New Orleans And Mardi Gras

Everyone must experience Mardi Gras at least once in their lives!  We spent two days in New Orleans the Thursday and Friday before Fat Tuesday.  Hubby and I were to set sail from there on the Saturday before and since we had never been to New Orleans, thought it would be fun to spend a couple of days checking out all the Mardi Gras festivities beforehand.

The first must do was chicory coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde.  Then Thursday night we found a spot on St. Charles Street to catch our first parades.  It was a cold night and the parades ran late, but we caught lots of throws and had fun.  We ended up standing by a couple who were from outside New Orleans  and were more than happy to give us lots of history on the parades.

    

We spent all day Friday exploring the French Quarter and observing all the craziness of Bourbon Street.

   I must say carrying all those beads around our neck was hard work. Of course I had a couple hurricanes to get me in the spirit.

We spent the afternoon roaming up and down Bourbon Street. Taking in the impromptu parades, catching beads and other sorted paraphernalia. Hubby proudly caught a decorated bra which is now displayed in his man-cave.  Yes, there was some bare chested women and even some less than fully clothed men and I really would  say Bourbon Street is not for young children, but honestly we had a blast and decided we would love to come back some day! I cannot forget to mention the food!  New Orleans has some of the best eating in the country. We had a couple of great meals. I had a fabulous Po Boy on Bourbon Street.

 

It was a great start to a fabulous vacation and even though there are still reminders of Hurricane Katrina around the city the spirit of New Orleans is alive and thriving in the people of this city.  I am looking forward to returning someday!

Fabulous Overnight Getaway To Chateau De Pere

My hubby is always full of surprises.  This past weekend to celebrate our 24th Anniversary he told me to pack a bag  after I came home from work Friday, we were heading to an undisclosed location for the night. After some questions about what to pack we headed off north.

Now you all know my obsession for all things French right?   The only hint he would give me was that our getaway had a French theme.  So imagine my happiness when we arrived after a 45 minute drive to Chateau De Pere in De Pere Wisconsin.  I had been to the restaurant, Café Chanson just this past summer for a Paris girls reunion lunch, so I was a little familiar with that. This restaurant offers traditional French food. 

Not only were we going to have a dinner later in the restarant, but we were going to stay overnight in the beautiful 36 suite hotel!  After we checked in we took the elevator to the second floor to find a beautifuly decorated King Suite with a single whirlpool tub.  It was a corner room, so we had a view of the river on two sides.  We found the room to be quiet and the king sized bed to be incredibly comfortable.  The great part was they are running a special for the month of April.  All rooms are just $69.00 a night!  Check out the website for details.

We had early dinner reservations ay Café Chanson since we were going to a comedy club later.  It was a Friday night and being it was quite early there were not many people in the dining room.  I started out with a white chocolate martini.  We then ordered a Cassolette for starters and for dinner I ordered Beef Bourguignon.  Both were delicious!

 

It was a perfect overnight getaway!  So if you are looking for a wonderful French themed place to escape to, look no further than De Pere Wisconsin.  De Pere is just a short distance to Green Bay and the famed Lambeau Field which is the home of the world famous Green Bay Packers