A Gem in New Orleans

This was our first trip to New Orleans. It was also our first anniversary. Our stay at Ashton's Bed and Breakfast was definitely the highlight of our ten day road trip. We spent two nights with Patrick and Karma in September. My husband and I had seen their home on the internet and called them for availability. Patrick was very helpful on the phone and e-mailed immediate confirmation with directions. I saved the directions as a Word document and had my laptop on as we drove directly to the house. Patrick came down the steps to greet us.

As he showed us around the home, which is breathtaking, he offered us the Napoleon Room in lieu of the Hearth Room. This room really worked out far better for our situation and I really appreciated his consideration. The room was spectacular. The bed was as good as my bed at home (and significantly better than anything I've been on in other accommodations). The bathroom was perfect and had doors between it and our bedroom. There were beautiful antiques within the room and we really appreciated our own controls of the temperature within the room. Another thing that we really appreciated was being away from the extreme traffic and noise. New Orleans doesn't close down at night, but noise keeps us awake. We didn't have trouble sleeping at all.

We were fortunate to be able to eat dinner with Patrick and Karma our first night in New Orleans at Mandina's on Canal Street. I had the soft-shell crab almandine and it was soooooooo goooooooood. My husband had trout almandine. We learned so much history about the city and the restaurant during our dinner.

The next day, breakfast was magnificent, poached eggs served on a bed of spinach and artichoke with hollandaise sauce, fresh fruit bowl and freshly squeezed orange juice. Patrick supplied us with maps and advice for our adventures that day. That evening he suggested we try the Red Fish Grill. It was superb, as were the beignets and café Au Lait at Café Dumond.

Our last breakfast were the Bananas Foster on belgian waffles and they were delicious. Before we left, Patrick gave us suggestions for buying pralines at Southern Confectionary as well as directions to several plantations on the way to Baton Rouge.

All in all, we rate our stay with Patrick and Karma as a 15 on a 10 scale. Thank you so much for a very special experience! We'll be back!