Here we are! It’s Part Two of this New Orleans Trip Report Series! In this report we’re going to go through the second half of our first day in New Orleans. We’ll take a tour of the Garden District, visit Mardi Gras World, experience some of New Orleans’ bars, and have what I thought at the time was the best fried chicken I’ve ever had in my life. Let’s get right to it!
Subscribe to my Youtube channel @ Stephen Flores Travel, like me on Facebook at Passport Perspective, and follow me on Instagram / Twitter / Tiktok @StephenJFlores.
This post contains affiliate links. We receive a small commission for purchases made after clicking on these links at no extra cost to you.
Mansions Upon Mansions
After leaving Hansen’s, we took an Uber to the beginning of our self-guided Garden District tour. If you’re interested, this was the self-guided tour we did. The tour started at Molly’s Rise and Shine and highlighted around 15 different mansions located throughout this small section of the Garden District. I’m sure if we had explored other parts of the Garden District we would’ve seen even more stunning homes, but the ones we saw were already very impressive.
Some of them looked like grander versions of the buildings in the French Quarter. Some of my favorites included Buckner Mansion, which was used in the American Horror Story: Coven season, the Women’s Opera Guild mansion, and the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel. We looked it up afterwards and these mansions were being sold in the millions and some are owned by celebrities like Sandra Bullock and John Goodman.
The Garden District, while beautiful in its own right, lacked a little bit of the charm and character of the French Quarter. Of course, the buildings in the Garden District are newer and more grand so it feels a little less charming, but these houses were all still incredibly beautiful. I just wish that they could fix the sidewalks as a lot of them were uneven, making them hard to walk on.
I would highly recommend doing this self-guided tour though. I felt like I got a sense of the architecture and history of the Garden District via this tour. It also helped that the web page for the tour included some history, so we learned a lot about the history of these mansions. This is an essential stop on any New Orleans itinerary and I highly recommend taking a tour of this area.
Zine Street
After doing our self-guided tour, we decided we wanted to walk to Mardi Gras World, which was the next stop on our itinerary. To get there, we had to walk through a significant portion of Magazine Street, which we wanted to see anyway so walking there seemed like a good idea.
Magazine Street reminded me of the small town main streets we encountered on our trip to the Santa Ynez Valley in California. The shops were all so quaint and the vibe of the street felt very simple but charming. We also found the most iconic mural in all of New Orleans by accident, and I was glad we did because I had known it was in the area but didn’t know exactly where it was.
Eventually the small town vibe melted away into a more port-looking aesthetic, and soon we found the building where Mardi Gras World was located. After walking in places that didn’t have a sidewalk, we finally made it to Mardi Gras World.
Floats, Beads, and King Cake
We got to Mardi Gras World a little bit past 2pm. As we were walking in, we passed by some of the props that were used in the parade, which got me more excited for the tour. We walked up to the counter and were told that we just missed the 2pm tour but that another tour was starting soon at 2:30pm. We decided to wait it out, so we paid, got our tickets (which came in the form of Mardi Gras beads) and sat down in the gift shop to wait.
I bought a magnet in the gift shop and pretty soon after we were all being ushered into the screening room. In the screening room they played a video for us that covered the history and traditions of Mardi Gras, as well as how the Blaine Kern studio (which is the studio that founded Mardi Gras World) came to be.
We were then each given a slice of King Cake to enjoy. It wasn’t the best, but I was hungry so I ate it pretty quickly. We were then let into the main warehouse where all the floats and props were located. It was here we learned that the floats are made of either styrofoam or fiberglass and that each parade had a “lead float” that pretty much stays the same every year. Props and floats are also reused year to year.
There were floats with unicorns, alligators, dogs, and even one of the Lombardi trophy. Fictional and real people such as Superman and William Shakespeare were also represented here. It was cool seeing all the floats up close. Their scale is just incredibly massive, and it honestly made me want to experience Mardi Gras for myself.
After the tour, we headed back to our hotel to change for our night out. We had a whole night of drinks, food, and music ahead of us. After changing, we then walked through the French Quarter and headed to our first destination of the night: the French 75 bar.
