On Friday I boarded a plane bound for New Orleans. I couldn’t wait to meet up with my friends and family for a weekend of all things Mardis Gras, tourism and culinary crusading (seriously, some people in the group had three full meals in the span of 5 hours on Saturday… that’s commitment). In the weeks leading up to the trip, I was torn: should I take my camera or not take my camera? I knew I was going to spend time in places that weren’t ideal conditions for carrying around my professional equipment; but I also knew I’d be inspired and want to take pictures. For the sake of protecting it, I left my Canon at home and headed to NOLA with my trusty iPhone in hand, hoping I wouldn’t have any regrets.
The weekend was amazing. Up until now, I had only visited this city as a child. As an adult, it was a completely different – and better – experience. I loved so many things about my time there, but I’ll summarize with the highlights from the trip:
- Black tie dinner at Galatoires, complete with masks, live music, excellent food, great company and an American flag that doubled as a cape at some point in the night.
- High tea at the hotel. Gorgeous flower arrangements, tiny sandwiches, scones, desserts and good old fashioned Earl Grey.
- Parades: particularly screaming for, catching and collecting the bright beads.
- Experiencing Bourbon St. Enough said.
- Incredible brunch feast at Surreys. The bananas foster french toast and shrimp bisque were definitely menu items to write home about.
- Walking down and exploring the old city streets.
- Admiring and photographing the beautiful architecture.
- The perfect weather. I was a little concerned about humidity (for my hair’s sake) but it couldn’t have been better!
- Getting dressed up and spending time with wonderful friends: both new and old.
Essentially it was a lot of food, fun and adventure. Thanks to my cousin William for organizing the entire trip and bringing fantastic people together for a weekend away. I’m very much looking forward to the next time!
The quality of cell phone pictures can drive me crazy sometimes, but you have to admit: if you want to capture a fun-filled weekend on-the-go, the iPhone does a pretty good job! The following is a compilation of what I found beautiful, interesting, funny or simply wanted to remember.
Sigh. I want to go back!
