Weekend in New Orleans: A Mother-Daughter Adventure

Hitting the streets of New Orleans with my most favorite daughter in the whole wide world for our first mother/daughter outing since our trip to Egypt in 2017.

And, what I love is that she called me. I didn’t have to do a thing except to say a resounding “YES.” And, thank you to my wonderful daughter-in-law Allison for sharing her awesome wife with me.

Staying in the French Quarter, often called the Crown Jewel of New Orleans and its most historic area, gave us the chance to really settle in quickly and become a part of this vibrant melting pot of music, art, history, culture and delicious cuisine in the company of colorful French Era architecture from the early 1700s.

We arrived early Friday morning, dropped off our luggage at our hotel, the Maison DuPuy, and literally hit the streets running with a walk through the French Quarter, a gumbo tasting walking tour and a night at Commander’s Palace.

Bring it on New Orleans.

Editor’s Note: You can check out our trip to Egypt, which both Sydney and I wrote about, on my blog at: https://mytravelnotions.com/2019/10/10/egypt-an-unforgetable-mother-daughter-adventure/

Kicking off our mother-daughter weekend in New Orleans at Jackson Square with my fabulous daughter, Sydney. (July 26, 2024)

Our first gumbo stop, the Cafe Maspero in New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

Inside Cafe Maspero in New Orleans for our first bowl of gumbo. (July 26, 2024)

This Creole seafood gumbo had a nice ‘heat’ to it at the Cafe Maspero in New Orleans for our first bowl of gumbo. (July 26, 2024)

Syd getting in her notes about the gumbo from our wonderful gumbo guide and master Pepe at the Cafe Maspero in New Orleans for our first bowl of gumbo. (July 26, 2024)

We stopped at the New Orleans School of Cooking for their daily made fresh Pralines. Delicious, full-out sugary and addictive delights. (July 26, 2024)

And, for an early desert, we stopped at the New Orleans School of Cooking for their daily made fresh Pralines. Syd and her wife, my wonderful daughter-in-law, Allison, during a previous visit, learned how to cook gumbo, a pecan crusted fish and bananas foster for desert. Read about their cooking school experience at sydney-wells.com (July 26, 2024)

A quick stop at the New Orleans School of Cooking for their daily made fresh Pralines. And, if you’ve never had a Praline, it is made of sugar, milk, butter and pecan halves. It’s rich and delicious plus it actually dates back to the early 17th century. (July 26, 2024)

Our second gumbo tasting stop was at the Napoleon House. (July 26, 2024)

Inside the Napoleon House in New Orleans. Love the interiors of these buildings. (July 26, 2024)

Here’s Sydney at the Napoleon House for our second gumbo tasting where we also shared a flight of Pimms. (July 26, 2024)

The Napoleon House bowl of gumbo. Neither Sydney nor I were impressed. This lacked any kind of flavor for a seafood gumbo that included gulf shrimp, blue crab and tiny oysters. (July 26, 2024)

Some French Quarter flavor in New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

Our third gumbo tasting was at the Gumbo Shop. (July 26, 2024)

We tried two different gumbos at the Gumbo Shop in New Orleans. The left one was the Chicken Andouille Gumbo and the right one was our first one with okra, the Seafood Okra Gumbo. Our favorite? The Seafood Okra Gumbo. (July 26, 2024)

And for our last gumbo tasting was a non-traditional gumbo at MRB’s on Saint Philip Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. (July 26, 2024)

The bar area at MRB’s on Saint Philip Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. (July 26, 2024)

The outdoor patio area at MRB’s on Saint Philip Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. (July 26, 2024)

Our non-traditional and quite delicious, spicy and meaty gumbo at MRB’s on Saint Philip Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. (July 26, 2024)

Saying good-bye to our wonderful gumbo guide, Pepe Martin. (July 26, 2024)

Escaping the afternoon shower, after our gumbo food walking tour, Syd and I stopped here at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop at the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip’s streets in the French Quarter. (July 26, 2024)

I’m drinking some concoction my daughter, Sydney, ordered for me at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, a piano bar and lounge, at the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip’s streets in the French Quarter. (July 26, 2024)

Even though we enjoyed a day of gumbo tasting in the French Quarter, we decided to enjoy dinner at Commander’s Palace. (July 26, 2024)

We actually walked through the kitchen to get to our table at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

Syd and me at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans for dinner during a rainy, but still warm night in New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

Our rather delicious and simple Commander’s Crisp Romaine Salad. (July 26, 2024)

