After spending most of January 2020 in Mississippi, Shae and I moved on to Louisiana where we spent the next month.
Neither of us had spent any time in the Bayou state before, so we didn’t really know what to expect. We were picturing a lot of swamps and not much to do, but the latter part didn’t turn out to be true.
Louisiana turned out to be much more fun and enjoyable than I’d been expecting with – as you might expect – some really great food. Here’s a list of our best and worst things from the state.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – This would have to be the Hyatt Centric French Quarter New Orleans. It was a really nice hotel and it’s in a fantastic location in the French Quarter. To save money and/or points, we don’t normally stay downtown in a city as those properties are usually more expensive, so it was nice to treat ourselves to a hotel in the perfect spot for once.
Shae – After reviewing our stays, definitely the Hyatt Centric. They were so friendly, we had a ton of fun and Truffles got a ton of pets.
Favorite Meal
Stephen – It’s a tough decision between two meals, but I feel a little bad because neither of them are your traditional Louisianan fare. One was Cou-yon’s Cajun Bar-B-Q in Baton Rouge and the other was Laksa in New Orleans.
A special mention should go to the chicken and sausage gumbo and crawfish stew we had at B&C Seafood Riverside & Cajun Restaurant while we were staying in Baton Rouge.
Shae – Oooh… So hard to choose! I have to go with the alligator hot dogs at Dat Dog. I loved Cou-yons and B&C, but since I had the hot dogs twice they have to be top. Spicy, tasty, covered in delicious toppings, great atmosphere and drinks… definitely worth both visits.
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – I’m afraid I have to go for beignets from Cafe du Monde and Cafe Beignet in New Orleans. They certainly didn’t taste bad, but for as hyped as they are, I was expecting far more deliciousness from them.
Shae – Probably my beans and rice from Pat O’Brien’s. Not because it wasn’t good, but I tried Stephen’s jambalaya and was sad that I hadn’t gone for that.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – I think wandering around the French Quarter was my favorite free thing we did. It’s such a cool part of New Orleans and we had great weather during our time there, so it wasn’t raining but neither was it too hot.
Shae – Oh, definitely going to the Gator Chateau – it was so fun and while they accept donations it is technically free.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – Probably the Tabasco Factory tour. I thought it’d just be a fun little stop on our way to New Orleans from Lafayette, but it was much more interesting than I thought it’d be. Great value for $5.50 per adult.
Shae – I loved so many things about Louisana. Even though we didn’t pay for it (it was a gift from my stepdad for Christmas), the best paid activity I did was the Otter Swim at Barn Hill Preserve. But there could be a few honorable mentions including the Vermilionville Historic Village and the NPS Acadian Cultural Center.
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – The Gator Chateau seeing as it’s incredibly rare when you get to take your dog with you on an animal experience. We were far more interested in the baby gators than Truffles was though.
Shae – Walking around with Truffles during Mardi Gras in her little dress and getting some beads!
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – Sitting in traffic heading into New Orleans on the Friday evening of the busiest weekend of Mardi Gras. What would normally have been a three hour drive turned into seven hours.
Shae – Of the actual things we did, not just the traffic, I think my least favorite was Evergreen Plantation. There was some really interesting information and the slave cabins were incredibly interesting, but it just wasn’t as “wow” as some of our other Louisiana activities.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – I don’t think we actually went hiking in Louisiana, but I enjoyed walking around Prien Lake Park a number of times while staying in Lake Charles.
Shae – We didn’t go for a hike and I didn’t really join Truffles and hubs on too many walks, but I enjoyed my walk around Barn Hill Preserve as part of the Otter Swim and facility tour.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – I don’t know if really counts as quirky, but probably the Gator Chateau.
Shae – I think eating alligator hot dogs counts as quirky so I’m going with that.
Favorite Memory
Stephen – Just wandering around the French Quarter.
Shae – It’s not really part of the trip, but I do virtual field trips with Outschool. I LOVED taking my students to Vermilionville Historic Village and got a ton of wonderful feedback about how interesting it was to learn about the Acadian people. My favorite memory was being able to share that joy with them.
Funniest Moment
Stephen – Seeing Truffles earning some beads during Mardi Gras for flashing her six nipples.
Shae – Truffles and her little bead shimmy for sure!
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – Driving into New Orleans at pretty much its busiest time.
Shae – Yeah, other than that 7 hour drive, I really enjoyed Louisiana and don’t regret anything.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – We didn’t visit the top half of Louisiana, so there’s probably some stuff up there that we missed out on.
Shae – Agreed. I’d also have liked to have visited a few more Plantations if it was in our budget to do so. They have different focuses on history.
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – How enjoyable Louisiana was. I figured New Orleans would be fun but that the rest of the state might be a bust, but I had a great time there.
Shae – How unimpressed I was by beignets. Eh. They’re just OK.
My Louisiana Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – Take a drink every time you see a business ending in -eaux.
Shae – Take a drink for every daquiri sign you see – they love them some daquiris in Louisiana.
Summary Of Louisiana In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – Good food, fun stuff, definitely visit New Orleans.
Shae – So much interesting history, yummy food and really friendly people.
Louisiana Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles.
Shae – New Orleans, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles.
This is a great summary of an area that I am looking to visit in the next year or two.
Awesome, hope you have fun while you’re there. It’s definitely worth visiting which I wasn’t sure would be the case initially.