmer air. 

On our way to the playground we passed an open field with visitors and city folk hanging out and enjoying the much needed vitamin D.

HECKSCHER PLAYGROUND

A great place to hang out if you have children. Our kids enjoyed the swings, slides, and simply climbing things. The entire walking surface of the play area is covered with a rubber material and some parts have sand. 

Its also a great place to sit back and enjoy the views, if you don't have children. Umpire Rock had several college students and adults throughout just hanging out. 

TIMES SQUARE

We didn't didn't realize how close we were to Times Square, 10 blocks took us about 15 minutes with a stroller and 3 kids. The driving force for the older two was having the opportunity to check out some toy stores and get some souvenirs. The excitement on my sons face is priceless (right before that he asked if we were there yet). 

After about 45 minutes of shopping at the Disney Store and Highline, we were all ready to get back to the hotel and relax before bedtime. We had mercy on the poor little feet of our kids and took a quick cab ride back to 57th Street. NYC Tip: Don't tell the cab driver where you are going until you all get into the cab. They can't refuse to bring you to a location, even if its close by. 

Once back at the hotel, I asked a bell boy if there are any good pastry places near-by. I was directed to the Maison Kayser one block away (on 6th Avenue between 56th and 55th Street). When I saw the goodies in the displace case, I quickly realized I had a problem, I wanted to try everything. And lets say maybe we did. We went back the next morning for breakfast because it was really good. Worth every penny and calorie if you are counting. 

TRUMP TOWER

I'm not trying to be political but we like and pray for our president. And since Madison Avenue was 1.5 blocks away, we said rain or shine lets see the presidents second home. As we headed out that morning under very overcast skies, it stopped pouring, and we enjoyed a rain free walk.

Once at the tower we had to get cleared by security and then we walked around checking a few displays. On the ground level there is the Ivanka Store where we picked up a few souvenirs for the family.

On the way back we had to stop by and check our the Tiffany's Jewelry Store near Trump Tower. The ladies of the family were particularly fond of the sparkly beauties so we checked out a couple different floors at the store. 

We were blessed to not encounter any major traffic on the way into Manhattan and out as well. Our overall trip time was 4.5 hrs in each direction. Overall it was a 24 hrs well spent hanging out with family and see some new sights.