Syd and I actually split the 8-ounce filet of Black Angus beef, at Commander’s Palace, which was delicious. I even enjoyed the glazed baby carrots and smashed new potatoes. Could have done without the Mississippi blue very Demi-glacé but other than that, it was delicious! (July 26, 2024)

And, the reason I came to Commander’s Palace was for the desert, the Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé, which was edible indeed but for some reason, it was just okay even with the warm whiskey cream. (July 26, 2024)

And, to end our evening in style, we did a stop-over at Pat O’Brien’s in the French Quarter for the delicious and power-packed Hurricane. Here we are getting in a selfie, with a cute photobomb from one of the server’s at Pat O Brien’s. (July 26, 2024)

The Hurricane at Pat O. Brien’s in the New Orleans French Quarter. (July 26, 2024)

The colorful water fountain at Pat O. Brien’s in the New Orleans French Quarter. (July 26, 2024)

Three times during my past lives, all in this lifetime, I lived in New Orleans.

As a child, with my parents and siblings, we came to New Orleans from Manhattan, New York, when I was around 8 or 9 years old for my father’s work as a mechanical engineer with Boeing. This is when I met my childhood friend Darlene and her beautifully Southern and Creole family. We also lived here briefly during my early high school years and I also lived here on my own as a young adult while working at WYLD radio station. But like I said, this was lifetimes ago.

So visiting New Orleans is in a sense like coming home…but in a touristy kind of way. And, sharing that with my daughter, Sydney, makes it even better. We began our second day enjoying breakfast with my childhood friend, Darlene, and exploring New Orleans by land on a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus and by river on the Natchez Steamboat cruise along the Mississippi River.

Here’s more of our mother/daughter weekend trip to New Orleans.

A breakfast selfie at Who Dat Coffee Cafe on Burgundy Street in New Orleans with my daughter, Sydney, and my beautiful childhood friend, Darlene, who still lives in New Orleans. It was great to have time to do a little catching up and fun to connect with someone who goes so deep into your past. Thanks Darlene! It was so good to see you my friend. (July 27, 2024)

The colorful Who Dat Coffee Cafe on Burgundy Street in New Orleans where Syd and I had breakfast with my childhood friend, Darlene. (July 27, 2024)

A selfie of Darlene and me inside the Who Dat Coffee Cafe on Burgundy Street in New Orleans where Syd and I met her for breakfast on Saturday morning. (July 27, 2024)

Darlene dropped Syd and I off at Jackson Square where we picked up the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus. Here’s a view of horse drawn carriages, Jackson Square and the Saint Louis Cathedral from a top the bus. It is the oldest continuously active Roman Catholic Cathedral in the United States, originally built in 1727 and dedicated to King Louis IX of France. The original St. Louis Cathedral burned down during the great fire of 1788 and was rebuilt, expanded and completed in the 1850s. (July 27, 2024)

Syd and me getting in a selfie with the Saint Louis Cathedral as our backdrop. (July 26, 2024)

Inside the Saint Louis Cathedral founded in 1720 along the banks of the Mississippi River in New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

The altar inside the Saint Louis Cathedral founded in 1720 along the banks of the Mississippi River in New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

A close-up of the altar inside the Saint Louis Cathedral in the New Orleans French Quarter. (July 26, 2024)

A side view inside the Saint Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter of New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

The beautiful painted ceiling inside the Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.

A close-up of the beautiful painted ceiling inside the Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

The choir and entrance area inside the Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

The beautiful stained glass windows inside the Saint Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter of New Orleans. (July 26, 2024)

Along Decatur Street, passing Jackson Square, a top the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus. (July 27, 2024)

As it turns out, New Orleans’ most solid link to Joan of Arc is this 13½-foot, 2,700-pound equestrian statue of the saint at the Place de France erected in 1972 by the City of New Orleans. Although this statue was supposedly cast by French sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet in the late 1800s, along with eight similar statues in various parts of the world, this one has a long storied history before emerging at her current location of the Place de France in the French Market. (July 27, 2024)

The majestic statue of Joan of Arc at the Place de France in the French Market of New Orleans. So, who is she? In 1425, at the young age of 13, voices spoke to a French teenager named Joan telling her to provide aid to Charles VII of France in his plight against the English during the Hundred Years’ War. Mounted on her steed, this teenage girl led the French forces to drive the English troops out of Orleans. (I wrote about my search for Joan of Arc while I was traveling through France. Here’s a link to that post: https://mytravelnotions.com/2022/05/20/france-from-paris-in-search-of-joan-of-arc/ ) (July 27, 2024)

