Author and Podcaster
I’m so excited to be able to share a little bit of news with y’all about the launch of Crescent City Moon! Be on the look out for it in Spring 2019. What else happens in the spring? Allergies. Right. But more importantly, that’s Mardi Gras season! I mean, if we’re going to celebrate something, let’s do it all at once like only NOLA can!
In the meantime, look for updates and other fun things along the way!
It’s been a fun week being mentioned in an interview with a best-selling author Christine Gabriel, which you can read here, and being interviewed by another best-selling author Cheri Champagne! (See the link in the blog post here.)
Today, I had the pleasure of writing the featured blog post for Pandamoon Publishing, Know What You Write. It’s something near and dear to my heart in several ways: writing, and New Orleans. And, a great way to get to know me as an author! Check it out!
Good morning! (Wishing I had that mimosa right now.)
I’m thrilled to post the link to my interview with the incredible author, Cheri Champagne! You’ll learn A LOT about me! Check it out HERE
Something unexpected happened during the second half of my week in New Orleans. Well, to be honest, a lot of unexpected things happened, but mostly because of this one thing. Once my mom and my girls went home, I had several days on my own in the city. I expected that it would be me quietly wandering the French Quarter or museums and having awkward solo dinners.
Not so. Not so at all.
I discovered something remarkable about the city I adore. Being alone in New Orleans is not alone at all. People talked to me. Lots of people. Tourists who thought I was a local (well, I was once) and asked for directions or how there could be so many names on one above ground tomb, servers who didn’t want me to feel lonely at meals that are typically social times, a medium, tour guide, and a voodoo priestess…..
Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like I was being constantly bothered and never had a moment with my own thoughts. Not in the least. There was plenty of that. But I never felt isolated. And I made some very special and very unexpected friends that I treasure. The best souvenirs ever!
Read on to meet some of the folks, new friends and strangers alike, who made me feel at home.
There was one more friend who is a fabulous medium and a great encourager as well, but I was enjoying my time with her so much, I never even thought about getting a picture. Too bad, too. We had just done a seance and who knows who might have photo bombed that one. It was after thinking about that missed chance that I made sure I got pictures of the other folks!
I adore the people of New Orleans and am grateful for so many who made me feel welcome and at home. New Orleans, and especially the French Quarter, has always had my heart. Now, I’m sure I left part of my soul there, too. Technology has made it possible for me to continue to grow these friendships, but I can’t wait to get back down there and see them again!
New Orleans. A city whose heart is as big as its character.
Much love!
~Nola
It’s hard to talk about the Crescent City and everything that makes it my favorite place on the planet in one post. So, rather than giving you a play-by-play of my Spring Break week in New Orleans, I decided to break it down into categories. Part one- The FOOD!
New Orleans is basically a gastric orgasm. Food that sends you into throes of passion. You fall in love with your plate and everything on it. You wash the food down with drinks that will make your head spin. Love at first bite.
Breakfast can come in any form you want, provided you want tons of flavor and calories don’t count. My personal favorite breakfast food? Crawfish. Yep. Crawfish for breakfast. I ate it four out of the seven days I was there. From the Bayou Bowl at The Creole House washed down with a mimosa or bacon bloody mary,
to the Bayou Benedict at Cafe Maspero (get the grits)
with the best coffee this side of Cafe du Monde. It doesn’t hurt that the waitstaff at both places are absolutely precious! (You’ll meet one of them in another post.) And that Cafe du Monde staff can handle a crowd! Woo-wee. And, yes, you want to wait in the infernal line for your friend dough deliciousness.
Head down to the French Market and get some crawfish balls and jambalaya (no idea why they gave me so many forks – apparently they were thinking I should share. Um, no),
or gator on a stick. (That’s my spunky little girl, who admittedly has a style all her own, munching that gator.)
Too spicy for ya? Okay, make sure you cool those taste buds with a snowball. Not to be confused with a snow cone. Very different beasts. (And my beautiful older girl with her wedding cake snowball)
Feel like having some spine-tingling high-end cuisine? Go eat at Muriel’s haunted restaurant. If you can get a seat at Jourdan’s table, he might even join you.
As a local returning home, I did have to grab a daiquiri and stroll the Quarter, but I steered clear of Pat O’s (even though it’s a fun place to go) and Bourbon Street. Trust me, I’ve spent enough time in those places. However, I did poke my head into Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Bar for a minute on my way to the Old Ursuline Convent. Think about that sentence for a second.
Not in the mood for creole food (crazy person)? Then, take the St. Charles streetcar into the Garden District for some great south of the border fare at Superior Grille, a place I spent a lot of high school and college evenings at devouring chips and salsa with my strawberry margarita. (Drinking age in Louisiana at that time was 18. Relax.)
There are a bazillion other places to eat in New Orleans and I plan to be back soon to sample those as well, but I will definitely end up back at these favorites, too!
Stay tuned for my next post – the folks of New Orleans. A few of the fabulous people that make the French Quarter a place I can’t wait to go back to.
~ Much love!
Nola
Nola Nash 