We intended to go to the French Market Restaurant (see our January 2011 trip report for a review), b

Lyndon and some colleagues were attending a conference in New Orleans and, of course, Hilary could not resist tagging along.  New Orleans is one of our favorite cities so any chance to be there is great.
We, along with T, N and W (three of Lyndon s colleagues; W has appeared in other trip reports), took the 7:20 p.m. Southwest direct flight from St. Louis to New Orleans.  We landed about fifteen minutes early and took a cab to the Westin Canal Place, where the conference was being held.  We love the view of the river from the 11 th floor lobby.
Check in was a breeze disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises and we were heading to the room in no time.  The room was nice, but the hallways are showing their age and need updated.  We were stuck with two double beds since the hotel was full due to the conference and Jazz Fest.  We love the heavenly beds – some of the most comfortable anywhere.   We also appreciate that Westin has regular-size pillows and has not gone to the smaller (and, in our opinion, uncomfortable) pillows disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises many hotels have.
We all met at The Green Bar, a new and welcome addition since we were last at the Westin.  It has very nice decor but the service tonight was a bit of a struggle.  (Our other visits this trip yielded very good bartenders so they may have been really busy and/or understaffed.) We all grabbed drinks and headed out to find dinner.
We intended to go to the French Market Restaurant (see our January 2011 trip report for a review), but when we got there it was closed.  Most other restaurants in the area were closed too, so we settled on Coop's Place since it was the only thing available.  We were able to snag a table, disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises which was good since it was very  full.  It was also very loud, though we didn t mind.  The cold beer was great but the food was just awful.  The only things anyone had that were edible were the fried mushrooms and the slaw.  We certainly would not go back here well, not for food anyway.
Lyndon was up early for conference activities.  Hilary was up early, too, and made a run to Starbuck's in Canal Place (attached to the Westin) before getting ready for the day.  She rented a car from the Budget location about a 15 or 20 minute walk from the Westin.  (We tried to rent from Hertz at the airport but every time we checked they were out of cars.  There is no car rental facility at the Westin.)
Hilary was given one of the only cars left, an older (and very large) Crown Vic.  It had a crack in the windshield and lots of scratches but the Budget employee was great about noting all these things before Hilary disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises took the car.
Hilary drove to Oak Alley Plantation, which she estimates took an hour or so.  The drive was nice, going over a monster bridge and winding through some swampy areas.  Oak Alley and its grounds are gorgeous and Hilary loved the tour of the mansion.
Hilary was back in New Orleans and returning the car about 1 p.m.  She headed to the French Quarter to find lunch, check out the changes at Hotel Monteleone and do some shopping.  Lunch at the bar at Bourbon House was an excellent oyster po boy and a vodka and soda.  The bartender was very friendly and provided good service.  (The guys ate at Bourbon House that evening with clients and really enjoyed it.)
After lunch, Hilary hit a few shops but did not buy anything.  She then had a glass of champagne at the Hotel Monteleone – the changes are very nice and the Carousel Bar was packed.  Hilary had to settle for a seat at the window rather disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises than at the bar.  (The bar turns and is staffed by wonderful, fun bartenders.)
Hilary stopped by Harrah's on the way to the Westin and hit four of a kind with a kicker playing video poker.  This was a nice win and allowed us to stay even or a little ahead for the rest of the trip.
The gals (Hilary and N) were going to meet at the Westin's rooftop pool in the late afternoon. However, by the time Hilary was finished shopping most of the sun was gone and there were no available loungers.  She did go check out the view:
They ended up meeting at The Green Bar (much better service disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises than the night before) and were joined by the guys after the conference day ended.  We all talked for awhile, with various conference attendees joining us.  It was a lively group and a lot of fun.
The guys headed to dinner with clients, while Hilary and N went to the concierge disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises for a restaurant recommendation.  They ended up going to Cafe Giovanni, which was wonderful. The menu is Italian with Cajun influences and the food was very good .  The garlic cheese bread was particularly delicious.  The girls had a fantastic waiter, great martinis disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises and awesome entertainment.  The singer disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises was described as "opera", and she did do some of that but also several selections from Broadway disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises and she certainly sounded disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises like she could be on Broadway.  It was a really nice evening and highly disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises recommended.
Hilary and N  headed back to the Westin after 10 p.m. thinking the boys would be ready to meet soon.  T and Lyndon ended up staying out with a client, while W made it back to the Westin a little after the gals.  N, W and Hilary talked awhile before calling it a night; Lyndon and T stayed out with a client.
We were up at a reasonable disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises hour and grabbed Starbucks before packing for the move to the Hyatt.  (The others were moving to the Wyndham.)  Lyndon swung by the final session of the conference then we headed to the Hyatt.  Our room was not ready so we checked the bags and did a quick tour of the hotel.
The Hyatt was great – we would definitely stay here again.  The lobby is modern but welcoming, there are inviting bars and restaurants and the room was very, very nice.  The bed here was really comfy and the room was modern but not too sleek. We had access to the club lounge, which was one of the nicest we've seen; the view of the city was wonderful.
After a cookie and a bottle of water in the club lounge, we had a drink at Vitascope.   The bartender here brought us a complimentary serving of homemade potato chips, which were delicious.  (The salt and vinegar was our favorite of the three flavors.  The other two were plain and spicy.)
We left the Hyatt and walked to the nearby Le Pavillon Hotel, which we had somehow disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises missed on our prior New Orleans trips.  It is a cool old hotel and we loved the beautiful wood bar.  The lobby area reminded us very much of the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.
We were supposed to have brunch at Commander's Palace and agreed to meet the others there.  However, there is a dress code that does not allow shorts so neither T nor Lyndon could get in.  (The only other times we've been to Commander's Palace were in the winter, disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises so the shorts issue had never come up.)  We ended up having a wonderful lunch at the Palace disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises Cafe (continuing our streak of Brennan-owned venues).  The crab cheesecake was particularly good, as was the Planter's Punch. We had a great waiter and lingered awhile talking and laughing.
We headed for the French Quarter and decided to sit on the patio at Pat O'Brien's.  It was very crowded but we snagged a table and enjoyed a perfect afternoon.  D came to meet us about 30 minutes after we arrived.  Some of us popped in the piano bar periodically and it was great – there were two older ladies playing everything from Neil Diamond to Coldplay.  (The piano bar was also packed.)
T and N headed to their hotel to change while Hilary, Lyndon , W and D went to Razzoo.  There was some hilarious, drunken dancing going on inside. We watched a little of that then went out to the patio.
Dinner was at Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse (continuing the Brennan's theme).  W, D, Lyndon and Hilary arrived disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises before T and N and took the opportunity to grab some great martinis in the bar. We really liked the decor here old school with some flair.  It reminded Hilary of Shaw's Crab House in Chicago. We thought it was very good while T was not as impressed.  One thing everyone agreed on:  the creamed spinach was outstanding.
Our flight back to St. Louis was at 11:00 a.m. so there wasn't time to do much other than sleep in a little and grab a cab to the airport. disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises We grabbed Subway for the flight disabled persons who vacation on foreign cruises and were home in no time.  We love New Orleans and can t wait to go back!