Along Decatur Street, passing the French Market, from a top the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus. (July 27, 2024)

Along Canal Street in New Orleans from a top the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus. (July 27, 2024)

Along Canal Street in New Orleans a top the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus. (July 27, 2024)

And, even though there was a canopy covering the top of the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus, it did not protect us from the quick afternoon down pour. Thankfully the bus tour company provided these free ponchos. (July 27, 2024)

The rain stopped, the sun came out and we’re heading along Magazine Street in New Orleans. (July 27, 2024)

Along Louisiana Avenue in New Orleans. (July 27, 2024)

Hurricane Katrina Sculpture , House In A Tree, along Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans. (July 27, 2024)

A PoBoy was number one on the list of good eats in New Orleans for Syd and this is where we came for her PoBoy fix. (July 27, 2024)

It was Syd’s desire for a Po’Boy that brought us to New Orleans in the first place. Well that and just wanting to eat and drink as much New Orleans cuisine and entertainment we could pack into a 3-day weekend. Here she is ready to partake in our Shrimp PoBoy at NOLA PoBoy’s back in the French Quarter on Bourbon Street. (July 27, 2024)

Me, chowing down on my half of the shrimp PoBoy sandwich at NOLA PoBoy’s on Bourbon Street. It had a slight spicy kick to it and it was delicious. (July 27, 2024)

After our PoBoy sandwich, we made our way back to Pat O’Brien’s for a Hurricane to-go. In the French Quarter, you can open carry your alcoholic drinks, which we did. (July 27, 2024)

Views of the beautiful shotgun houses from our hotel, the Maison DuPuy in the French Quarter. A shotgun house is a narrow rectangular residence with rooms arranged one behind the other. (July 27, 2024)

Heading to our dinner and a cruise along the Mississippi River on the Natchez Steamboat. (July 27, 2024)

Getting in a selfie on the entrance ramp to the Natchez Steamboat for our evening dinner and cruise along the Mississippi River. (July 27, 2024)

The dining room inside the Natchez Steamboat where Sydney and I had an okay buffet dinner before we began our cruise down the Mississippi River. (July 27, 2024)

My buffet dinner plate on board the Natchez Steamboat before we began our cruise down the Mississippi River. The meat was dry, but the chicken, corn and sweet potatoes were edible. (July 27, 2024)

Syd and I on our two-hour cruise from the heart of the French Quarter takes you back when cotton was king and life was slow and graceful as the current on the Mississippi. (July 27, 2024)

Evening views of New Orleans along the Mississippi River onboard the Natchez steamboat cruise. (July 27, 2024)

We booked an evening flight home to Dallas so we could have a full last day in New Orleans. And, with that full day, we scheduled a day with 2nd Line Tours that included providing us with transportation to the Whitney Plantation and Slavery Museum in Edgard, Louisiana, and after lunch, an Urban Culture Tour around New Orleans.

The Whitney Plantation is a self-guided tour of the 1830’s sugar plantation that focuses on the lives of the enslaved people who lived and worked there. It was a beautiful, but hot day to walk through many of the surviving structures built by the enslaved people, which in essence gave us just a tiny glimpse into the harshness of their lives. The Whitney Plantation puts you into the everyday lives of the enslaved through its exhibits, memorial artwork, first-person slave narratives and more to provide a voice to the slaves who lived, worked and died on the plantation.

From the Whitney Plantation, we made our way back to New Orleans and after an hour or so lunch break, we met up again for the Urban Culture Tour. This part of the tour was about seeing iconic historical New Orleans sites, but it was mostly from a van. Although I’ve seen a number of these sites in the past, I was disappointed about mostly driving past them. The Urban tour was still informative, and we did make a couple of interesting stops.

Also one part of this Urban tour was a drive through the area of the 9th Ward where the first levee broke on August 29, 2005, during Hurricane Katrina when more than 80% of the city and its people were submerged during the catastrophic floods.

We packed in quite a bit for our time in New Orleans, but what made this trip so much fun was sharing it with my daughter, Sydney.

