An introduction to Grits!

We shook ourselves (slightly seedy) out of bed Sunday morning and headed for the New Orleans School Of Cooking for a hands on brunch cooking class.

Our chef teacher was Sarah, and along with delicious recipes she shared some history and local foodie tips.

The class also started with hair of the dog drinks- bloody mary's, mimosas and even a keg of beer!

We made crab and sweet potato bisque, beef grillades, poached eggs and grits to start with. I think Leslie nearly had a tear in her eye watching us try grits for the first time!

Dessert was an amazing flambé Bananas  Foster- I think Baz has a new signature dish. I have to say I enjoyed watching him cook.

3 hours of cooking and eating southern comfort food left us all needing a nap, then Baz and I headed off for a bit of shopping before dinner. There is a big outlet mall right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi.

You have to love a city that facilitates shopping by allowing you to do so with beer....

Shopping done, it was time for a quick tidy up and out for dinner, starting with oysters. There are oyster bars everywhere, but the lines outside had put us off. We found a quieter place a block further away and had the BEST oysters I have ever had.

They were huge, shucked freshly at the bar and delicious. They serve them with grated horseradish, lemon wedges and crackers.

We also tried oysters Rockefeller with spinach, bacon, cream and sambucca.

Soooooo... Entree done it was off for dinner. Talk about a day of grazing. We tried NOLA, a restaurant specializing in local cuisine. The service was some if the best I have ever experienced and our meal was lovely. The menu was definitely showcasing the south.

Stuffed to the gills we set off for a final walk down bourbon steet and the voodoo shop to have our palms read.

No wise looking creole lady here... Think hipster dude with a torch examining your hand in the back of a souvenir shop! Too funny, but reassuring to know that I have one true love, a long life line and a knack for creative writing and delegating. Oh and I don't suffer fools.. And I'm stubborn... He may have got quite a lot right really!

Mindful that I was getting up early to start the trek home, we wandered slowly home bidding the bourbon street spectacle a final farewell.

Cemetery and Crab Claws

I'm runnning a little behind with my blog- but seeing as I have started my journey home will have plenty of time to catch up while cooling my heels in airports!

We started out on Saturday morning by boarding a bus for a city tour. The tour guide gave us a lot of detail about New Orleans and local history, and some insight into how Hurricane Katrina impacted the city.

Along the way there was a variety of architecture we saw, from tiny 'shotgun' homes barely wider than the front door to grand homes in the garden district. 

As we drove around the 9th ward there were sobering reminders of the devastation suffered by residents of New Orleans with some homes still rotting and falling down, and many level lots of land where homes were demolished and never rebuilt. Search and rescue markings were also still visible on many front walls, marking where teams had been to search for survivors after the flood caused by Katrina.

Our next stop was at a local cemetery, where we took a walk amongst the tombs. As New Orleans sits on a high water table and much below sea level, normal graves are of no use. Instead family tombs are used with coffins placed on a shelf above ground level for a year and a day to decay (ugh!) then the remains are intermingled in the base of the tomb and the shelf left clear for the next person.

We did have a laugh looking over some of the names, there was one family who had a member with his own separate tomb right next door- obviously didn't want to mingle together forever. It was a surprisingly beautiful place, and some of the dates went back hundreds of years.

After all that culture and insight, it was of course time for another meal. You could never go hungry in this town, or anywhere in the US from what I've seen so far!

We headed to Deanies for crawfish, and Baz and I shared this crab claw entree. The tasty morsels were small, about the size of my little finger at most and I couldn't help giggling at the image of lots of teeny clawless crabs running around. Their bodies would have held no meat at all so wouldn't be worth killing!

The lure of Bourbon street called again, so we took of in search of live music and cold beer. We settled in at a bar with a band playing soul music and happy hour drinks and spent the afternoon dancing, laughing, people watching and drinking beer!

I had to share a photo of this guy, his beer jug cost him $5 and was $5 for every refill and would fit 5 1/2 standard beers at a time. He was so pleased with himself, but as it was mid afternoon we couldn't help but think he would end up wearing himself out early and not enjoying his mega beer for too long.

Peaches was the next stop for dinner, it's an award winning restaurant specializing in seafood. Of course the meal was great, and we even managed dessert. The meal sizes are over the top for me and I haven't managed to have room for dessert too often yet!

We then took off for Frenchmen Street to listen to some Jazz music. The club we would up in was the Spotted Cat and a narrow intimate place heaving with punters. The whole street was alive with people out enjoying music and drinking beer, it was one big party.

Finally on the way home Baz and I walked though a local art market- still humming at just before midnight.

All in all a huge day! There is something for everyone to see and do here and even walking the streets home late at night the crowd seems happy and people friendly.

Wandering the streets of NOLA

We started the day with a yummy brunch and then wandered off in search if the French Market. The weather here is like Bali, humid and hot especially when the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. Of course that meant regular stops for a cold beer in some air con to refresh ourselves!

