• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Mommy Musings

  • Home
  • Food
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Breakfast
    • Desserts
    • Holiday
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
    • Soups
  • Travel
    • Cruises
      • Carnival
      • Disney Cruise Line
      • Holland America
      • Norwegian Cruise Line
    • United States
      • Florida
      • Hawaii
      • Illinois
      • Louisiana
      • Michigan
      • Tennessee
    • Canada
    • Caribbean
    • Mexico
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • South America
    • Theme Parks
      • Disney World
      • Disneyland
      • Legoland Florida
  • Lifestyle
  • DIY
  • Recipe Index
  • Work with Me
    • PR Request
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Entertainment
  • Recipe Index
×

Home >> Travel >> United States >> Louisiana >> New Orleans Day 4 {Muffuletta & Haunted History Tour} #FollowYourNOLA

New Orleans Day 4 {Muffuletta & Haunted History Tour} #FollowYourNOLA

Published: Jul 31, 2013 · Modified: Sep 18, 2020 by Stefanie Fauquet · This post may contain affiliate links · 16 Comments

9 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Days 1-3 of our New Orleans vacation were super busy. We had packed all of our must-dos into those first days and purposely planned a little R&R for the afternoon of day 4. The day started with a late wake-up call and breakfast in the concierge lounge at the JW Marriott New Orleans. We took our time getting ready and didn't leave the hotel until late in the morning, where our plan was to wander the streets of the French Quarter. Part of the charm of NOLA is being about to explore on your own without having an agenda. We felt perfectly safe in the FQ both day and night and no one ever bothered us.

new orleans french quarter

We started our walk down Royal Street, stopping at little shops along the way. In one of the stores I picked up a fleur-de-lis Christmas ornament as a keepsake for our vacation. I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it -- It’s purple, green and gold and screams NOLA!

nola ornament

A little farther along we took a detour down one of the side streets and came across a sign for Haunted History Tours. My husband mentioned that he had always wanted to go on a ghost tour in New Orleans, so we decided to go inside Rev. Zombie's Voodoo Shop to get details and make reservations. We chose the standard ‘New Orleans Ghost Tour’ for 6:00pm that evening. The man at the counter assured us that the tour was family friendly – we figured it couldn't be too scary if it was still light out! Tickets were $20/adults and $10/kids for a 2-hour walking tour.

haunted history tour

With our reservation in order for that evening, we continued our stroll up and down the streets of the French Quarter...

beignet done that

nola sign

nola watermeter

All of that wandering left us pretty hungry, so we we stopped at Central Grocery for one of their famous Muffulettas.

central grocery nola

The place was packed, but it didn't take long to order a whole Muffuletta ($14.50 -- a steal!) and some Zapp's potato chip (Hotter 'N Hot Jalapeno were my fave!) to-go. The whole way back to the JW Marriott New Orleans I was craving the sandwich, which includes layers of salami, ham, mortadella, mozzarella, provolone and olive salad on a special type of Italian bread.

Needless to say, I attacked that muffuletta when we were back in the room!

muffuletta

central grocery muffuletta

I'm not sure there are words to describe how good this sandwich is. All the hype is true. I'll even go as far to say that the Muffuletta from Central Grocery is one of the best sandwiches that I've ever ate. Now, no trip to NOLA would be complete without one! Nommmm....

-----

At 5:00pm we headed out for our 6:00pm ghost tour with Haunted History Tours. The extra time allowed us to check in with the group and order a pre-tour hurricane from Pat O'Brien's, which was conveniently located across the street from our meeting place.

The hurricane was pretty good; much sweeter than I expected.

pat o'briens hurricane

My nine-year-old daughter was delighted to see other kids on our tour.

haunted history tour mask

Our tour guide, Johnathon, got things going promptly at 6:00pm.

johnathon ghost tour

I can't remember anything specific about the ghost stories that Johnathon told (I know quite a few of them involved fires), but they were all very interesting and not too scary for children. I have a feeling the 6:00pm tour is a little tamer than the 8:oopm tour as there are different routes the guides can take you. We did not go by the LaLaurie House, which I've heard has quite a story. I took as many photos as I could, but unfortunately didn't capture any ghosts 🙁

Do you see any!?

new orleans ghost tour

nola ghost tour

provincial nola

Halfway though the tour everyone stopped for a drink at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop -- the oldest bar in America.

lafittes blacksmith shop bar

This was where my husband and I had our favorite frozen drink in NOLA -- the Voodoo Daiquiri!

If you're ever in NOLA, you need to check out this bar -- there's no electricity, and at night it's lit up by candlelight!!

