Allergy season is finally here again. All I want to do is to go somewhere south pollen free. On Friday morning, we flew to Ft Lauderdale. I was pretty excited because I’ve never been there and I have always wanted to go back to Miami. Ft Lauderdale is only 35 miles drive north of Miami. Chris’ friend, Eric, was kind enough to offer us accommodation and be our tour guide. We had tea at this beautiful Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. It was a relaxing day. At night we drove around in downtown Miami. The next day, we headed to Miami Beach. Little that we know, it is Miami’s pride week. We got to see the Pride Parade. On Sunday, we stayed at Ft Lauderdale. We took a boat ride to see famous mansions along the Ft Lauderdale River that leads to the ocean. After the ride, we had authentic Cuban food. It was D-licious.
New Orleans - The Big Easy
On Monday, I flew to New Orleans. I was really excited because I’ve heard so many good things about New Orleans. Sadly, my first impression was – I fucking hate the city. First of all the cab driver was rude and didn’t understand a word that I said. Upon arrival, I walked to Jackson Square and took the grayline bus to the Oak Valley Plantation. It is gorgeous. There are 14 oak trees on each side that leads to the mansion. It’s truly a southern charm. Movies like the Forrest Gump and the Interview with the Vampire were filmed here. After the tour, I went to walk around the French Quarter. The architecture of the townhouses is really unique and beautiful. It’s very New Orleans. I stopped by Café Dumont for donough and coffee. The waiter was so rude. At night, I had dinner at this local restaurant called “Mothers”. The people were rude but the food was really good. Had crawfish etoofee and gumbo. Was really disappointed to find out that they are out of turtle soup but I will try again tomorrow. After dinner, I walked along Bourbon St to see what’s so special about it. It’s noisy with lots of people drinking everywhere, people throwing beads at you, jazz playing everywhere, and I love it.
Tue will be the last day of my trip. In the morning, I went to join the St Louis cemetery walking tour. When I was buying the ticket, I asked this woman is she could break a 100. She gave me a lecture about carrying small change in New Orleans. What the fuck, shut up woman. I do not need a lecture. If you don’t have it, end of story. After that I meet up with the tour guide and walked to the St Louis Cemetery. It is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans and the voodoo queen, Marie Laveau was buried there. They said that if you put your hands on her tomb and make a wish, you wish will come true. I wished that I will be able to come back to the US someday again after I leave. And if I did, I will come back to pay respect to her again. Let’s see if my dream will come true. After that I walked to Jackson Sq again to join the Bayou tour at the Jean Latiffe Preserve. The tour was nice. Saw the usual alligators, turtles, bald cypress, and etc. I was actually pretty disappointed that they didn’t serve alligator meat for lunch. Once I got back to New Orleans, I headed to the airport. Had oyster Po Boy at the airport. So what do I think about New Orleans? People are rude. French Quarter is beautiful. Food is good. It definitely has its own character. Despite being treated rudely, I still want to come here again. I think it has its own southern charm that keeps people coming back. By the way, I didn’t have time to see Brad Pitt’s house but I definitely will the next time I come back!
