6 MONTHS IN NEW ORLEANS!

Yep, it's true. We have lived in New Orleans for 6 months! We moved to New Orleans for an adventure and it has definitely been one. We've had so many awesome experiences from hiking swamplands and seeing alligators face to face to hearing some of the best live jazz ever. We've been to seafood festivals, burlesque shows, and countless parades. Mostly though, we've eaten our way through the city. We are actually approaching our 100th dining experience in the Greater New Orleans area and we're trying to decide where exactly we want our 100th spot to be. We've also realized that we've spent so much time focusing on FOOD that we haven't seen quite enough live MUSIC. So... we hope to up the music intake over our next 6 months (not that we necessarily plan to decrease our food intake!!)

Not only have we have had a lot of fun, we're also growing as individuals. Our ideas and perceptions are being challenged and we have had no choice but to question and reconsider what we thought we knew about the world. It is amazing how little it is possible to understand when you live in the same culture your entire life.

Today I have decided to post a picture from the trip that started it all- our first trip to New Orleans only a couple months after we met. New Orleans felt so magical and romantic. Each time we returned we felt as though New Orleans literally held on to us trying to keep us as we drove north back to Chattanooga. We worried that moving here may take away some of the magic- and at times, like stuck in traffic on the way home from work it feels like any other city. However, most of the time, we still feel "it", whatever "it" is. We stroll the French Quarter hand in hand, enjoying the gas lanterns that light the cobblestone side streets at night and stop to kiss under iron balconies covered in ivy (and beads from last Mardi Gras). We still frequent Café Du Monde and laugh as we eat beignets, as there is no way to eat those things without getting covered in powdered sugar! We explore. We take tours. We read about the city and go check out historic sites. Most weekends feel like we are on vacation and it's even easy to get that feeling on a weeknight if we just step out our front door and head out into the city.

If you have visited us, you know that our neighborhood is not quite where you might want to spend vacation- it appears a bit sketchy at first. It's kind of funny to us that locals consider our area one of the best places to live in the city. But, it's understandable after being here for a few months. It is true that there is a high number of people living in poverty here and work ethic (and other ethics too) is not so high... but those parts of the city remind us to be grateful for what we have and the high standards that our parents' instilled in us. (It also helps that the lacking work ethic has lowered the standards for most employers so we appear to be super-employees AND my job in particular offers a great deal of flexibility!)

Lately we've been talking over what have been some of our favorites since we moved here- like our favorite restaurants so far or our favorite date nights. So for the fun of it... here goes:

Top 5 Restaurants (so far): Café Giovani, Katie's, Company Burger, Dickie Brennans Steakhouse, & New Orleans Chop House.

Top 5 Outdoor Experiences: City Park, Walks at Audubon Park, Swamp hikes @ Barataria Nature Preserve, Grand Isle Beach/State Park, & Avery Island.

Top 5 Date Nights: Hunger Games Movie costumed as the Capital People, Psycho Symphony costumed as a 1920's couple, 2013 Burlesque Festival costumed in Burlesque and formal attire, Anniversary dinner at Bourbon House, & Christmas on Fulton Street with Dinner at La Boca.

Top Local Band: Tuba Skinny
 
Top 5 Things We are Looking Forward to for 2014: Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, French Quarter Festival, Dinner at Desi Vegas, and making it to a Saints game in the Superdome.