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Impressions of New Orleans, Louisiana - Mac Kid South B'ham Explores!

The family-friendly side of this cultural hot spot, just a half day's drive away

By Jess Searcy September 25, 2018

What is my biggest impression of New Orleans, Louisiana... just five and a half hours from Birmingham, Alabama? It is like visiting another country! The architecture, the culture, the food, the Cajun influence, the people. I was truly dazzled by The Big Easy, with the feeling that it is like no other city in the U.S. I truly felt as if I'd been transported to the streets of a foreign country, and I loved every minute of it!

I only had a very short time to explore part of the city, during Macaroni Kid's annual publisher Meet Up. But the culture and attractions I did experience made me anxious to go back, and bring my family with me, and explore some more!

Before Meet Up 2018, I had never been to New Orleans. I didn't really know what to expect. Every year, around Mardi Gras, New Orleans enters my mind and conjures images of half-naked drunk people, but also colorful, elaborate parades. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to take my kids to visit this city.

The theme of this year's Macaroni Kid Meet Up was "fun," and the organizers did such an amazing job of making sure we all got a serious dose of NOLA-style fun. We were organized into "krewes," and had to arrive at Meet Up prepared with costumes and "throws" for our very own second line parade! Apparently, second line parades (or the part of the parade that follows behind a brass band), is a tradition in New Orleans that occurs on a regular basis. We felt pretty special dancing our way down the street, behind a band  (and a police escort, no less)! Everyone along the street stopped to video the crazy Mac Kid mamas as we cackled and threw strings of beads to the kids we happened to pass by. What a great way to experience the culture of New Orleans!


What better way to experience NOLA culture than dancing in our very own "second line" parade with our krewes!


Most of my time in New Orleans was spent learning new publishing skills, listening to inspiring speakers and trying out new family-friendly products brought by sponsors.  But, we did have one afternoon completely free. I chose to visit the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. I've always loved seeing any insect zoo I happen to come across, so an entire museum dedicated to creepy-crawlies sounded like fun to me! It was, in fact, so awesome, I decided it needs its very own, dedicated article (coming soon!).

If I bring my kids back to experience New Orleans, I think I would also love to take them to Jackson Square to see the street performers. I found a few walking up and down Canal Street and think my guys would just love people watching and tossing tips into buckets for an afternoon!

The food in NOLA is just killer. In our free time, some publisher friends and I tried the Red Fish Grill on Bourbon Street and the Geisha Sushi Bistro on Tchoupitoulas Street. Both delicious. And our "Flying Pig Awards" dinner was held at Mulate's, where we had an incredible, traditional Cajun feast!


I tried the jumbo lump crab cake, with purple cabbage choucroute, truffled potato sticks, and creole mustard sauce at the Red Fish Grill. So so delicious and big chunks of crab.
The dragon roll and Tchoupitoulas roll, at Geisha Sushi Bistro. Both very good!


Quite a few people seemed surprised to hear me say, "I can't wait to go back to New Orleans with my kids." But seriously, New Orleans is so much more than a singles party town. And it is so close to Birmingham, it is definitely going on my "road trip with kids" bucket list for sometime soon. If you don't have the money to take your kids on an international trip, consider New Orleans as a more realistic option for exposing them to new foods, a different culture, different environment and fantastic attractions.


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Macaroni Kid South Birmingham is a free weekly e-newsletter and website focused on fun family events and things to do with kids in the South Birmingham region. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week, and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. We proudly serve families in downtown Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Pelham, the Oak Mountain and 280 area, Helena and Alabaster.