The Blathering, New Orleans

What they say is true: Come to The Blathering to find your people. I went to New Orleans to meet my e-bffs Laura and Lacey in person and wound up making friends with sixty funny, engaging women gathered in the same place.

Thursday night, I arrived at the airport and met Lacey and a few others arriving in at a similar time. A little bit nervous and mostly excited for a weekend of sightseeing, great food and girl chatter ahead, we cabbed to our hotel at the Astor Crowne Plaza in the French Quarter. The roar of so many high-pitched girlie voices all in one room was a bit overwhelming at first so Lacey, Laura and I decided to split off for dinner to get to know one another in person. We ate at Le Bayou Restaurant and were seated at a quiet table on the second floor, perfect for catching up with one another. I ordered a New Orleans classic, the Muffaletta sandwich, which was literally bigger than my head. It didn’t disappoint.

The three of us chatted like long lost girlfriends. It’s unreal to meet someone in person after you know so much about them from the Internet, emails and texts. Already friends, but asking one other basic questions about jobs and kids and family. The Internet, it’s such a crazy phenomenon.

We stopped for a drink at The Old Absinthe House, a haunted bar on Bourbon Street. It didn’t feel very haunted while we were there, but it was fun to be in a place where history exuded from on the walls. Andi pressured me to try a hurricane cocktail before I left as if no trip to Bourbon Street would be complete with out tasting one. I’m lame; I opted for local beer instead. Rum and fruit juice just doesn’t seem like my thing. After drinks, the three of us also wandered the French Quarter, dodging beads and taking in the action. Bourbon Street was far less smelly and gross than I imagined, so win? Maybe it was because I found myself mom-ish and in bed by midnight. Maybe I missed the part when Bourbon Street gets really raunchy.

Laura, Lacey and I stopped at Café Beinget for coffee and signature beingets on Friday morning. The café was open-air and adorable, with tiny wrought-iron tables and New Orleans décor. I was having an amazing time until dirty birds started dive-bombing my head in the café. Then a cat strolled indoors. Why do dirty birds and random felines always find me? Suddenly, I was transported into my own personal hell as Laura and Lacey laughed at my shrieking.

We met the remainder of the group for a jazz brunch at Court of Two Sisters. Another outdoor patio and Blathering conversations with attendees from across the country.

Some of our group decided to take a horse-drawn carriage ride through the French Quarter and it was a wonderful opportunity to see the area and learn a little history at the same time. We saw Bourbon Street up close, old houses and Nicolas Cage’s estate. The tour guide looked at us like we were crazy when we asked for directions to the Real World house. What? It was a top priority for thirty-something moms on vacation.

After the French Quarter tour, Laura, Lacey and I decided to find a classic New Orleans cemetery. This was one of the things on my “must see” list so we walked the streets of the French Quarter before finally arriving at the St. Louis Cemetery #1 just a few blocks away. Our iPhone maps led us on a few wrong turns, but I’m glad we stayed the course because the cemetery was one of the best things I experienced all weekend. There was so much history inside those old walls. It was nothing like I’d ever seen anywhere else in the world. I wish we would’ve signed up for an actual cemetery tour so we could have learned more detail to exactly what we were looking at, but St. Louis Cemetery #1 was still worth the trip.

The Blathering organizers rented a bed and breakfast for Friday night’s dinner. What a unique idea! I loved how homey and low-key our evening was with everyone on Friday night. It gave all sixty of us a chance to mingle around the party without shouting over loud restaurant music and the decor felt so warm and inviting.

My least favorite part of New Orleans wasn’t Bourbon Street after all, but the noisy drunk people who stumbled through the hotel all hours of the night. I slept with earplugs and a pillow over my head to drown out the sound of annoying people coming home at all hours of the night. The French Quarter was surprisingly clean compared to my expectations (which must’ve been pretty low considering I did step over my share of sludge and puke in the streets), but the noise. I didn’t prepare myself for that. Read also: I am getting OLD!

Saturday morning, The Blathering rented out Daisy Dukes restaurant for breakfast. I think meal times were some of my favorite memories of the weekend together. It was always so fun to sit with someone new and chat over food and cocktails throughout the weekend.

After breakfast, a big group of us cabbed to the Garden District to shop on Magazine Street. Admittedly, I didn’t do much research for this trip so I was a little disappointed the Garden District didn’t actually include gardens. The shopping was okay; I wasn’t really interested in lugging souvenirs back home in my suitcase so I window-browsed mostly. Still, it was fun to walk around pretty neighborhoods and enjoy the perfectly warm and sunny weather.

Several us met at the famous Café Du Monde for beingets and coffee on Saturday afternoon. I wasn’t convinced I needed to have another beignet since I’d already tried them the day before, but they were amazingly tasty at Café Du Monde. Definitely work the visit. I also loved the way a poof of powdered sugar floated through the air every time one of us took a bite of our flaky fried pastry.

Laura, Lacey and I broke from the group and wandered Jackson Square for the rest of the afternoon. There are so many street performers around the French Quarter, I could have been entertained for hours by all the people watching. Laura stopped for a tarot card palm reading from some gypsy-looking lady while Lacey and I sat upon the St. Louis Cathedral stairs and watching all the action around us. It really couldn’t have been a more perfect way to spend a Saturday.

We stopped at Royal House Oyster Bar for a cocktail and sat on an old thin second-story balcony and chatted while the music of street performers played below us.

Saturday night dinner was at Tujagues Restaurant. Once again, The Blathering organizers out-did themselves with beautiful decor. Dressing up for a fancy dinner on Saturday night is so uncharacteristic of my daily life so it all felt so special. I opted out of the shrimp remoulade and seafood gumbo courses at dinner – I know, shame! – for not tasting very New Orleans speciality. Lacey and I did a little more souvenir shopping after dinner before cozying up in our pjs and recapping the weekend back at the hotel. I had a wonderful weekend getaway and I’m so happy I took the plunge to sign up for The Blathering. I missed my husband and baby girl terribly, but I will also always remember the great memories we shared in New Orleans.