An apology...plus a bit of an update!

I haven't blogged since our trip around Scotland in the Autumn of 2021; its not because I haven't been anywhere, I just seemed to lose the motivation.

Well the motivation is back, and more importantly, I wanted to update on where I've been and what I've got up to in the last few years.

November 2021

Going back to 2021, Iain and I enjoyed a lovely week in Tenerife. We basically wanted winter sun at a reasonable price so we opted for 7 days all-inclusive at the Guayarmina Princess in the Costa Adeje. It is an adults only hotel, and was close enough to the airport. The food was reasonable, however the booking system was very irritating as there were still many covid rules in place. We had to pre-book breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as the sunbed beside the pool - I assume that has now changed since the world has learned to deal with covid. The highlight of the trip was probably a visit to the Ibrox Bar where we also met up with some of Iain's' family; we went to watch Rangers in Europe, not really expecting too much but we came away with a win and a hangover the next day. At that point, we decided to go for a fry-up for 5 Euros, before sunning ourselves by the pool! On our last night , we decided to go out for a meal as I was desperate for paella - the restaurant was on the promenade just a walk away from the hotel. It was one of the busier restaurants but I think they were grateful for all the business they could get. We enjoyed the holiday, just not the change to the Covid rules the day before we were due home - we had to pre-book PCR tests on our arrival back in Scotland and self-isolate until we had a negative test. Thankfully, it only took 1 day so we didn't complain too much (although the extra £100 for the tests was a bit excessive!)

Anyway, here are some pictures from Tenerife!

December 2021

After the covid rule changes, you would think we would be put-off travelling - not me! I had accumulated a few British Airways Companion Vouchers throughout 2020 and 2021 so we really needed to start using them. Since it was our anniversary, we took a look to see where we could go...New Orleans, why not?

I went to New Orleans back in 2016, but it was a place that I loved so was looking forward to seeing if and how it had changed. Unfortunately, President Biden decided to change the rules just before we left so we had to do a PCR test in front of some poor woman via zoom - this was on the way out and on the way back. Given we were only going for 5 days, we were slightly terrified that if we got covid on holiday, we would have to stay in the United States and self-isolate over Christmas!

After completing a "Verifly" process, we flew business class to New Orleans via London. When we landed at Louis Armstrong Airport, there was literally no ground staff there to meet us. We were all waiting to get off the plane when the captain said we were the first flight back to New Orleans from London since the pandemic; apparently all the "old" ground staff had left and no-one knew how to deal with us!

We eventually got through customs and were greeted with really loud jazz music - some things never change! We got our baggage, then hopped in a cab to Bourbon Street where our hotel was. Last time I visited with my mum, we stayed just off Bourbon Street, but this time we booked The Royal Sonesta so we were prepared for some noise. We checked in then headed to a bar for a quick drink before bed since we had been up well over 24 hours.

Given it was December, I wasn't expecting it to be too warm, but it was still a balmy 23 degrees. We had breakfast at PJs, a coffee house in the hotel, before heading to the river for the Steamboat tour down the Mississippi.

After a relaxing few hours drinking Mimosas, we joined a food and cocktail tour which left from Red Fish Grill on Bourbon Street. We were the only British people on the tour so everyone seemed quite confused as to why we were there.

Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience as we got to try a few New Orleans' staples. Here's the itinerary:

Red Fish Grill - Alligator Sausage & Seafood Gumbo with freshly baked Leidenheimer French bread paired with a Cat 5 Hurricane
Pepper Palace - Louisiana Hot Sauce
Leah's Pralines - Bacon Pecan Brittle
Napoleon House - Muffuletta sandwich, chicken & andouille sausage jambalaya, and their iconic Pimm's Cup cocktail
Dickie Brennans - French 75 Cocktail

After the food tour, it was time for something slightly different, albeit a famous experience in Edinburgh too. The ghost tour led us around the French Quarter, into some strange places and along streets that you wouldn't go by yourself. We enjoyed it, but there were clearly people way more into it than us! The below picture is from Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar where Jean Lafitte's apparition is said to appear at the bar; I'm pretty sure its more to do with the Grape Daiquiri which nearly blew my head off!

The next day saw us visit two very different Plantations and take a ride on an airboat through the bayous. We visited Laura Plantation as well as Houmas House, where we had a lovely buffet lunch. The highlight of the day was definitely the airboat tour as I got to hold a baby alligator! Iain was too scared though! After arriving back in the French Quarter, we headed to a bar on Royal before calling it a night.

Jazz brunch is all the rage in New Orleans so we pre-booked Antoine's for brunch with unlimited Mimosas! The food was excellent, although I was full after the first course, and the Mimosas really were unlimited.

We left feeling slightly worse for wear so decided to do the bus tour before taking a wander down to Frenchmen Street to sample some live jazz. There are definitely more locals here, and the quality of music is excellent. We had a few beers before heading to Pat O'Brien's for a Hurricane followed by some classic jazz at Preservation Hall.

The next, and final day, was interesting. We started by taking the covid tests via zoom and completing all the "Verifly" information we needed to get home - thankfully we were both negative so this meant we could relax a bit. After doing all the flight admin, we took a cab to the WWII museum; its the biggest in the US and absolutely amazing! After spending about 3 hours here, we walked back to the centre and went for lunch. I had a Rajun Cajun Bloody Mary to drink, although I'm sure it was a meal in itself!

After that, we found a place for frozen Irish Coffee which was amazing!

Iain wanted another but I was determined to take him to the Absinthe House for an Ansinthe Frappe; I have literally never seen him take as long to finish a drink!

I also wanted to take him to Fritzels Jazz Club, so we wandered along Bourbon until we found it. We managed to get a seat at the back and ordered a few drinks. The plan was to stay an hour or so, but it was excellent and we spent most of the night there. The pianist was the same person from my visit back in 2016, so I had to get a picture!

We had a late night and a long lie, before packing and checking out of the hotel. We didn't fly until 8.30pm, so we went to Dooky Chase Restaurant for lunch. This place is legendary as it was the meeting place for civil rights and has welcomed many a U.S President (Obama, Bush, etc).