Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum

Coca-Cola was first bottled in 1894 by Joseph Biedenharn in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Putting the soda fountain treat in bottles so that it could be delivered to customers outside the city expanded his business and reshaped the future of the soft drink industry. Biedenham's candy shop at which he first bottled Coca-Cola is now a museum filled with Coca-Cola memorabilia.

Biedenham's bottling system

They Do It All, Y'all

Rural Life Museum

Stepping into the LSU Rural Life Museum is like stepping back in time. The museum contains an impressive collection of buildings and artifacts that exemplify the history of rural life in Louisiana.

Hotel Villa Convento

Hotel Villa Convento

I don't visit New Orleans often, but each time I do (especially when I am paying out of my own pocket), I agonize over finding a decent hotel at a decent price. I've experienced costly high-end New Orleans hotels, and I've experience cheap motels. Many online hotel reviews describe places that seem downright scary. My own experience with New Orleans hotels includes occurrences I don't want to repeat. For example, I was once accidentally double booked into a room with other occupants -- the hotel gave two different sets of people keys to the same room for the same night.

I believe my search for a nice New Orleans hotel at a decent price is now over. I came across Hotel Villa Convento in my pre-roadtrip research. I read online reviews. I searched for photos. I called and spoke to the front desk clerk. I finally gave in and reserved a room for our couple nights in New Orleans.  And, I'm glad I picekd Hotel Villa Convento.

Hotel Villa Convento is a charming unique hotel in a circa 1833 townhouse on Ursulines Avenue in the French Quarter. The staff was friendly. The room was clean and comfortable -- even a bit luxurious. The location was close to all the French Quarter action. It was a distinctly New Orleans hotel that provided just what we needed.

And, next time I won't have to agonize over selecting a New Orleans hotel -- I'll just call Hotel Villa Convento.

The entrance

First floor hallway

The elevator

Please respect elevator as you would your grandmother . . . She is old

The view

Photo: Hotel Villa Convento

My morning office view

Ursulines Avenue

Ursulines Avenue

Sing Sing Club

The Sing Sing Club is a nice little Bourbon Street dive bar with great live blues and pricey drinks.

Nobody gets out without singing the blues or buying a drink.

Pat O'Brien's, Home of the Hurricane

Hurricane at Pat O'Briens

The sweet fruity drink known as the Hurricane, and that I call "adult Kool-aid", is said to have originated in the 1940s at Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans. The story is that it was created as a way to sell a surplus of rum that distributors forced Mr. O'Brien to buy along with his purchases of better-selling whiskey. Today, rum-based fuity drinks are the the main attraction at O'Brien's club.

We sat in O'Brien's piano bar, sipped on fruity adult beverages, and joined in a group sing-a-long of My Ding-a-Ling. Great fun all around.

Beware that O'Brien's will charge you more than the menu price for your drinks. The extra charge is for the glass, which you get to take with you.

Copper Pianos: Pat O'Brien's Piano Bar

Sidewalk Koi

Fish on a sidewalk.