New Orleans Vacation 2026 Day 3

Breakfast today was at Mena’s Palace, just up the street from Quarter House. Traditional breakfast fare in a cute venue. This is another place Mom remembers fondly.

We left Mena’s and walked to the “top” of the French Quarter and turned right on Rampart Street. Our tour guide yesterday had mentioned Louis Armstrong Park and I wanted to see it. We found the park and walked all around it. The auditorium building in the park was closed for renovations, which was unfortunate for me because my stomach was giving me issues and I felt I needed a bathroom! We left the park and made our way down St. Ann street to Bourbon St. and Fritzel’s where we knew we could find and use one (a bathroom). Then it was back to our room where I rested for a bit and Amanda walked down the street to check out a bookstore she’d noticed yesterday but which was closed at the time.

We had lunch at Daisy Dukes, located in the same building/block as the Quarter House. Then it was Amanda’s turn to rest. I went a few blocks away to Caesar’s Casino to check out the poker room. I wish I could say it was a profitable venture. It was not. I returned to the room to pick up Amanda and we went out again.

We walked down near the waterfront in search of dinner, not being very hungry yet. The steamboat City of New Orleans’ calliope was playing, though the acoustics of the surrounding buildings resulted in a certain amount of discordance depending on where you were. We found a spot called Café Pontalba and each had a cup of gumbo, which was very spicy/hot. Just right! Then it was back to our room for the night.

Step count: 17,414, or 7.33 miles