Bars Galore
We went inside French 75 and immediately found seats at the back of the bar. We were at the bar to try one thing: a Frenchman 75. A Frenchman 75 is a wine cocktail consisting of champagne, gin, lemon juice, and syrup. It’s a distinctly New Orleans drink and so we both ended up getting one each. I took one sip of it and immediately tasted that it was very strong. We both quickly downed our drinks and then paid our tab and headed to the next bar.
The next bar was the Carousel Bar, named as such because the centerpiece of the bar is a carousel that patrons can sit on which spins a revolution every 15 minutes. The bar is known for having a good sazerac, which is a cognac and whiskey cocktail that originated in New Orleans.
We arrived at the bar but the carousel was full so we got seats at a nearby table. We ordered two sazeracs and, again, these were fairly strong. At this point, I was very much feeling the drinks, and it would only get worse from here. My friend told me that I didn’t have to finish the drink, but I wanted to mostly because I paid for it. I downed the drink, and 20 minutes later I felt like I was in a haze.
I rarely get this tipsy, mostly because I usually only drink beer. But I admit that these drinks were starting to hit me. But I quickly gained my composure after we paid for our drinks and headed into an Uber to get to our dinner reservation for the night at one of New Orleans’ most revered establishments: Dooky Chase.
The Best Fried Chicken in the World
We arrived at Dooky Chase, with me feeling a little better after the uber ride. We checked in with the hostess and waited to be seated. In the waiting area they had pictures and recognitions framed for everyone to see. This restaurant is a New Orleans staple that goes back decades, and is very popular and notoriously difficult to get a reservation for. My friend, however, was able to snag us reservations. We waited about 15 minutes and then were seated in a corner of the restaurant. I immediately downed a glass of water in order to settle myself, which ended up working because I felt immensely better afterwards. My friend and I ordered a gumbo to share and an order of fried chicken each. I had heard from my friend that the fried chicken at Dooky Chase was legendary, so I was so excited to try it.
And let me tell you, it was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.
The gumbo arrived first, and it was so delicious that it raised my expectations for the chicken. The gumbo was flavorful and really helped me get out of my stupor. The chicken then arrived and it was cooked to absolute perfection. The spices and herbs they infused into this thing made it so tasty, and it was also just the juiciest chicken I’ve ever had in my life. I thought then that this was the best fried chicken I’ve ever had and that nothing could top it. But luckily, as I learned later in the trip, I was wrong.
We paid our bill, hopped in another uber, and headed to Frenchman Street to hear some live jazz.
Spotted Cats
My friend and I headed to our club of choice for the night: The Spotted Cat Music Club. We had heard that Frenchman Street was a better place than Bourbon Street to hear jazz, and we couldn’t go to New Orleans without hearing it. We lined up outside Spotted Cat for about 20 minutes and, after talking to the guy at the door in Tagalog as he was Filipino, we were let in the bar.
My friend ordered a drink while I secured our spots near the band. The only negative about this entire jazz experience was that the band took forever to set up because they were recording the show to release as a live album. It took them 30 minutes to set up and we were standing the whole time. But soon the jazz started and it was a pretty fun experience dancing with strangers to jazz-inspired renditions of popular songs.
At this point since we had been up since 6am, we were slowly getting more and more tired. My friend and I agreed that we would hear 6 songs then leave to go back to our hotel. So we grooved and danced for a couple of songs until we hit six songs and decided to go back. We left the jazz club and walked back to our hotel. Once we got there, we immediately got ready for bed and went to sleep. And so ends our first day in the city!
If you found New Orleans Garden District trip report helpful, consider subscribing to my newsletter to receive inspiration, tips, and insider secrets delivered straight to your inbox. Whether you’re planning your next adventure, daydreaming about far-off places, or seeking hidden gems closer to home, we’ve got you covered.
✨ Here’s What You’ll Get:
- Curated travel guides to iconic and off-the-beaten-path destinations.
- Budget-friendly tips and tips on solo traveling.
- Exclusive deals and must-know travel advice.
- Stories and trip reports to spark your wanderlust and make your trips unforgettable.
Travel smarter, deeper, and with more joy. Join our community of explorers today and never miss a chance to wander! Sign up down below!
SUGGESTED READING:
Leave A Comment