Morning!
I did not sleep very well last night 🙁 First of all, the party boy was out until 2 am with Andrew, and I never sleep deeply if I’m expecting the door to open any minute. And the bed was super squishy. And it was hot! And there was a huge crack from the door to the outdoors where huge roaches could have come in!
But I was rested enough to get up and go for a run this AM 🙂 Matt, however, was not. I didn’t want to go alone, but I’ve was told the neighborhood was safe by the front desk. And the sun was bright and shining and there were lots of people out walking around, so I felt safe. (I would never have gone before the sunrise though).
So off I set. My only option was to run the streets of the French Quarter since I’m nowhere near any parks or trails or anything. It ended up being fine – I just slowed my pace a lot for stop signs and people. And took a map in my palm! I made my way to the Riverwalk, which was refreshing compared to the streets of the city. My only goal on my run was to sweat some, and that goal was achieved! I think I got my first sports tank tan of the season.
Today’s Smells:
- Beer
- Flowers
- Urine
- Dogs
- Coffee
- Beer
- Beer
- Dolce + Gabbana Light Blue
- Coffee
- Bacon
- Jasmine
It was quite the melting pot of smells – both good and horrible. I actually had to leave Bourbon Street because the smell was so awful.
I ran for about 42 minutes – perhaps at a 10 minute mile pace?
Once back at the hotel, I brought Karen coffee in bed and hopped in the shower. Then we went to the breakfast room. There wasn’t any fruit, so Matt and I went a few blocks away to find bananas and an orange. We ended up getting them for free because the man said the bananas were “too old for sale.” They looked good to me!
The breakfast spread was mostly refined carbohydrates, and I needed something to get me through to a 2pm lunch, so I brought out some of my packed snacks:
Erewhon Cinnamon Raisin Flax Oats – which are organic and low in sugar. They were great!! I don’t eat instant oatmeal at home because the difference between instant and stove-top is night and day, but it sure is a lifesaver while traveling! I combined this 130 calorie pack with a 100 calorie pack of Quaker Plain from the hotel.
I also packed this little individual trail mix package from Flanigan Farms. Again, when traveling single serving packs are so convenient. I split this 3 ways with Matt and Karen. It was a mix of almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, cashews and some dried fruits. Loved it!
Plus half a banana and a splash of milk. Not bad for a hotel breakfast!
Coffee –
And 2 sections of orange
Today’s plans include a brunch at Andrew’s fraternity, a “Wave Goodbye” party, and a very, very late dinner. So I’ll see you guys tonight!
Very nice job pulling together a good breakfast at the hotel. 🙂 Have fun today!
www. HelpMeghanRun .com
You made it work with that hotel breakfast!! It looks delicious.
Sounds like an interesting run!
I love that beer was listed multiple times!
Diana
Wow Kath! I’m so impressed that you went running AND had such a healthy breakfast! What a great start. I think it’s so important to stay as close to your workout and eating habits as possible while traveling because who wants to feel like crap in such a fun place =)
Glad you are enjoying yourself!!
Great job on rocking the hotel breakfast! And running!
I wouldn’t have slept well either thinking of large bugs. 🙁 eek.
I wouldn’t have done that well with breakfast!! I think I would’ve had to go to Cafe du Monde and gotten chickory coffee and beignets!
Kath, if you’re thinking of moving to Charleston, you are going to HAVE to learn to deal with holes in buildings where roaches can get in!!
“Palmetto bugs” are a huge annoyance, and every apartment I ever lived in in Charleston had plenty of room for the guys to get in, in addition to tilting in one direction ever so slightly….
🙂
Gosh, you didn’t happen to smell any beer on your run did you? Haha 🙂 Makes me wonder if Bourbon St actually smells like bourbon??
I miss running 🙁
Very interesting start to your day – I can’t imagine what all of those smells mixed together was like for you, eek! What a clever idea about carrying a little map in your hand too – Have a great day!
OMG I could never deal with palmetto bugs- I’ll happily stay in the Northeast!!
have so much fun today!
nothing like the smell of beer and urine the morning 🙂
way to imrprovise with that breakfast, Kath! looks great to me 🙂
It smells like you were running in a college town! That’s exactly what it’s like to run around here, in Athens, Ohio. Heavy on the beer and urine, though.
On a better note, way to pull that breakfast together! It looks delicious! Enjoy the rest of the day 🙂
Way to go on that breakfast! I would have given up if it had required my leaving the hotel and coming back! And that sounds like you had quite the “atmosphere” for running this morning. At least you know where NOT to run tomorrow! 🙂
I never sleep well in hotels. I like running in new cities and have definitely carried a map in my hand.
Haha – love Dolce and Gabanna Light Blue! Those other smells, not so much 🙂
I love New Orleans, but there is absolutely nowhere to run there. I tried to run in the French Quarter, and it’s just too small to get any mileage. Next, I headed out to the Riverwalk, and quickly came to a dead end there too. The next day, I tried to run down St. Charles Avenue, but there were way too many stoplights and so much traffic! Finally, my husband and I ran all the way down Esplanade (sp?) until we reached a big park. So, yeah, running in New Orleans is tricky; but at least there’s a lot of interesting stuff to see along the way!
