New Orleans: Party and History hand in hand

I booked the Hilton through Priceline and got a room for $45 or $50, which I thought was a good deal for a Hilton until I got hit with parking fees of $20.00 per day!!

We were assigned some random room through Priceline, but they gave us a riverside room when we asked. I'm sure there are other better rooms than what we got. Their tower rooms are very popular and pricey. Ours was a very basic one, like any other decent hotel room, but it was not moldy or smelly like others seem to have experienced, nor was it Hilton style. I liked the ability to use dial-up internet (if you had a dial-up account) from the room. It was free for one hour and they would charge you after that at $10/hour, but if you disconnected within an hour, you could connect again and browse to another hour for free and so on. If you didn’t have your own laptop, you could also use the room’s TV to connect to the internet.

The hotel is just too big for individual attention. Plus we were there at Christmas time with hoards of other travellers. Since we were on a sightseeing trip spending very little time in the hotel room and the rest of the time in the French Quarter, we didn't mind at all. I did get a little annoyed at the concierge desk when we waited for about half an hour for the person to get off the phone only to be told to look at some brochures and were dismissed.

The location is good, just a couple minutes walk from the French quarter, though even that can get a little tiring if you are not used to walking (or if you walk with high heels). We would hang out in the French quarter and walk back, stopping at Harrah's casino in front of the Hilton for some live music and fun. Since the Hilton is located on one of the main streets and very near the casino, it was very safe to walk back at any time in the night. Harrah’s had live music performances in the evenings, probably because it was Christmas time.

If my budget was higher, I would not probably book Hilton directly, preferring to stay in the smaller boutique hotels in the French Quarter, but would not mind staying there if I got a deal through Priceline or if I was in town for a convention.

The Café du Monde was established in 1862 and has been a New Orleans landmark ever since. No visit to New Orleans would be complete without a visit (or multiple visits) to Café du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait. The beignets are square, French-style donuts with a liberal sprinkle of powdered sugar served in orders of three. They are definitely not on the healthy foods list, but hey, who comes to New Orleans to eat healthily? Café au lait is a mix of half-strong chicory coffee and half-steamed milk - the perfect complement for the beignets. The café is an open-air restaurant that looks out onto Jackson Square and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week (except Christmas).

The café is crowded at all hours. You will have to wait for your table, but don’t expect to be ushered in at the next empty table. When you reach the front of your line and you see someone getting up, bag the table immediately and then wait to get it cleaned; not the other way round or you’ll lose your table to the more experienced. Beignets and strong chicory coffee make a reliable hangover remedy after a night of revelry on Bourbon Street.

Black is the wrong colour to wear in this casual café. You will invariably be covered with specks of the powdered sugar as you tuck in the delightful beignets. My partner was, unfortunately, put off by the beignets when he became smothered in sugar dust and had an incredibly hard time dusting it off.