[2015 New Orleans] Vibrant NOLA

Ever since watching season 11 of Top Chef, I've been dying to visit New Orleans. The beautiful wrought iron balconies, endless supply of fresh seafood and all sorts of delicious Southern food, what's not to like (love)? So as soon as we decided on our vacation time, I strong-armed D to a trip down south (he''d visited NOLA before and didn't like it). The weather forecast for NOLA was sunny with highs in the 80s, I was even looking forward to the humidity, so I excitedly wheeled my huge luggage filled with summer clothing out of storage, even though Chicago was nowhere close to spring, let alone summer.

Our plane flew across the swamps outside the city during the descent, and my first impression was: green! All shades of green made NOLA look lush and full of life, unlike the dead brownish Midwest.

The cab ride from the airport into the city was about 30 minutes and uneventful. I liked the fact that it's a fixed price of $33, so I didn't have to worry about traffic. We're staying at the hotel Monteleone, a block away from Bourbon St. on Royal St. It's a historical landmark, and the lobby looks stunning.

Since our room wasn't ready, we dropped off the luggages and went searching for food. It was way past lunch time, so we were staving. I'm glad we chose to walk down Royal St. so my first impression of NOLA was a quiet clean street with lots of art galleries and tiny storefronts that begged me to go in. "Food first." D was very focused.