“Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez!” ...Let the Good Times Roll! by celebrating Noel in NOLA!

And they sure did as enthusiastic Fantasy tour participants decked the halls with holiday feasting, shopping and touring in the big, beautiful Big Easy on Fantasy’s Culinary Christmas Rally, December 6-12, 2016! Between the crowds and chaos of the hot-blooded Jazz Festival in Spring and before the raucous revelry of Mardi Gras in Winter comes the reverent interlude of the Christmas season and all agreed it was the best time of year to experience life in the crazy Crescent City.

Our happy-go-lucky Fantasy group spent fi ve incredible days discovering NOLA cuisine, a delectable melting pot of the city’s French, African, and American cultures. We feasted at famous four- and fi ve- star restaurants: Tujague’s, Antoine’s, Brennan’s, Emeril’s Delmonico, and legendary chef Paul Prudhomme’s K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen. From “Chicken Tchoupitoulas” to fresh gulf fi sh with a magical “creole maque choux” sauce (a rich stewed corn dish), we gobbled it all right down to a favorite dessert choice of the

locals -- sweet potato pecan pie.

All was calm, all was bright. The city put on its own holiday show everywhere we went on Fantasy’s luxury chartered motor coaches. We marveled at the twinkling Christmas illuminations, and the blazing bonfi re pyres on the levee for Cajun X-mas and Papa Noel’s Lighted Path. A beautiful Bayou St. John Holiday tour is a local holiday tradition that Fantasy revealed to our tour group. We picked up candles and song sheets adding our sweet voices to the swelling chorus gathered for traditional Christmas Caroling in Jackson Square. A visit to the National WW ll Museum was highlighted by the Victory Belles Holiday Show. The Belles sang to life the songs that inspired Allies to victory in World War ll, while everyone enjoyed an incredible luncheon by famous chef and native son, John Besh!

We even slipped behind beady carnival curtains to peek at Mardi Gras madness in the making on an insider’s tour of Mardi Gras Headquarters, the very core

of carnival. The true beauty of the city where NOLA natives eat, pray and love revealed itself on a comprehensive city tour. Everywhere we looked was a perfect vignette of life in New Orleans. The elegant antebellum grace of the Garden District. The tree-lined grandeur of St. Charles Avenue. The hallowed halls of Tulane and Loyola Universities. Old Ursuline Convent. The world’s longest bridge over the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway. The Vieux Carre (“Old Square”) that is the ornate French Quarter and the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans. The City of the Dead. And of course, Café Du Monde for de rigueur coff ee and beignets. We meandered up the west bank of Mississippi River Plantation Road to soak in the Southern charm of both Oak Alley and Laura Plantation homes, all decked out in their holiday fi nery, with a bountiful Cajun/Creole plantation feast served up on the side.

A beautiful marina, villa and RV resort right on Lake Ponchartrain was our home for the holiday. And what a home it

ROADTrip REVIEW— New Orleans CULINARY CHRISTMAS

RV RALLY

was -- full-service, full hookups and full fun! The RV resort featured a restaurant onsite and daily shuttles into the French Quarter. In fact, many tour members arrived early to take advantage of the resort’s many amenities on their own before the tour even started.

Our crazy concierge was none other than expert Rallymaster and serial Funmeister, Greg Bruce, another proud NOLA native son, and personal “Friend of Every King of Every Mardi Gras!” Greg introduced us to the local concept of “lagniappe,” a “little something extra,” by treating us to Parkway Bakery

and Tavern for their award-winning best “Po-boys in Louisiana.” In lieu of Fantasy’s customary goodbye continental breakfast, Greg even treated all of us to a complete full breakfast at the resort’s restaurant on departure morning.

We gave ourselves a gift we will never forget by going on Fantasy’s New Orleans Culinary Christmas Rally. We lived the crazy Cajun kaleidoscope of New Orleans up close and personal, just the way the locals do, as only Fantasy can show you. It was a wonderful holiday recipe we’re ready to share with all of our friends -- the beloved joys

and traditions of the Christmas season, shaken not stirred, with the iconic cuisine, soul-stirring music, and generous hospitality that is the essence of New Orleans.

CULINARY CHRISTMAS

RV Rally http://bit.ly/1jJQKYb