Day 1, January 3rd

Day 1, January 3rd: continued...


Being on a train for 17 hours looks great on a person… hopefully you detected my sarcasm. When we stepped foot off the train we looked like we had been on there for days! Messy hair, bags under our eyes from the restless sleep, and all wearing the same clothes we put on when we left home the day before! At the train station there was a new smell. It could be described as a mix between the train, the Cajun seasoning from a nearby restaurant, a faint scent of marijuana, and the exhausts from the numerous taxis waiting to take the train passengers wherever they desire. When we arrived at the hotel we filled the lobby, getting the knowing looks from people passing by the windows that we were not from here.

Pierre Maspero's Menu

It was raining when we headed out for a delicious dinner at Pierre Maspero’s. The streets of New Orleans were not any less crowded due to the weather though! The smell of delicious food mixed with, well, less delicious things… filled the lamp lit city streets. Over the sound of our grumbling stomachs, we could hear honking cars insisting that the car in front move just a little faster. On the streetcar, we rode in awe as we got to see some of the riverfront in the dark. When we arrived at the restaurant, we couldn’t have been more relieved. The city of New Orleans is not built on a grid like at home, so directions are a little harder to remember! The anxiety that was running through us trying to remember how to get from the hotel to the streetcar to the square to the restaurant and then back all ceased when we were seated in the quaint little restaurant.

Blackened Jambalaya

The smell of authentic New Orleans food overcame us, the sound of our growling stomachs growing louder with each passing second! Our mouths were watering as we read the menu, all of the options looked so good. I ordered the blackened Jambalaya and I can hardly describe how good it was. Every taste bud in my mouth exploded in joy as the mix of rice, sausage, blackened chicken, and all the seasonings hit at the same time. Absolutely amazing.