The French market was a collection of nick nacks and souvenirs with the local flavour, including dried out gators... Ewwww. Or you can just buy your gator canned up ready to eat... Still ewwww!

The rest of the day was spent wandering the streets, stopping into any place the music sounded good and watching street performers.

For lunch we tried to find Cajun Crawfish, only to be advised it was out of season so we settled for oysters and Cajun prawns and corn instead! Tough life. The oysters were delicious, big and fresh.

The buildings are brightly colored and there is plenty of greenery.

The letting agent for this apartment had a sense of humour, and was covering his bases- the reverse side said 'haunted'!

Bourbon Street was heaving by the time we headed towards our hotel for a rest before dinner. Lots of street performers, and music everywhere. The laws allow you to walk around with drinks in hand, so as you move on the pub provides plastic cups for you to take your drinks away in.

After a long day Baz and I had a casual dinner at 'Daisy Dukes' diner where Baz tried a shrimp poboy and I did a Philly cheesesteak.

I stopped and chatted with a trumpet player on the street on the way home, who have us some tips on music clubs away from the main tourist area that would be worth checking out- we'll see what tonight brings!

Goodbye NY Hello NO

Today started with a run through Central Park, what a lovely spot!

I then set off towards the Lincoln Centre in search of a store Fran suggested I visit. I can see it would be worth spending hours looking through it but on limited time I had a quick look and wandered back to check out MOMA.

On the way I did see this in a shop window- I ask you who on earth needs 5 pounds of gummi bears?!

MOMA was bustling, and I especially enjoyed the painting and sculpture floors, and the outdoor sculpture garden.

There was even a piece relating to Minecraft!

Also, one of my favorites and his water lilies.

It's been a whirlwind 3 days but so worth seeing! I'm looking forward to a more relaxed pace in New Orleans, and a dip in the pool.

Highline and Hitting the shops!

Our day started with Baz packing to head to Nashville. After a quick walk down 5th avenue together, he and Mase jumped into a massive black suburban FBI style and zoomed off to the airport.

I laced on my walking shoes and headed off to find the High Line- a repurposed elevated railway line now a garden right in the city!

I walked most of the length through the garden, then found the Chelsea market and wandered through there finding the best coffee so far along the way.

There are loads of different food vendors including a seafood market with a huge variety of the freshest looking fish I've seen in ages. They have a lobster cooking station at the back where there were happy punters slurping on lobster claws!

I then caught the subway home for a rest and refresh, and hit 5th avenue to shop. The sales are on for the end of summer stock, so the shops were crazy but I managed to snaffle a bargain or two regardless.

After I finished I decided to stop at the summer garden outdoor bar/cafe that's been set up in Rockefeller (sp?) plaza. A very civilized glass of proseco set me in order so I finished the afternoon with a haircut and back to the hotel for a chat with the kids.

Finally tonight I dined at Benoit- an Alain Ducasse restaurant in NY. Other than the accents around me I could have thought I was in Paris. A crisp rose, onion soup and soufflé.... Yum. Funnily enough the door bitch was an ex pat from Melbourne!

I'm packed up ready for tomorrow so I can use my time for a run, a bit more shopping and MOMA before I head to the airport for New Orleans. Night night

So much to see and do!

Yesterday it was off to meet Lady Liberty. We took the subway rather than brave the traffic, and after a long wait in the sun boarded a ferry to Liberty and Ellis island.

The view of the city from the ferry was spectacular, and the Statue of Liberty also amazing.

Next stop (after beers and burgers to recharge!) was the monument at ground zero. The fountains are quite beautiful and people moved easily around the park so it was a calm and peaceful place.

Before making our way back uptown, we stopped for a quick smooch with the Wall Street bull!

Then another busy night, the Book of Mormon at the theatre- hilarious show and funny theatre protocol. Drinks served in sipper cups!? The theatre was quite beautiful in its own right with ornate detail everywhere.

Finally dinner at Hakkasan- possibly the best Peking Duck I've ever eaten! Really moody and cool restaurant close to the theatre district.

I'm exhausted just recounting that lot will do today later on!

A long way to fly!

Hats off to Singapore Airlines, the flight connections worked, the planes were incredibly comfortable and their staff were delightful. They couldn't have been more helpful if they tried.

I watched the sun rise between Singapore and Frankfurt somewhere over Eastern Europe.

The seats were super comfy and flipped out to beds

Safely landed in New York I met up with Baz at our hotel, and was greeted with a pretty bunch of roses! Awwww

We went for a quick walk down to Times Square so I could get my bearings and then a casual lunch and a beer before I needed a quick snooze.

We had tickets for the Blue Man Group so headed off to the 21 Club for an early dinner. Cool restaurant with toys hung from the ceiling everywhere, and jockeys lining the front entry.

After dinner and the Blue Man Group show (crazy but fun!) we headed to the Empire State Building to check the view out.

Even at 10pm we shuffled through lines for ages to get to the observation deck, but it sure is an amazing sight!

Definitely the city that never sleeps, but I need to so good night!