What to Do After Fat Tuesday is Over

Mardi Gras is right around the corner and it got me thinking about Fat Tuesday celebrations. It’s all in good fun, but what to do when you aren’t partying it up and watching parades? There are actually a lot of things to do in New Orleans when there aren't drunken crowds showing their goods for beads. If you're wondering how to fill the rest of your trip around the hoopla of Mardi Gras.

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Did you know that New Orleans is a great budget destination? I didn't either! Why not take a little detour from the revelers in the street and explore these options after a big plate of beignets:

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Save on your trip to New Orleans with the Power Pass. Starting as low as $28 per day, gain entry to the must-see attractions of the city. Choose from places like the Musee Conti Wax Museum, Audubon Zoo, Cajun Pride Swamp Tour and much more! Available in 1, 2, 3 and 5 day durations. Add a 1-3 day MealTicket to eat at awesome restaurants for one low price. If you know you’ll be stuffing your face with étouffée, jambalaya and other Cajun deliciousness, this is definitely the way to go!

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You can also take advantage of OpenTable’s deals for dining. With special menus at some restaurants, you can save money, or just reserve a table that will get you points towards a free meal in the future and ensure you don’t have to wait around if the restaurant is busy.

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Here’s another fantastic way to save on meals. Fodor’s lists 10 places to eat under $10. You can’t beat that. Almost. Here’s the short list, but if you want to know more, check out the Fodor’s website for all the wheres and whys.

·         Angeli on Decatur

·         Balcony Bar & Café

·         Café du Monde

·         Clover Grill

·         The Joint

·         Juan’s Flying Burrito

·         La Peniche

·         Mimi’s in the Marigny

·         Parkway Bakery & Tavern

·         Trolley Stop Café

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Like to be scared? New Orleans has always claimed to have a rich history in the occult and creepy myths. For an hour and a half walk among the darkened streets on the New Orleans Vampire Tour for only $20 per person. Many other walks are available, but who wouldn't want to believe in the undead and the horrible things that happen in the shadows of the city? Of course, if you’re heading to Louisiana for a little romantic getaway, you might want to pick a different tour…although, this will probably give you a fantastic reason to snuggle close to your significant other, even after the walk is over.

Bringing the kids with you? Take a trip to the Louisiana Children’s Museum. Admission is $8 for everyone ($10 if you wait to purchase tickets at the door) and children 1 and under are free. They have more than 30,000 square feet of interactive exhibits to keep you and your little ones entertained for hours and hours. Learn a whole bunch of stuff while you’re having fun, so you don’t even know it’s educational!

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Hop on the Canal-Algiers Ferry for free (if on foot) and get some of the best views of New Orleans from the Mississippi. (Also, how many other times are you gonna get to travel the Mississippi?!) Before returning on the ferry, grab a bite at one of the many cafes and take a walk along the Jazz Walk of Fame.

The streetcar is a very affordable way to get from point A to point B while also giving you a city tour. It stops at a variety of attractions along the way and it only costs $1.25. Super cheap sightseeing!

Love your booze? Then take a tour of the Old New Orleans Rum Distillery. This is probably a much safer way to sample some cocktails than getting wasted on the streets with everyone else. For a whopping $10, you can tour the distillery, get free transportation there, a free rum cocktail and a tasting of all four of their rum products at the end.

If that was just too much fun for words, make you way to the Museum of the American Cocktail. Explore their collection of books, rare spirits, glasses, shakers, photos, gadgets and so much more to see how cocktails have evolved over the years. This, too, is just $10 per person. Unfortunately, all you get at the end is a trip to the gift shop, but then you can buy some fun books on vintage cocktails and go home and recreate them for friends in a funky retro party.

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These are just some of the ways you can fill your time on your visit to the Big Easy that doesn’t involve crowds of people or emptying out your wallet. Check out my Facebook page for airfare deals that are popping up all over the place in order to make your trip “cheaper” and Laissez les bons temps rouler.

Have you been to New Orleans? What are your budget tips for the city?

Plus Your Points and Maximize Your Road Trip Fun

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Enterprise Rent-A-Car for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

We rent a lot of cars when we travel. Sometimes it’s just a necessity at your destination, like to get to all the theme parks in Orlando or to get around to parts of a city that doesn’t have the best transit. Rental cars can make your vacation a lot more convenient and saves you time. In the past, we have even rented a car to take road trips. Your family car can take a rest and you can get something roomier that is more comfortable to ride in for long periods of time.

Though I generally choose the best deal I can find, my preferred rental car company is Enterprise. Their customer service can’t be beat and they have a great array of cars to choose from. Now, you can make the most of your rentals by signing up for Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s Enterprise Plus loyalty program and taking advantage of the Plus Your Points promotion going on now through March 31st. This annual promotion doubles the points you earn on qualifying rentals. The more points you earn, the faster you can redeem them for free rentals – with no blackout dates!

Winter is a perfect time to take a road trip. To get more bang for your buck, popular summer destinations are less crowded in the winter and hotels offer lower rates, because they have more free rooms available. My choice would be taking a trip to Disneyland. Lines are shorter and you can do more each day than any day during the summertime. I like being able to take my time and not rush. Dining is less of a hassle, too. So many options, but no crowds of people making me wait forever for a table. With my rental car, I can also drive to other theme parks – like Universal Studios – or even the beach! It might be too cold to get in the water, but it doesn't mean I can't take a stroll along the Venice Canals or visit the Queen Mary.