Editor’s Note: For more information about the Whitney Plantation and Museum, go to: https://whitneyplantation.org

Sydney and me at the large disk depicting the Middle Passage, the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, at the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana. (Those are fans around our necks. Needless to say, it was a rather hot day.) (July 28, 2024)

The Antioch Baptist Church from 1870 was originally built in Paulina, Louisiana, by freedmen. Formerly known as the Anti-Yoke Baptist Congregation, it formed out of a mutual aid society. This congregation, now called the First Community Antioch Baptist Church, still exists and in 1999, donated this original structure to the Whitney Plantation and Museum. (July 28, 2024)

Inside the Antioch Baptist Church at the and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana. (July 28, 2024)

The beautiful lake and landscape of the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana, belies the ugliness of humans were enslaved here. (July 28, 2024)

The “Big House,” circa 1790 of the Whitney Plantation and Museum was the plantation owner’s home. “Enslaved laborers built this Raised Creole Cottage in 1790 from cypress and brick. The Haydel family lived here for 75 years. Enslaved domestics lived in slave quarters that once stood behind the house,” according to the museum’s description. (July 28, 2024)

Inside the “Big House” of the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana. (July 28, 2024)

From the “Big House” is the outdoor Kitchen of the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana. (July 28, 2024)

Sydney entering the outdoor Kitchen of the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana. The Kitchen, circa 1830-1850 is where, according to the museum’s description, is where “enslaved domestics Julienne, Marie, Lucie, Francoise and Sally worked here. Julienne and Marie cooked food for the plantation owner, Marie Azelie Haydel. Lucie and Francoise did the laundry. Sally worked inside the Big House. These women lived in cabins in this yard, along with their 13 children.” (July 28, 2024)

Inside the outdoor Kitchen of the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana. (July 28, 2024)

The Overseer’s House of the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana from around 1820-1860. “Ursin Webre, the overseer between 1850-1867, lived in this house. His sister-in-law owned the plantation and Ursin enslaved seven people who served as domestics for his family: Rosalie, Celestin, Rosette, Marie Celina, Rosa, Marie Fidilie, and Augustin,” according to the museum’s description. The overseer ensured efficiency often by brutal force. (July 28, 2024)

Walking along a tree shaded pathway of the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana. (July 28, 2024)

The Blacksmith Shop was built in 2002 on the site where the blacksmith shop once stood at the Whitney Plantation and Museum. Blacksmiths were skilled workers who made common implements like curtain rods, door hinges, and cooking tools. Some original pieces made by enslaved blacksmiths are still in use in the Big House. (July 28, 2024)

The Slave Quarters of the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, Louisiana. “The slave quarters once stood a half mile from here. A road through the center of the cabins led to the sugar mill. Enslaved families lived together in these cabins, until they were separated by death, escape, or the slave trader. Outside, they often grew small garden plots and raised livestock,” according to the museum’s description. (July 28, 2024)

On the porch of the Slave Quarters of the Whitney Plantation and Museum. (July 28, 2024)

The bedroom area inside the Slave Quarters of the Whitney Plantation and Museum. (July 28, 2024)

These large iron sugar kettles were part of the Sugar Production on the Whitney Plantation. They were used inside the sugar mill to boil cane juice and make granulated sugar. The Whitney Plantation is home to the largest collection of sugar kettles in Louisiana. Sugar was a driving force behind the transatlantic slave trade, as the insatiable European demand for this commodity fueled the wealth of nations at the expense of African lives and communities.
Some people facts from the museum: “In 1860, 50-year-old Grand Lewis and 45-year-old Tom were the head sugar makers on this plantation. 35-year-old Green worked under them. These men were sold from the Upper South in the Domestic Slave Trade.” (July 28, 2024)

A row of the large iron sugar kettles, along the shaded pathway, used for sugar production on the Whitney Plantation. (July 28, 2024)

More large iron sugar kettles along the shaded pathway on the Whitney Plantation and Museum. (July 28, 2024)

This is an artistic rendering of a West African longboat, at the Whitney Plantation and Museum, used by the slave ship crews upon arrival in Africa. The longboat would be rowed up river to the people captured and taken on board, who were chained and brought to the ships. These people were being enslaved and treated as cargo. (July 28, 2024)

The Wall of Honor lists the names of enslaved people known to have lived and worked at the Whitney Plantation. Even though the list is incomplete, what you see here is the most comprehensive accounting possible, gathered from sales records and other official documents. (July 28, 2024)

