New Orleans

I celebrated my 40th birthday with a trip to New Orleans and it was a super fun location for a trip with the girls. We stayed for four nights which was enough to enjoy the sights and the amazing music.

The journey

We flew from London to New Orleans with British Airways. It’s a 10 hour flight, and the time difference was a bit of a shock to the system. On arrival we took a taxi to our hotel, we didn’t book in advance as there is a taxi rank at the airport and the prices are fixed.

Where we stayed

We stayed at the Virgin Hotel New Orleans and it was so good. The bar was great and the rooms were so luxurious with the most comfortable beds ever. We shared rooms with two queen beds so everyone had their own space. 

How we spent our time

New Orleans is famous for its music. The first night we stayed in the hotel as it was late by the time we arrived. The second night we didn’t really know what we were doing and ended up at the Hotel Monteleone which was in the French Quarter which is known for having the best nightlife. It was a very American hotel famous for its Carousel bar, but we struck lucky as there was a great live band and we had a good time. 

On the third night we knew what we were doing and headed to Frenchmen Street which had such a good ambience with a great street band and lots of amazing music. We spent most of the evening in The Spotted Cat and again there was an amazing band playing and we had a great time. The last night we went to Snug Harbour to see Trumpet Mafia which was a very different experience, sitting down listening to more high brow jazz – it was very good but not as fun. 

During the day we explored the city including going on the Steamboat Nachez cruise down the Mississippi which had such awful cocktails it was hilarious – definitely don’t eat on the boat! We also did a lot of shopping on Magazine Street.