ADDED 11/20/12 11:28pm CST
UPDATE: Put up all of the pictures for Miami - click here.
So I know it’s been like 3 weeks since I’ve done a post, this is mainly because it takes a decent amount of time to do one, and I’ve been pretty busy in New Orleans.
To start, I freakin’ love this city. Two main things why I love this city. First off it is cheap, I mean really cheap. As soon as you get off Bourbon St and out of the French Quarter (even though you can still find amazing deals in both) it is absolutely unbelievable what a dollar will get you. The cool thing about it though is that it isn’t like “Oh our city is shit, so everything is super cheap” because if you are so inclined, you can find some of the best food and drink in the US if not the world, down the block from a place that sells 50 cent beers. That is just how NoLa is, on one block there could be 5 million dollar homes on St. Charles or Magazine, and 2 blocks down it could be a super shady slum. All that being said, yes, there are some ghetto/dangerous places in New Orleans, but it doesn’t seem to be as bad as what I was braced for. Granted I am a “extended tourist” and supposedly we are blind to how seedy the city really is, but in my eyes it isn’t all that bad. It’s a city, not a suburb and has to be treated as such.
Another reason I love this city is that it is FUN. Plain and simple. The people here are always down to have a good time and the bars/restaurants act accordingly. The music, the vibe, the energy - everything breeds a certain lighthearted and carefree atmosphere. It’s a joke that it is pretty difficult to get into trouble in New Orleans, and that is certainly true. Any place where you can and are encouraged to buy a beer on the street and then walk around the city with said beer is a good place to me. I’ve been here three weeks and I’m still floored that we are able to pregame at a house, fill up our Solo’s and head to the bars without a worry, or walk out of a bar drink in hand and head to the next one, wild. There’s never the annoying “Oh we are switching bars? Time to pound my drink.”
Good or bad, I’ve had sort of a “normal life” while in New Orleans. Pretty much have been keeping a schedule of work, BJJ, sleep and am really only able to go out on my days off. For the most part it’s been with the friends that I knew before who now live down here, which I’m really thankful to have. Here are some highlights: The first week I was down here I had four close friends visit which was an absolute blast and we did the typical go out every night, get weird, wake up and repeat. We did a mixture of local/college kid/tourist going out: hitting up Bourbon St and went to famous bars like Pat O’Briens with dueling pianos and got hand grenades at Tropical Isle. We went to the famous Miss Mays which stays open and serves all day and all night. Was in town for the LSU loss to Alabama which was ridiculous, people were losing their minds – LSU football is life down here. We went to Monday Night Football at the Superdome and saw the Eagles get toasted by the Saints, awesome. My review of the Superdome is that I’m not too impressed with it, however there are no bad seats. We were in the upper deck and still had awesome views. A couple nights later I went and saw the Hornets play which was really cool getting to see the number one pick Anthony Davis play and see him score 24. Another highlight was going to the NoLa On Tap Beer Festival. The festival was outside on a lake, gorgeous weather, and doubled as an ASPCA charity event so EVERYONE brought their dogs. It was such a fun day, and bringing your dog to a beer fest is definitely the way to go. I made pretzel necklaces for me and my friends using Mardi Gras beads which everyone at the festival thought was amazing (again). I’m telling you, it is unbelievable the reactions you get by just putting pretzels on a necklace. I’ve gotten to see a lot of live music and some awesome bands that I’ve never heard of before, but am now a fan of. I’ve also gotten to try a bunch of craft beers that I’ve never had before. New Orleans has a pretty solid craft beer scene, and what we consider “craft” like Abita is essentially their Bud Light and is super cheap. Some amazing deals that I’ve been witness to/partaken in: One place called Bourbon Room has a $5 Sunday Special where you pay $5 and it’s all you can drink from 6-9 (I almost didn’t make it out alive, whoa), 25 cent oysters that are HUGE everyday from 4-7 at the Pelican, $2 PITCHERS of Abita Amber all day on Monday and Tuesday at Reginellis, rock, paper, scissors at the Chart Room – you guessed it, you win its free, you lose it’s only $1.50 High Lifes, and many more. I’m here for 10 more days and have a bunch of activities planned, so I’m sure I’ll have some stories from those. I also have another installment of Matt gets absolutely worked in BJJ that I will write about next free moment I get.
