Oh, I am in love. No, not with a new man but I fell in love with a city while traveling with my man. We went to New Orleans for Halloween and to attend the Saint’s game. I have never been to New Orleans so I was so excited to go. I even packed my bags several days before our departure which is very much unlike me, I was ready to go. Knowing that we would be there for Halloween I packed Ryan and myself costumes to wear and traveling with big hats with feathers on them was no easy task. We got into New Orleans around 7PM on Friday the 30th and just driving to our hotel we saw hundreds of people dressed up for Halloween walking the streets with adult beverages in hand. My kind of town. So we hurried up and checked in to our beautiful antique filled hotel room and jetted out onto the streets with the other crazies.
Of course we hit Bourbon street first where I was promptly greeted by fan that yelled out “Hey Kelly Madison”. As I said this was my kind of town filled with my kind of people. We had a few drinks and strolled in and out of the bars. I quickly found out this was a walking town and I had on the wrong shoes. But I also discovered the more you drink the less your feet hurt. I also discovered Madison Street.
The next day we went on a 3 hour museum hosted walking tour of the city. Yes, I bought some proper shoes for the event, Aerosoles to be exact, and we explored the town from end to end. We got some crab cakes and then headed back to our hotel.
I started to get ready for our night out and decided to turn it into a photo/video update for kellymadison.com. So after a bit of work I put on my dress and cape and Ryan adorned a steampunk/voodoo daddy getup and off we went to Frenchman Street.
Everyone was dressed up and hanging out on the street despite the downpour of rain. I loved that even though everyone was quite hammered there was no violence or “episodes” of raging testosterone. Everyone got along, everyone was kind to the homeless people, there was respect all around which made for a crazy fun night. The best costume I saw that night was the Publisher’s Clearing House Gang. So original and awesome to see them walking down the street, I just had to take a pic with them!
We didn’t stay out too late, just long enough to eat a midnight hot dog at Dat Dog which is super delicious, and to see a live brass band on the street that was harmonizing with a big trash truck driving past. We walked back soaking wet and went to bed in order to be fresh and ready for the Saints vs the Giants game on Sunday. And can I say, what a game it was! It was pouring rain so the tailgating wasn’t much but we did find a great restaurant and met some friendly Saints fans to sit with. The place was super crowded so I talked to a few people in line and we agreed to all sit together as a party of 8 rather than wait an hour for separate tables. Definitely a good idea because I loved hanging out with them. I really loved everyone in New Orleans. I could live there. The game was epic, the food was delicious, and having a few double Maker’s Marks was the cherry on top.
After recovering from the game, we decided to head out to get a bite to eat. We ended up in a nice place that served a full menu at the bar and I got to have my first Sazerac. Our bartender was informative, talkative, and cool as shit, just how I like my bartenders.
We tried to get into the museum on Monday but alas, it was closed. We still got to see some more sights and check out the art galleries and again, more people watching. Best people watching town ever! We hit a voodoo store where we ran into another fan and took a pic with him. Ryan also bought an African mask from the voodoo store, still wondering if that was a wise decision. We eventually sauntered back to our hotel and had fabulous sex. Don’t worry, I got it all on film and both New Orleans scenes I shot will be on my site this week and next. We finished the night off with an elegant dinner at Muriel’s and a midnight stroll. We even stopped and had our palms read. Seems Ryan is going to live into his 90’s. I guess all that sex is going to keep him alive for a very long time.
Tuesday we said goodbye to our beloved city. We will be back. There was still so much to do. It breaks my heart thinking of all that happened in the aftermath of Katrina. I said a little prayer when I first saw the Superdome. I’m glad that the city has recovered as much as it has and even though there are still people that never got back what they lost, New Orleans never lost its magic.
