After we got engaged, within minutes we decided that we wanted to honeymoon
in New Orleans. Shortly after our engagement, Katrina hit the Crescent City and

even the high water could not dissuade us. We knew that come July, the Quarter
would be ready for business and if anyone needed it, it was New Orleans!

We flew out of Albany and made it to the Louis Armstrong Intl. Airport in about
6 hours after a brief layover. We checked into the Omni Royal Hotel on the
corner of St. Louis and Royal right in the middle of the French Quarter. If you
have never stayed at a hotel in New Orleans, then you should know that most
hotel rooms in the city are quite small so we were pleasantly surprised with the
size of the deluxe room.

We decided to have dinner at the Rib Room, which is located right at the Omni.
Our host, Alan, was very pleasant and seated us promptly. We proceeded to have
the best steak in town. I had the prime rib and my wife Andrea had the fillet
mignon with the Southern Comfort glaze. As far as beef goes, this was the best
that we ate in all of the Quarter.

Before I tell you about the restaurants we dined in, I should point out that the
French Quarter is BACK! This was my third time in the Quarter and it looked
about the same as it did in 2000. The only differences that you could really see
were the crowds were smaller, and many businesses were understaffed. Smaller
crowds were actually a blessing. If you have ever had to wait in line for dinner
in the Quarter, then you will really appreciate the current lack of tourists.
With the smaller crowds, you get to meet many more locals. Staffing was not that
big of an issue, but we did find that many places had different hours then they
used to.

We took a trip to the National World War II Museum which focuses mainly on D-Day
as it used to be the D-Day Museum. Many of the staff at the museum are veterans
which makes the tour quite informative.

Since it was the middle of July, the heat played a factor on out activities.
There is much to do in New Orleans but with the weather, we stuck to mostly
leisurely events such as music, food, and Bourbon Street.