Though driving can be a bit far, we’ve often made the drive to save money on airfare and stopped many places along the way to maximize our fun and not feel like we’re spending 4 days (2 there and 2 back) just sitting in the car. Some of my favorite stops along the way:

• The Oregon Vortex. It’s totally hokey, but fun and amazing. How can I be the same height as my husband who is normally 9 inches taller than me? How does water uphill? How can I walk on a wall? It’s crazy – crazy fun! (located in Gold Hill, OR)
• Pea Soup Andersen’s. Buellton, CA may not be on your radar, but if you’ve ever stopped to eat around there, you know that Pea Soup Andersen’s is THE restaurant to dine in. Besides delicious soup, they have other great food and a huge gift shop.
• Gilroy, CA. If taking the scenic route to Southern California down Highway 101, Gilroy should certainly be on your itinerary, unless you aren’t a fan of garlic. They hold a garlic festival every summer, but even if you visit during other months, the smell is very powerful even before you reach the town.

By renting a car through Enterprise, I can leave my car at home and put the mileage on a rental. If anything happens to the car on the road, Enterprise will take care of it. I can also earn points a variety of ways, so I can rent a car for free in the future and travel more budget-friendly.

Once you register for the Plus Your Points promotion, you can earn points by renting a qualifying vehicle, adding a GPS to your rental, sharing the program on Twitter, referring friends who then rent during the promotional period and more. Your points never expire as long as you rent from Enterprise at least once in each two-year period, which is so much better than many other rewards programs!

Remember, you can earn double points + bonus points now through March 31st, so register now at Enterprise Plus Your Points promotion website and start accruing. Enterprise can help make your winter road trip better than ever and also keep you on or under budget, plus make a future vacation even more affordable. You can’t beat that, right?

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Sitting Down to a Medieval Banquet

If you've ever been to Medieval Times or Exacalibur's Tournament of Kings in Las Vegas, you probably decided it was more money than it was worth and you did it once and that was enough. The food isn't all that great and you have to (get to) eat with your hands. Though the show is fun, it can be pretty hokey. I'll admit, I love such cheesy activities whether I'm at home or on vacation – though I'm more willing to pay for it on vacation – but agree that they can be expensive unless you can get a really good deal online. 

Last time in Vegas, we received free tickets to Tournament of Kings. Had we not, we probably would not have paid the price and it had put us off these dinner and a show things, though I was still willing to spend money to go to something similar in London. The problem? Tickets were upwards of $80 per person. With the price of everything on this trip costing more than anywhere else, I had given up hope on getting to do it this trip as well. Fortunately, I had signed up for all the daily deal sites that offer deals in London and happened to see one for the Medieval Banquet that was 51% off! I couldn't turn that down, especially since dinner out would cost almost as much...and I would have to entertain myself!

Even though I was excited to experience what it might be like to be a member of the King's court, I had little hope that the food would be any good. We figured it would be some kitschy fun and an interesting way to spend an evening. Let me tell you, it was so much better than we ever expected. It took us a while to find the actual "dungeon", but after asking for directions from a nearby business, we found it and descended into a Medieval "castle". It was definitely not anything I thought you'd find in the middle of London next to the docks. 

You have the opportunity to rent costumes to make your evening even more fun. We decided to skip that and were shown to our table where we sat between a nice couple from Kent (he did dress up) two girls from America who were living and working in the city. We had fantastic conversation (does this ever happen???) and then the food started to come. Cauldrons of piping hot soup and large loaves of bread were set on the table, along with pitchers of water and "grog". While we dug into this first course, they explained the rules of the banquet. You should address your waitress as wench and do so in a loud, booming voice if you need anything and she isn't standing near the table, how to participate in a toast and when you like something, you should pound on the table vigorously, hoping your silverware – yes! there are forks and knives here – doesn't fly onto the floor.

You get to drink your soup from a bowl. Amazingly, it is a really good veggie broth. Next, comes the salad. Nobody really knew what to expect, and I wish I got photos, because it consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, pickled carrots and cucumbers and slices of liverwurst. Interesting! I'm sure most of you are cringing at your screen, but I loooooooove liverwurst. Eric does not, so I traded him for my tomatoes. I liked the authenticity of the salad, because in the middle ages, you would not get served a Caesar or chop salad. It was rustic and really delicious. This is when the entertainment started. 

Unlike at Medieval Times, there are no jousting knights or horses. The banquet room has low-ceiling alcoves where each group of tables were situated and you wouldn't eat a meal while watching something that takes place outside. No, you would get jugglers and singers and the like, so that is what they had. A very bendy girl did some contortioning, hula hooping tricks and ribbon-twirling while the King and Queen sang, old timey instruments were played a guy juggled and a lady dressed as a unicorn danced. The entertainers would rotate, so everyone had a chance to easily see everything. 

The main course came after much fanfare and they had thoroughly embarrassed some "volunteers" by making them engage in a little dance with the performers. What came was some of the juiciest chicken I've gotten anywhere and platters of roasted root veggies that were amazing. Since coming back, I've been making my own version for many dinners. This is when the sword fighting began. Some excitement for the main course! Dessert did not disappoint either. A lovely apple pie with soft crust and cream came. Though we were all pretty full by then, we managed to enjoy every last bite. 

The courses came in long enough intervals that you had time to digest and hang out, but not feel like you were waiting forever for the next one to show up. After the food, there was a small dance party, turning the banquet room into a little disco with modern music. We danced a little and then spent some time talking to the folks at our table and getting to know some lovely older ladies at the next table. The four of them were celebrating their friend's birthday. Three of them had been friends for 65 years! I really hated to leave, since the night was so much fun, but alas, all good things must come to an end and tomorrow was another day of seeing the city, so we wandered back to the Underground station and back to our flat to get ready for it.

I'm really happy we took the chance on what we thought would be totally hokey, because it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. Have you been to the Medieval Banquet or want to go? Subscribe to London deals on KGB Deals. They even have special meals if you're a vegetarian, so don't let that stop you from considering it. For more info, check out their website.