By the end of the Haunted History Tour we were famished. Before leaving for New Orleans I had put together a list of restaurants that I really wanted to try. Knowing that would would have our fill of fried seafood and po-boys, I added two of Chef John Besh's restaurants: Domenica and Luke. I was saving Luke for our farewell dinner the next evening, so we made our way to Domenica, which means Sunday in Italian, for some wood-fired pizza.

You might not associate New Orleans with pizza, but Domenica serves some seriously good pies -- the pizza was some of the best I've had outside of Naples, Italy. I chose the prosciutto pizza with tomatoes, bufala mozzarella & arugula and it was DIVINE!! I devoured every bite. My husband and daughter split half Quattro Formaggi (four cheese) and half Spicy Lamb Meatball, which they thoroughly enjoyed. At $13 a pizza, we thought this to be a good value for a Besh restaurant (he's one of my favorite chefs) ... if we had gone during happy hour, when pizzas are half hour, it would have been one of the cheapest eats in New Orleans -- truly an incredible deal which we will take advantage on our next visit! 🙂

See: New Orleans Day 1, New Orleans Day 2, New Orleans Day 3 and New Orleans Day 5.

#followyournola

« Instagram Travel Photos: Rome, Italy
Ji Ji Asian Kitchen on Carnival Sunshine »
9 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Penelope (NYC Blogger)

    July 31, 2013 at 1:51 pm

    Wow, those photos are GORGEOUS! What an adventure!

    Reply
  2. Tammy

    July 31, 2013 at 3:00 pm

    I love the souvenir Christmas ornament you chose - it definitely screams New Orleans, and you'll have so much fun remembering this trip when you deck the tree each year!

    Reply
  3. Meghan Cooper

    July 31, 2013 at 3:34 pm

    I want to return to NOLA one day!

    Reply
  4. Jenn- The Rebel Chick

    July 31, 2013 at 7:48 pm

    I have ALWAYS wanted to go on the haunted history tours and every time I get out to NOLA I run out of time.

    Reply
  5. Mellisa

    July 31, 2013 at 8:33 pm

    I would LOVE to do this kind of tour. FUN!

    Reply
  6. Crystal

    July 31, 2013 at 8:55 pm

    Awesome post! I've been dying to go to NOLA for years, finally getting the chance to make a quick stop there next month. Can't wait!

    Reply
  7. Colleen

    July 31, 2013 at 9:47 pm

    I love these post about NOLA I have never been it is on my list of places I want to go. I love the "haunted" tour!

    Reply
  8. Jenn

    July 31, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    I'd have to go on the 6:00 tour since I'm a weenie!

    Reply
  9. Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell

    August 01, 2013 at 1:25 am

    I so agree about the muffulettas. They are beyond delicious, positively scrumptious!

    Reply
  10. LyndaS

    August 01, 2013 at 9:52 am

    Thanks for helping me to figure out what and where to go in New Orleans. I am really hoping to make it there before the end of this year.

    Reply
  11. Vanessa: thequeenofswag

    August 01, 2013 at 11:52 am

    I can't wait to visit one day. It's always been my dream to visit!

    Reply
  12. Angela

    August 02, 2013 at 12:04 am

    I have always wanted to some type of haunted history tour and New Orleans would be the perfect place to do that. So fun!

    Reply
  13. HilLesha

    August 02, 2013 at 12:25 am

    Sounds like my kind of tour!

    Reply
  14. Shell Feis

    August 04, 2013 at 3:15 am

    Everything sounds awesome! The haunted history tour would be SO fun!

    Reply
  15. Leilani

    August 04, 2013 at 12:10 pm

    Oh, I would love to go to New Orleans some day. It's one of my top ten places to visit.

    Reply
  16. Toni

    August 05, 2013 at 4:45 am

    Love your coverage of your trip. Definitely makes me want to go there with my family someday.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Welcome to Mommy Musings™ - I'm Stefanie Fauquet and my passions are food & family travel! I regularly share easy recipes and travel tips to inspire families to create a life they love...one that's full of delicious food and incredible adventures!

📧 [email protected]

Recent Posts

  • The Ultimate List of Valentine's Day Gifts For Women
  • Kid's Educational Gift Guide Ages 6 to 12
  • Teen Girl Holiday Gift Guide
  • Holiday Gift Guide for Moms
  • Cook's and Foodies' Gift Guide

Pages

  • PR Request
  • Privacy Policy
  • Recipe Index
  • Work with Me

Footer

Mommy Musings™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Copyright © 2023 Mommy Musings®

9 shares