Janet’s Book Nook

Visiting New Orleans has always been one of my favorite vacations. It is where I grew up but I moved away about 8 years ago. I try to go back whenever possible. New Orleans is a city that is steeped in history and culture. One of my favorite vacations to New Orleans was one that we took our children along. I had the most amazing time showing my children the city of my youth and seeing all of their enjoyment. It brought back so many memories of wonderful times of my youth.

Our first mission of the vacation was to buy a special package that would include tours of the Aquarium of the Americas, the Audubon Zoo and the IMAX Theater. This package included a riverboat ride from the river bank of the Aquarium to the riverbank of the zoo. We started out day out at Café Du Monde. This place serves the classic New Orleans beignets and coffee. I remember visiting this café along the Mississippi River as a child. I loved to see my children with powdered sugar all over their faces and covering their smiles. After filling our stomachs we went to get our package tickets and headed to the aquarium. This is the most amazing aquarium. They have so many wonderful exhibits that replicate the natural environments of the species. There is a Gulf of Mexico exhibit, a penguin exhibit, a Rainforest exhibit and many others. The kids absolutely loved the interactive areas where they were able to pet sharks and starfish. My son who is 3 absolutely loved the huge shark that hangs from the ceiling in the entrance. Even the outside of this building is awe inspiring.

It was now time to board the riverboat and head over to the zoo. My middle child could have stayed on the boat all day. It is truly amazing to see the city from the middle of the Mississippi River. The nickelodeon style music playing on the boat adds to an already wonderful trip. Once we docked at the zoo we were off to explore. The Audubon Zoo is one of the most amazing zoos in the nation. They have many different environments set up including, Louisiana Swamp Exhibit, Jaguar Jungle and Primates. We also got to visit the Elephant House and the Reptile House. The favorite portion of the visit for the kids was playing on Monkey Hill. Monkey Hill is a manmade hill that was created in the park as a play area for the children of the city who had never experienced hills. The children can walk up a waterfall path or take the spider’s web net up to the top. A favorite for all is to roll back down to the bottom. Some of the kids remove their shoes and walk through the waterfall. This was so fun to see my kids having fun at.

The next day was to be an adult’s only day so we found family members to keep the kids and headed down to the French Quarter. We visited some of the wonderful museums in the city which ranged from the historic homes to the St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo. After this we had dinner at a local restaurant and had an amazing seafood platter. Our next stop was the French Market. This is an area along the river front where you can purchase fresh seafood, fresh produce and every type of merchandise you can imagine. It is so fun to walk through the long line of booths and shop for jewelry, sunglasses, handbags, clothes, and many other things.

We took a rest and then headed out to visit Bourbon Street. We went into one or two bars and had a drink or two. Our real reason for the night was to meet up for a Haunted History tour. I had attended a similar vampire tour on a previous visit and I was so excited to be doing this one. The walk you through the city and show you various sites that are reputed to be haunted. The stories are fabulous and the tour is so fun. This was the end of our New Orleans getaway. 

I would suggest to anyone going to the city to look into tours. The city is so large and has so much to offer it is difficult to know where to go and what to do. The website for Trusted Tours and Attractions is a fabulous place to research and reserve these sightseeing tours . The web address is :  http://www.trustedtours.com/newsletter.aspx?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=NL108 
 and it takes you to the section where you can sign up for their newsletter. They are currently having a contest where you can Win a Handheld GPS for signing up to get their newsletter. This is a great site and a great promotion. They have many different cities listed with tours in each city but if you are interested in the New Orleans tours: http://www.trustedtours.com/store/New-Orleans-C87.aspx?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=C108

www.trustedtours.com/