The moment we got on the bus we passed out asleep, we both had two travel tablets and yes they most certainly work!!
We arrived early, 5.30am and it was still dark! The temporary location of the bus is in a parking lot with a Walgreens opposite so there was little there. There was a taxi that someone had called so we ran over and asked them to order another one for us; instead he decided to fit me and Ross and a man and woman into his taxi because we were going the same way, which made more sense and made it cheaper for all of us!
They were staying in the harrahs hotel (the hotel we stayed in, in Las Vegas) I didn't know there were a chain of them. It was really nice but obviously not as flashy as Las Vegas with all the dazzling lights!
We arrived at ours, the concierge and receptionist just looked at us really strange, we explain we were early and he luckily enough had a spare room that no one was using the following night and was made up, so we checked in super early at 6am. We went straight up to bed and slept through till 9, we were still struggling to get up then after near enough a full nights sleep! We were lucky to have had the room because I honestly do not know what we would have done until check in without sleep or a shower and the fact that it was pitch dark as well didn't help! We walked through the French quarter, we booked ourselves on to a steamboat ride that took us down the Mississippi River with narrated tour guide, New Orleans rely a lot off the sugar factories they have; dominos sugar company with all the sugar plantations is the biggest contributor in the world.
The battle of New Orleans took place on one of the sugar plantation fields in 1815. Great Britain were one of the wealthiest and most powerful shopping country in the world; New Orleans is the gateway through and around America up the Mississippi River. Britain wanted to take over New Orleans as they believed that if it belonged to them they could control all of the shipping going in and out of America, making them very wealthy. They came to battle with New Orleans in 1815, the battle lasted 40 minutes and due to the fact Britain had lost 2000 soldiers they surrendered and retreated back down the river. The Americans won and only lost around 20 men because they had built barriers 15feet wide and 20feet deep, the other things they had in their favour were the swamps, water and the sugar plantation field was knee high deep with mud! Yuk. That will be 200 years ago in January!
We came back on the boat, the paddles at the back were enormous and fascinating as they were the only thing pushing this ginormous boat through the water in one of the rivers with the most strongest tide and current in the world!
We got back and could barely keep our eyes open long enough to put one foot in front of the other, the heat was also unbearable so we retreated to the pool for a dip (freezing dip) and then had an hours nap before bourbon street!
Bourbon street was crazy! Music coming from all angles and lights everywhere! There was jazz although it wasn't as much as I thought and hoped there would be. It was a little too Zante and magaluf scene for me, I was expecting more of a civilised and relaxed atmosphere. There were half naked women and men everywhere trying to get you into bars, not all places had jazz or live bands, they were more so party/club scene. After walking back and forth we managed to find a bar (fatcat) that had a live jazz band who were incredible. And the saxophone man was awesome! What spoilt it though was the waitresses, well s**ts walking around with the boobs and bum hanging out and trying to seduce men into drinking the shots in tubes from between their boobs, it was weird and cringey and they just brought the classiness of the place down to another level! Shame really.
We were dirty stop outs tonight, couldn't resist staying and watching the band! Got in just after midnight.