New Orleans.....let the good times roll with the Traveling Diva

About two years ago I went to New Orleans for my birthday……it was one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever been on! I had always hated birthdays before….a few mediocre gifts, a Birthday dinner at a boring restaurant….just another day, just another year….Until I decided I was going to reclaim my Birthday and make it my own! After all, what is a birthday other than an excuse to celebrate oneself, to enjoy life, to be happy to be alive!

And so, I decided to plan my own birthday trip and have everything just the way I like it….no matter what! I decided not to rely on other people to surprise me in ways I might not like and I decided to live this Birthday as if it were my last, I decided that for at least this one day I was going to truly live and not merely exist………and the most curious things started to happen…….people unexpectedly started surprising me in ways I really DID like, seemingly impossible obstacles vanished overnight, I got more meaningful gifts than I had ever gotten….I had the most wonderful birthday of my life…and it wasn’t the last!

I stayed at the Soniat House in New Orleans. Check out their website if you’re interested www.soniathouse.com They say it’s one of the 1,000 to see before you die, and I concur! Check out my room...

I took lots of pictures and videos. For some reason I wasn’t able to make my videos longer than 40 seconds or so, so each video is a short vignette that I would email to friends to let them know how the trip was going…..

And here is a video of the Royal Suite at Soniat House

Part II of the Royal Suite takes you to the balcony

Check out my bedroom at Soniat House

The Courtyard at Soniat House

The sun was in my eyes in this video, but these Southern biscuits were extremely good!

I had just purchased a Mardi Gras style New Orleans vintage hat that lots of people wear down there and couldn’t resist wearing it whenever I could…

One of my most memorable meals in New Orleans (and there were quite a few) was breakfast at Brennan’s. This is not the place to go if you’re on a diet! Every dish is pretty much a heart attack on a plate, but it’s totally worth it!

My favorite was the Bananas foster, a recipe that was actually born in New Orleans. In the 1950’s New Orleans was the major port of entry for Bananas and Brennan’s challenged their Chef to create a new desert using this exotic fruit. It may not look like much in this picture, but believe me it’s absolutely delicious…..

So, despite the frivolity of this post there is actually a deeper moral to this story…… Don’t wait to enjoy your life, it’s not happening tomorrow- life is today, life is now…..don’t ask for permission to be happy, don’t listen to should and shouldn’t, don’t wait for others to be kind to you, be kind to yourself and the rest will follow……..and what did I learn? I don’t need to wait for my Birthday to give myself permission to love myself, I can do that all the time!

So that’s it for today my fellow Steemians! If you like what you read please follow me and upvote this post. I’d like to build a lasting friendship with all you Steemians so feel free to be in touch in the comments!