We started off our last day in New Orleans with a long list of things that we wanted to do but had to cut it down quite a bit. Day 3 was still a very busy one but we managed to squeeze in some time to relax. We visited a couple of museums, ate some more excellent food and Lucas had a lot of fun checking out the aquarium.
If you haven’t done so already, make sure to check out my posts about Day 1 and Day 2.
Here is a recap of some of the things we did:
- Visited the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
- Learned about Mardi Gras & Hurricane Katrina at The Presbytere
- Lunch at Central Grocery- Home of the original Muffuletta
- Lucas got messy at Cafe Du Monde
- Had a drink at (possibly) the oldest structure used as a bar in the U.S.
- Checked out the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
- Had appetizers at the famous Acme Oyster House
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| Pharmacy Museum |
When I read about the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum I knew that we had to visit it. The museum had very limited hours and we missed out on visiting on day 1 by about an hour.
The pharmacy museum is located in the shop where one of the first licensed pharmacist in the United States, Louis J. Dufilho Sr. practiced.
The museum is spread out over two floors and has amazing, old cabinets from the 1800’s displaying medicine bottles, surgical tools, an old soda fountain and many other interesting things.
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| Garage door from Katrina home |
While visiting New Orleans, I wanted to learn a little more about a couple of things the city is known for. One is a fun event- Mardi Gras, the other a tragic one- Hurricane Katrina. Both of these things were on display at The Presbytre, a Louisiana State Museum.
We started off on the first floor which was all about Katrina and other hurricanes. There are lots of items related to Katrina on display as well as video screens playing first hand accounts of people that lived through the disaster. One room had a large screen showing what the storm looked like while wind blew around with loud audio of a hurricane- scary.
After taking in all we could about Katrina we headed upstairs to find out more about Mardi Gras. We learned about how the celebration came about and saw many costumes, crowns and other related items on display. It definitely looks like a great event to attend, although probably not with a 16 month old!
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| Outside Central Grocery |
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| A messy, fun and tasty time |
After lunch we made our second visit of the trip to Cafe Du Monde. During our first stop Lucas was sleeping but this time he got to try the beignets. He loved them right away and kept asking for more. We had a lot of fun sharing the beignets and both of us ended up covered in the powdered sugar. If we had another day in New Orleans, I would’ve gladly made a stop at Cafe Du Monde again.
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| Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop |
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop is known as the oldest structure used as a bar in the United States. Lafitte’s was built between 1722 and 1732. When we arrived there were a few people inside but the bartender quickly told us that we couldn’t stay inside due to Lucas but we could have a drink in their yard. While Kim and Lucas hung out in the yard, I went inside to check out the bar and order a drink.
It was definitely cool to visit such an old and historic bar but I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit it again.
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| Walk through tunnel |
Our visit to Audubon Aquarium of the Americas was mainly for Lucas but we all had a good time. The aquarium has a nice collection of underwater creatures but it didn’t really stand out from other aquariums that we’ve visited in the past. The walk-through tunnel was a great way to enter the exhibits. Some favorites were the penguins, sea horses and otters.
The funny part is that the best part of the aquarium wasn’t related to sea life. We had a great time at Parakeet Point, an enclosed outdoor area that is home to hundreds of parakeets. We bought a couple of feed sticks and the birds landed on our hands to eat. Definitely a lot of fun for everyone!
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| Chargrilled Oysters |
