New Orleans - Unexpected Surprises!

I was at New Orleans, Louisiana last week for a conference. This ought to be my best work trip to date. I was with another colleague and ya, we learnt a lot, we talked a lot, we walked a lot and we ate a lot… of subway! Ha, we were on budget hence, our regular meals consisted of instant noodles, salad bars from super mart, subway. We only had 2 good meals - on the day of arrival and eve of my departure.

Mississippi River

Steam Boat Natchez

We stayed at Hilton Riverside because that was the closest to our conference venue. I hadn't checked the map when I booked the hotel. Turned out, it was really a good spot. We were by the river side, Mississippi river (to be exact) and the hotel was connected to a shopping mall which houses all the outlets! Yeah… Gap, Forever 21, Coach, Guess, Puma, Aeropostale etc.

Downtown street

We were at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) conference. It was such a large scale conference, yet so organised. I was most impressed by the apps they created for this conference. It listed all the presentations, all the schedule, all the venues and I could customise according to my preference. Sort of running from room to room for tutorials, except I was there to listen to presentation. I learnt a lot and was excited by the different perspectives and possibilities for my work.


Work aside, we managed to explore their French Quarter on our last day there.

Quirk Mix of Cultures

Love this kind of housing

The French Quarter has a quirk mix of French and Spanish flairs. The streets are divided like a square. That day while we went for our exploration adventure, it was their St. Patrick's day and wow… they really know how to enjoy themselves. We also paid USD 5 to visit a small but authentic Voodoo Museum. Interesting history and interesting sight to behold.

super seafood dinner

New Orleans is about seafood, lobster, crawfish, shrimps, mussels, clams and crabs. We found this place, recommended by trip advisor - Poppy's Crazy Lobster.  We actually found it on the day of arrival. It was a Sunday evening, close to 7pm and the food court at the mall was closing. We were tired and hungry so we just settled at this restaurant. Oh wow! The food was real good though pricey. My first meal there was a pasta with chicken and a bottled water. It cost me USD 30 with tips.


So before we departed New Orleans, we went back again to try their lobster. For USD 90, we had a pound of lobsters, 2 pounds of snow crabs, lots of mussels and clams and shrimps. Side dishes included potatoes and corns. It was lovely, boiled seafood with marinate made of lemon, olive oil, sea salt, dash of black pepper and tinge of paprika.

lobster

Honestly, we couldn't finish such a big pot. We only managed to clear the lobster, the snow crabs and some mussels, clams and shrimps. It was a waste but that's the max.

After clearing the lobster, this is what we got

I never knew I could like an America's city. I didn't have a pleasant experience for my past 2 trips there but this trip to New Orleans was truly memorable.

my steak burger

Before I left New Orleans, I just had to have a burger that was all about America. The fries, the steak burger and the pickles… it rounded off my work trip with a savoury satisfaction.