Tampa to New Orleans in 36 Hours

Recently I posted how one thing that bugs me about Tampa International is the lack of direct flights to a lot of other countries. But when it comes to domestic flights, TPA really has it covered. We got a perfect flight time leaving Saturday morning and returning Sunday night.

Spirit gets a lot of hate online. It's the roll of the dice when you fly a discount airline. Sure you don't get all the perks and tech that the higher price carriers give you. But if you just want to quickly get from Point A to Point B, Spirit has always been ok for me.

We were told by the locals we picked the best time of year to visit. It's in between festivals right now. Mardi Gras is over and their big music festival is still a few weeks away. Plus the summer heat and humidity hasn't invaded yet. When we arrived it was cool and a little foggy.

The Mardi Gras celebrations may have been over, but there were definite signs around the city of the party we missed.

First mission upon arrival was to get some breakfast. Yelp reviewers raved about this place called Cafe Porche. When we got there, it seemed closed.

But once we got by the building in front, we spotted the restaurant behind.

I don't think you can go wrong with anything on the menu. The Yelp reviewers nailed it. This was one of the top 10 breakfast spots I've ever visited anywhere. The owner was incredibly sweet. The food was so good, there was a second visit the next morning. Her team hadn't arrived yet and they don't normally serve breakfast so early but she got behind the grill herself and prepared meals.

I mean with the French influence in New Olreans, it kind of makes sense they'd have just about the best French Toast I've ever had right?

I had to try some authentic New Orleans style stuff too... this gumbo was excellent.

It was finally time to make my way over to the legendary Bourbon Street. It was still early in the day so this was a chance to see the sights before the drunken craziness.

Couldn't stop snapping photos of the cool views of the colors and classic southern scenes.

Horse drawn carriages, iron lamps, the balconies. Walking down the street parallel to Bourbon Street (Royal Street) really had much cooler shops... lots of art galleries.

I asked my buddy who lives in New Orleans we'd be meeting later for a place for us tourists that he'd rather skip. He suggested ACME.

I went with the sampler because I'm indecisive.

Not my thing so I passed, but they were shucking away. They're known for their oysters, but I had to pass.

I don't think the photo is terribly teasing, but gotta say this was fantastic. I get why my buddy wanted us to get this out of the way before his arrival... it was pretty touristy. But hey I'm a tourist.

After a walking tour of the haunted spots around the French Quarter, it was time for a drink as the night was about to begin.

Bourbon Street on Saturday night was everything I expected it to be and more. It's like Ybor times 1000. the wild scene with loud music and drunken college kids was a bit much... but that's the point.

After a night of a few adult beverages, I asked my New Orleans local for a good pizza spot. He nailed it. This was one of the best slices I've ever had. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't because I was drunk. Pretty sure. If you visit, find Vieux Carre Pizzeria. They have great wings I'm told too. But the pizza is a can't miss.

Sunday morning, we had a few more hours to spend wandering around the French Quarter. It's kind of a requirement at some point to get beignets at Cafe Du Mond.

The menu is pretty simple. And don't let the long line intimidate you. Having beignets is not an hours long thing. The line moves fast and the staff clears the tables quickly. And with only one thing really on the menu, you really just have to choose what you want to drink.

Hey for a tourist trap, I'm sure Cafe Du Mond could charge a lot more than $3.85 for these. They didn't disappoint.

Our table looked like a disaster area with powdered sugar everywhere, but I'm sure within 30 seconds of our leaving, it was pristine again. Their staff is fast.

If you don't get to the famous Cafe Du Mond location near the Mississippi River, there's one at the airport in New Orleans.

And get a load of this... they don't charge extra at the airport. Same prices. Hey Tampa International... maybe you should try this!

I didn't feel like a second helping of beignets. Shake Shack sounded perfect. This is something else we'd like to see TPA!

A short trip, but it didn't feel like it. 36 hours is New Orleans will tucker you out. Was nice to see home and get a good night's sleep Sunday night.

OK TPA, can get we get this taken care of already. Seems like every time I fly in or out of Tampa International lately, there's only one shuttle running. Anyway, enough complaining. Fun trip. Will definitely visit New Orleans again, but 36 hours really did give a great first impression.