Your hotel breakfast looks better than my “at home” breakfast! I’m quite certain my workout smelled a lot better this morning…barely.
Way to go with that breakfast!
Running through new cities is always fun. So much to see!
A smelly run!! That is too funny. I can hear you saying that 🙂 Have a great day Kath
Some of those smells don’t sound like good running scents at all!! 😉
Way to go with breakfast! Looks great!!
only you could make instant oatmeal in a hotel look so good!
i love hotel breakfasts. i always try to eat healthy, worry that i’m going to be hungry too soon, then eat the unhealthy stuff to “fill up”. yum 🙂
There were indeed some unpleasant smells listed, but it does sound fun to run through the French Quarters.
I’m also a 2-pack instant oatmeal type of gal!
I bought a box of instant oatmeal for travelling, inspired by you! I remembered you eating one in an airport (or something) and those packets save me from eating Starbucks pastries!
Another option for all you travelers is to portion out oatmeal servings in baggies. I intend to do that when I go to London next weekend.
Great run!!
That is probably the best hotel breakfast I have ever seen! I love the individual pack of trail mix. Yummy!
Enjoy the party!
I miss CC coffee! Yes the french quarter can be a stinky place, its a dirty city but the culture and history is amazing!
I lived in New Orleans for 5 years while I attended college there and your posts are making me miss it a lot, I haven’t been since Xmas.
For running in NOLA: Run down the streetcar line (on the neutral ground, in the direction facing oncoming streetcars) on St. Charles until you get to Audubon Park. If you’re in the French Quarter, thats probably 5-6 miles. You could run to the park, walk around a bit, and then take the streetcar back to your hotel. But in general, run in the direction of uptown and you’ll be happier. I was surprised vomit and horse poop were not on your list of smells…the vomit/poop/beer/urine/hurricane combo is something you only smell on Bourbon Street.
What a great way to see the city with your run this morning! You definitely did a good job getting a healthy, yummy breakfast together to get things going. Have a wonderful day! 😀
NOLA is def on my “places to go” list (along with 1000 other places), but sadly the BF does not share that.
When I run in the mornings at a bay near my house, I go past a hotel and can usually smell bacon and french toast. It usually makes me jealous/hungry because I LOVE fancy hotel breakfasts (probably because I never have them?)
Way to go fixing up a healthy hotel breakfast! 😀
I wouldnt have run before the sun either! But glad you were able to get out there!
ha. at least vomit wasn’t on the list of smells. that was my strongest scented memory of nola!
I rely on instant oatmeal while traveling, too. I love the idea of adding a packet of trail mix. I’ll definitely keep that in mind when I fly out for my sister’s wedding next week.
I missed checking in with you and Matt for over a week, but it sounds like you’re in New Orleans. Cool!
The list of smells didn’t seem that bad, but the “urine” took me back a bit.
Have a great time and a safe trip.
I’m the exact same way, I can’t sleep deeply knowing I’m going to be interrupted at some point in the night. Glad you went for a run on your own and were resourceful finding a great hotel breakfast.
Being able to create healthy breakfasts while traveling is such an incredible feat! Good for you for listening to what your body needs.
That was not a hotel breakfast that was a KERF breakfast
Interesting smell radar you have. Sounds like a fun run!
Instant oatmeal is always a lifesaver when traveling! Usually I manage to get some bananas and cereal from the hotel breakfast to top it off with! Yours looks great!
Have fun in New Orleans!! I think it’ s awesome that you just run the streeets of any city you go to. Talk about hardcore 😀
I noticed the exact same thing when in NOLA last month…it smells really different and is stinkier in the heat! How did you like Riverwalk? I ran a 5k there in the morning, but it was already so hot! I liked trying the different “cultural’ foods…make sure you get to Cafe du Monde for beignets! 🙂
I loveeeee me some Light Blue, but too bad everyone in the world wears it =\ I hate wearing popular scents because I want a scent to just be “me”, you know?
hahaha, your recap of smells is priceless. the urine smell is one of the main reasons i need to get out of ny!
and that magnolia pecan ale sounds great. i don’t like beer, but i wonder if i’d like that? i keep trying! last time i was in NO, i was all about the hand grenade 🙂
enjoy the rest of your trip!
Looks like a great day so far, I can’t wait to hear about the rest!
haha are you pregnant?! So many smells 😉
We were in NOLA last June and although I loved it, the city smells were horrible!! I could not believe it. I think alot of it was from restaurant trash left out from the night before. What an amazing city though. The bugs were INSANE too! I am an Ohio girl and just not used to such ginormous bugs!
I always pack my own breakfast while on vacation. We keep milk, cereal, and fruit in our hotel room, and go out for the rest of our meals.
Great job with the morning start!
Bourbon = Smelly!!!!