10 Year Anniversary in New Orleans

Michael and I celebrated ten years of marriage this last weekend. On Thursday morning I took the kids to camp and the dog to my grandparents and then Michael and I headed for the airport. We flew into New Orleans and arrived around 1:30. We took a cab to the condo and quickly unpacked. We walked down St. Charles to Fresh Market, a fabulous new whole foods-like grocery store in our neighborhood. We bought breakfast essentials and snacks and wine and walked back to the condo. After we deposited our groceries, we caught the streetcar into the French quarter. It was very hot and humid and street car was very crowded. I got progressively hotter and hotter and sicker and sicker and we had to hop off before we reached our destination. We took an airconditioned taxi the rest of the way to Frenchman Street and this was a very good thing.
We got to the Three Muses around 4:30 and claimed an excellent table for two. We ordered off the happy hour menu. For five dollars each we got crostini with capers and sardines and sesame crab claws. Yum. At five Tom McDermott played. He was so good! We ordered some more shared plates for dinner. We had eggplant caponata on crostini, tofu bulgogi and french fries with some sort of preserved lemon granita on top that was amazing!
Around 6:30 we headed down the street to the Spotted Cat to hear Miss Sophie Lee's set. She was so good. We listened to two sets and bought her new CD and watched some amazing dancers on the dance floor. Mostly we enjoyed being together- just us! We never go out just the two of us and we really enjoyed the romance of it all.
We stopped in at Electric Ladyland Tattoo and then headed over to the quarter for a walk and to see the sights. On our way, we grabbed a brochure for a Treme tour and called and booked a tour for the next morning. We headed home to curl up in bed and watch a movie.
Friday morning was our anniversary. We woke late and exchanged cards and then got ready for our tour. I wasn't feeling well again. My stomach had been off for days, but I ignored it and carried on. We took the street car to Canal and then walked to Treme. Our tour began and our guide was extremely interesting. About half an hour into our walking tour, I started feeling really hot and really sick again. I suddenly had to excuse myself from the tour. As Michael and I walked away, I told him I was going to pass out. He encouraged me to try and make it to a concrete ledge a few steps away, but I didn't make it. I fainted in his arms. When I came to, he bundled me in a taxi and took me back to the condo. I don't know why i passed out. I'd only had one cocktail the night before so I wasn't hung over. It's a mystery. I rested a while and then we had a lovely lunch in the neighborhood at Superior Seafood. Then I took a two hour nap and woke up feeling much better. We showered and put on our fancy clothes and took a street car to the quarter. We tried to have a cocktail at the carousel bar in the Hotel Monteleone, but it was a madhouse there. They were hosting a cocktail festival and it was packed. Instead we found a wonderful, marvelous little wine bar tucked just off Royale called Patrick Vin Bar. Michael had a beautiful glass of rose wine there and then we walked around the quarter and shopped a bit before our dinner reservation at Revolution.
Revolution is an amazing restaurant. It was very fancy and just gorgeous. We were tucked away in a corner booth for two and given amazing service. We began with prosecco and then I had the raw vegetable salad and Michael had the best seafood gumbo I've ever tasted. For our entrees, we had manila clams and linguine in a garlic chili oil and a gulf shrimp risotto with roasted cauliflower. Delicious! We were too full for dessert, but they brought us some anyway. We had some profiteroles and then they brought us a little chest of drawers with a tiny gorgeous dessert in each drawer. Ah-mazing.
After dinner we walked back over to Frenchman street for our appointment at Electric Ladyland Tattoo. We got each other a tattoo for our anniversary! I've been wanting one since I was 18 and have had it picked out and planned since then. Michael had designed his himself and they met with us and sketched it out for him. We went in the back and had them done. It took less than an hour and a half. It hurt a lot, but it was totally worth it. I am so, so happy with mine. I love it!!! Michael's is gorgeous too. So fun. We tried to hear some music at the Spotted Cat afterward, but it was packed so we browsed the French market and then headed home. It was a wonderful anniversary.
Saturday was over cast, but we didn't mind as we slept late and lazed around. Finally we took ourselves to the streetcar and went to the WW2 museum. We had lunch there in John Besh's restaurant and enjoyed black eyed peas with rice, roasted veggies and some scrumptious shrimp pies. We stayed for almost four hours and really lost ourselves in the museum. I went because Michael wanted to go, but I actually really enjoyed it.
After a refueling start of a hand made pop tart at the museum "soda shop", we walked across the street to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. I really enjoyed their photography exhibit. We went home and put our feet up and read for a while in the late afternoon and then walked down to the Delachaise wine bar. It was so good! Michael bought us a bottle of dry Rose wine and we got some fries fried in goose fat served with garlic aioli that rocked my world. I got moules and frites for dinner and Michael had a gazpacho with shrimp ceviche. I love that kind of food and bar. We'll definitely go back.
That evening we watched a movie in bed and fell asleep to a rain storm. It was still pouring down Sunday morning when we woke. We cleaned the condo and then grabbed an umbrella and walked down Magazine Street to the Surrey juice bar for a breakfast of vegan migas and beet/apple/carrot juice. We walked home and headed to the airport.
It was a wonderful trip and really great for Michael and me to reconnect. I barely missed the kids and they barely missed me. They had a wonderful time with my parents, shoe shopping, swimming, going to see a movie and making home made pizzas. It was a win-win.