The memorial here at the Whitney Museum and Plantation depicts the heroes of the German Coast Uprising – the largest and most sophisticated slave revolt in United States history. It was the largest and most sophisticated slave revolt in United States history. Federal troops and the state militia overpowered what grew into an army of enslaved people. The rebellion may have included between 200 and 500 people. A tribunal tried and convicted the rebel leaders, decapitated them and displayed their heads on pikes along the River Road. (July 28, 2024)

In 1811, Charles Deslondes was a slave driver at the Woodland Plantation, about 13 miles down-river from the Whitney Plantation on the east bank of the river. The region was called the German Coast after the German immigrants who arrived in 1721. Although enslaved themselves, slave drivers held relatively powerful positions and – like domestics – were part of an underground information network, relaying news and messages.
Despondent organized a band of rebels on Jan. 8, 1811, with the intent of killing plantation owners and free the enslaved. After two days, they were overpowered by a well-armed militia. Some were killed battling the militia but more than 65 were taken back to their plantations where they were executed by decapitation. And, the heads were placed on poles for everyone to see. (July 28, 2024)

This is the symbolic depiction of the severed head of Charles Deslondes, who in 1811 was a slave driver at the Woodland Plantation about 13 miles down-river from here on the east bank of the river. The region was called the German Coast after the German immigrants who arrived in 1721. Although enslaved themselves, slave drivers held relatively powerful positions and – like domestics – were part of an underground information network, relaying news and messages. (July 28, 2024)

This Field of Angels Memorial at the Whitney Plantation and Museum is in honor of the 2,200 enslaved children who died in the St. John the Baptist Parish between 1823-1863. “Disease and harsh labor created high death rates. Enslaved mothers suffered tremendously. Francoise, an enslaved laundress on this plantation, lost five children by age 23. Three died within one month,” according to the museum’s description. “Children born in a condition of slavery, as the condition followed the mother’s line, would live there in Louisiana with their mothers until they were the age of ten, at which point they could be put out into the fields or they could be sold away,” again, from the museum’s description. (July 28, 2024)

The interior entrance to the Whitney Plantation’s information museum area about slavery. (July 28, 2024)

The interior entrance to the Whitney Plantation museum depicts the “Door of No Return” at the Maison des Esclaves on Goree Island in Senegal. European slave trading posts, such as Goree Island and Elmina Castle in Ghana, are places through which thousands of captured Africans passed on their way to enslavement in the Americas. (July 28, 2024)
**Editor’s note:** I traveled through Ghana and visited the Elkins Castle. Here’s the link to my post: https://mytravelnotions.com/2019/01/19/walking-the-path-of-elmina-ghanas-slave-trade/

This Middle Passage display at the Museum portion of the Whitney Plantation is one of the many informational displays about slavery. This display provides information about the Middle Passage: “Throughout nearly 400 years, an estimated 125 million Africans were packed tightly into the holds of ships and sent across the Atlantic Ocean as cargo. This forced journey, called the Middle Passage, was the largest human migration in world history.”(July 28, 2024)

This Life on a Slave Ship display at the Museum portion of the Whitney Plantation is one of the many informational displays about slavery. This display provides a description of the Slave Ship: “In order to maximize profit, slave traders loaded as many captives as possible onto their ships, chaining them together in the hot, dark and deadly conditions below the ships main deck. They did not feed the captives well; many contracted dysentery and scurvy. Women had to give birth and keep children safe in this environment, and were sexually assaulted by crew members. Despite overwhelming odds, Africans resisted. Many people went on hunger strikes or committed suicide. An estimated ten percent of slaving voyages experienced violent revolts.” (July 28, 2024)

Inside the informational Museum portion of the Whitney Plantation. (July 28, 2024)

Syd standing in front of the large display of a collection of wanted or rewards ads for run away slaves at the Museum portion of the Whitney Plantation. (July 28, 2024)

A close-up of the rewards ads seeking run away slaves at the Museum portion of the Whitney Plantation. (July 28, 2024)

For the second part of our 2nd Line Tour, after our morning visit to the Whitney Plantation and Museum in Edgard, we arrived back in New Orleans for the after portion called the Urban Culture Tour.
Although we didn’t make a number of stops, we did start the tour at the Studio Be. It’s a warehouse and home to local artist, Brandan ‘Bmike’ Odums. The 35,000 sq. ft. visual art warehouse depicts the stories of revolutionaries, heroes and everyday New Orleanians. (July 28, 2024)

Inside the Studio Be visual art warehouse of local artist Brandan ‘Bmike’ Odums, where his work depicts the stories of revolutionaries, heroes and everyday New Orleanians. (July 28, 2024)