NOLA Adventure Part 2: Haunted Mansion and Café du Monde

Jackson Square and St Louis Cathedral

Where my last NOLA blog post left off I had just been drenched in a thunderstorm and had to run from St. Louis Cemetery #1 to CVS to buy an umbrella. I was then able to go check into my room at the Inn on St Ann Street. The room at the Inn was tiny, but comfortable and the location was great since it is right in the center of the French Quarter. After drying off and relaxing a bit I was starving so I asked the hotel desk clerk for a recommendation of a place to eat. He recommended the Oceania cafe which was off of Bourbon street. I ordered the BBQ shrimp and a Dixie beer. The shrimp was ok, but I was not that impressed. I was actually a little disappointed because I had been looking forward to eating some delicious NOLA food. The Dixie beer was good though.

The LaLaurie Mansion of Horrors

After eating I walked over to the Delphine Marie LaLaurie Mansion. Madame LaLaurie was a Louisiana socialite and serial killer who brutally tortured and murdered her slaves. I learned about her from watching American Horror Story Coven, Kathy Bate’s character was based on her. As I walked up to her house there were two ghost tours going on so I could hear a little background about the house. ^[14] 

Sunset on the Mississippi

After listening to jazz and popping into a record shop on Frenchman Street I walked back toward the waterfront.  I got to see a gorgeous sunset over the Mississippi River the Steamboat Natchez had returned from it’s cruise and it looked very pretty lit up on the water.

Coffee and Beignets at Cafe DuMonde

Walking towards Jackson Square from the Riverfront I saw NOLA tradition Cafe DuMonde and I stopped there for a  Cafe Au Lait and beignets. It was probably too hot for coffee, but the coffee was good and the beignets fried balls of dough piled with powder sugar were delicious. Cafe DuMonde is a great place for people watching by Jackson Square. Later that night I did venture out to check out Bourbon street after dark. It was quite busy and I can’t imagine how insane it must be during Mardi Gras. While it was fun walking around and exploring it would have been a lot more fun to have friends with me when going out for the night. I grabbed a cocktail and ended up getting a poboy for a late night snack. I think I definitely packed a lot into my one day trip to New Orleans. When I’m back in NOLA again I would love to check out some other parts of the city like the garden district.  and the swamps are so beautiful I would love to take a boat ride through the swamps and look for gators!

Jackson Square at Dusk