So I know it’s been like 3 weeks since I’ve done a post, this is mainly because it takes a decent amount of time to do one, and I’ve been pretty busy in New Orleans.
To start, I freakin’ love this city. Two main things why I love this city. First off it is cheap, I mean really cheap. As soon as you get off Bourbon St and out of the French Quarter (even though you can still find amazing deals in both) it is absolutely unbelievable what a dollar will get you. The cool thing about it though is that it isn’t like “Oh our city is shit, so everything is super cheap” because if you are so inclined, you can find some of the best food and drink in the US if not the world, down the block from a place that sells 50 cent beers. That is just how NoLa is, on one block there could be 5 million dollar homes on St. Charles or Magazine, and 2 blocks down it could be a super shady slum. All that being said, yes, there are some ghetto/dangerous places in New Orleans, but it doesn’t seem to be as bad as what I was braced for. Granted I am a “extended tourist” and supposedly we are blind to how seedy the city really is, but in my eyes it isn’t all that bad. It’s a city, not a suburb and has to be treated as such.
Another reason I love this city is that it is FUN. Plain and simple. The people here are always down to have a good time and the bars/restaurants act accordingly. The music, the vibe, the energy - everything breeds a certain lighthearted and carefree atmosphere. It’s a joke that it is pretty difficult to get into trouble in New Orleans, and that is certainly true. Any place where you can and are encouraged to buy a beer on the street and then walk around the city with said beer is a good place to me. I’ve been here three weeks and I’m still floored that we are able to pregame at a house, fill up our Solo’s and head to the bars without a worry, or walk out of a bar drink in hand and head to the next one, wild. There’s never the annoying “Oh we are switching bars? Time to pound my drink.”
Good or bad, I’ve had sort of a “normal life” while in New Orleans. Pretty much have been keeping a schedule of work, BJJ, sleep and am really only able to go out on my days off. For the most part it’s been with the friends that I knew before who now live down here, which I’m really thankful to have. Here are some highlights: The first week I was down here I had four close friends visit which was an absolute blast and we did the typical go out every night, get weird, wake up and repeat. We did a mixture of local/college kid/tourist going out: hitting up Bourbon St and went to famous bars like Pat O’Briens with dueling pianos and got hand grenades at Tropical Isle. We went to the famous Miss Mays which stays open and serves all day and all night. Was in town for the LSU loss to Alabama which was ridiculous, people were losing their minds – LSU football is life down here. We went to Monday Night Football at the Superdome and saw the Eagles get toasted by the Saints, awesome. My review of the Superdome is that I’m not too impressed with it, however there are no bad seats. We were in the upper deck and still had awesome views. A couple nights later I went and saw the Hornets play which was really cool getting to see the number one pick Anthony Davis play and see him score 24. Another highlight was going to the NoLa On Tap Beer Festival. The festival was outside on a lake, gorgeous weather, and doubled as an ASPCA charity event so EVERYONE brought their dogs. It was such a fun day, and bringing your dog to a beer fest is definitely the way to go. I made pretzel necklaces for me and my friends using Mardi Gras beads which everyone at the festival thought was amazing (again). I’m telling you, it is unbelievable the reactions you get by just putting pretzels on a necklace. I’ve gotten to see a lot of live music and some awesome bands that I’ve never heard of before, but am now a fan of. I’ve also gotten to try a bunch of craft beers that I’ve never had before. New Orleans has a pretty solid craft beer scene, and what we consider “craft” like Abita is essentially their Bud Light and is super cheap. Some amazing deals that I’ve been witness to/partaken in: One place called Bourbon Room has a $5 Sunday Special where you pay $5 and it’s all you can drink from 6-9 (I almost didn’t make it out alive, whoa), 25 cent oysters that are HUGE everyday from 4-7 at the Pelican, $2 PITCHERS of Abita Amber all day on Monday and Tuesday at Reginellis, rock, paper, scissors at the Chart Room – you guessed it, you win its free, you lose it’s only $1.50 High Lifes, and many more. I’m here for 10 more days and have a bunch of activities planned, so I’m sure I’ll have some stories from those. I also have another installment of Matt gets absolutely worked in BJJ that I will write about next free moment I get.
