Good Morning Darlings!
My dear friend, Char, knows what I like.
I like New Orleans. I like everything about NOLA. The food, the people, the music, the beverages.
So Char sent me an email outlining all the things I love best to coax me back to Louisiana.
It shouldn’t be that difficult.
What say you, Miss Char?
RISING TEMPS AND GAS PRICES PUT YOUR VACAY ON HOLD? ENJOY AN EASY TRIP TO THE BIG EASY!
(AND THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT)
My favorite US city. Besides, Atlanta, of course!
NEW ORLEANS, La. – June 21, 2011 – Temperatures are rising along with gas prices, so book a trip to New Orleans and enjoy an easy, cost-effective, walk able, runner friendly, COOLinary and luggageless vacation.
New Orleans is a quick flight or a short drive for regional travelers, so getting to the city is easy. Most visitors don’t book rental cars simply because New Orleans is a walkable city. The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans is situated on the edge of the French Quarter, one block from Bourbon Street and in walking distance to the best that the Crescent City has to offer.
New Orleans is renowned as the “home of the cocktail,” the “birthplace of jazz” and it is considered a culinary destination. The best of the Big Easy lies within and just outside the hotel’s doors. Every weekend, visitors to the hotel’s Davenport Lounge enjoy the jazz stylings of the hotel’s headline entertainer, Jeremy Davenport. There’s no admission fee and parking is validated with a purchase. Visitors can sample classics like the Ramos Gin Fizz, Brandy Milk Punch, Sazerac and Mint Julep from the lounge’s cocktail menu and for those who imbibe too much, the hotel’s Recovery Concierge offers his services and “cures” free of charge. This unique concierge assists Club Level guests recover with his homemade Bloody Mary, a fancy Cure Royal (Kir Royal) or bottled water. During the summer and fall, the Crawfish Concierge, Snowball Sommelier and Oyster Butler offer their services to visitors.
Feeling guilty after eating the chocolates on your pillow? Guests of The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans are treated to complimentary chilled bottled water in a silver punch bowl along with jogging maps and towels as they exit for their morning run. Hotel guests also have free access to the hotel’s fitness center if the heat is too much to bear and the center’s indoor resistance pool provides the perfect spot to cool off post-workout. Reserving a Mimosa Champagne Massage at The Ritz-Carlton Spa, New Orleans will also provide relief from the heat.
August, the hottest month of the year, just got a little cooler thanks to the COOLinary New Orleans promotion sponsored by the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau (NOMCVB). New Orleans finest restaurants, big and small, opt-in to offer a two-course lunch for $20 and a three-course dinner for $35 for patrons. M bistro restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans participates in this annual citywide promotion. Newly appointed Executive Chef Vinny Russo is working on the COOLinary menus and tastings are underway to revamp all of the hotel’s menu offerings. For those who want a one-of-a-kind cultural and culinary experience, they can reserve the Sportsman’s Paradise package ($21,000 USD). It includes a charter boat fishing excursion in the Gulf of Mexico along with a sea plane, helicopter and limo ride. Most importantly, Chef Russo will prepare your fresh catch at the Chef’s Table in the kitchen of The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans.
Last, but not least, when it’s time to go home after a cost-effective excursion to the Big Easy, choose the hotel’s luggageless travel service. For roughly the same amount that it now costs to check your baggage, you can ship it to your home or office. Avoid check-in lines and ease your travel woes. The hotel does not charge a handling fee, so the only cost is that associated with the actual shipping.
If you are still on the fence about a trip in 2011, then visit us in 2012 for the Bicentennial of the State of Louisiana. As the website says, “This is one celebration that has been 200 years in the making!” And, if Mardi Gras is a gauge of how we throw parties, then we highly suggest a trip to our State. Please see below for additional resources.
Apps:
Historic New Orleans (free; determines your location and shares photos from the 1920s through 1950s taken in the same spot)
New Orleans Bar Caddy (free; guide to 200+ bars, clubs and music venues)
CityGuide New Orleans Guidepal (free; highlights attractions and offers local recommendations)
French Quarter Finder (free; current events, news and hotspots in the French Quarter)
Streetcar (free; interactive guide to New Orleans streetcars)
Garden District Historic Mobile Tour ($4.99; tour garden district homes and enjoy podcasts)
New Orleans Best Bars ($2.99; well known, and not so well known, bars around the city)
Free:
Audubon Park
City Park
French Market
French Quarter
Garden District
Gallery Night
Jackson Square
Magazine Street
Royal Street
Woldenberg Park
New Orleans Guide Book (coupons, maps, etc.):
http://nomcvb.com/crm/index.cfm/action/viewform/formID/9/
Almost Free:
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
Audubon Insectarium
Audubon Zoo
Carriage Rides
Children’s Museum
Contemporary Arts Museum
Ghost Tour
Haunted History Tour
Historic Home Tour
IMAX
Louisiana State Museum
National World War II Museum
New Orleans Museum of Art
Ogden Museum of Southern Art
Southern Food & Beverage Museum
Steamboat Natchez
Streetcar
Voodoo Tour
Top 10 Things You Must Do in New Orleans: http://www.neworleanscvb.com/static/index.cfm/contentID/915/sectionID/1/subsectionID/0
Wow. Um, Char, did you say Crawfish Concierge? And what was that about luggageless travel? So I can keep my hands free for just one more hand grenade?
Hand Grenade!
I’ll be right there!
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to Jerry Lee Lewis – Chantilly Lace