• Activity Level: 2 On Your Feet - Moderate walking and standing.
• Duration: 6 Days / 5 Nights
• 12 Meals: 4 Breakfast, 1 Brunch, 3 Lunch, 4 Dinners
• 4 expert-led lectures
• 3 expert-led field trips
• 3 performances
• An experienced Group Leader
• Customary gratuities throughout the program
• See Lake Pontchartrain, Bayou St. John, the famed above-ground cemeteries and St. Charles Avenue, including a walk in the Garden District to take in its historic architecture.
• Delve into the local literary history as you study Tennessee Williams, John Kennedy Toole, William Faulkner and more impressive writers with an expert.
• Experience the New Orleans School of Cooking.

DAY 1

• Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
• New Orleans, LA D
• Hotel Monteleone
• Activity note: Hotel check-in 4:00 p.m. Easy walking inside hotel; at your discretion if you’d like to go out.
• Afternoon: Program Registration. After you have your room assignment, check the message board for the location to register with the program staff, which is also where the Orientation session will take place. If your arrival is delayed, please contact your group leader. Your program materials will be sent to you a few days before the program, digitally, through your roadscholar.org account. This includes your program itinerary, any related handouts, and restaurant/free time suggestions. Please plan to print them out and bring along to the program, utilize the hotel's business center to access them, or view them on your own personal electronic device. Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions As a special bonus, you will have vouchers to use at a popular jazz club as well as the Louisiana State Museum. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
• Dinner: At the hotel, we will have a plated dinner that includes coffee, tea, & water. Other beverages available for purchase at the bar.
• Evening: At leisure. Live music fills the Carousel Bar & Lounge overlooking Royal Street right inside our historic hotel — a French Quarter landmark since 1886. The Carousel evokes a spirit of fun with the renowned Merry-Go-Round, the city’s only revolving bar. Live music continues on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

• Intro. to New Orleans, City Field Trip, Sculpture Garden
• New Orleans, LA B,L,D
• Hotel Monteleone
• Activity note: Walking 1 block from hotel to bus for field trip; walking 3 blocks from bus for lunch.
• Breakfast: Buffet in the hotel.
• Morning: In this introduction to New Orleans, we’ll learn about our history and culture, traditions, celebrations, people, and what it means when we say, “It’s a New Orleans thing.” The entertaining class is taught by an entertaining educator who has lived here all her life. She exudes the “joie de vivre” that makes New Orleanians distinctively memorable.
• Lunch: Enjoy delicious New Orleans cuisine at a local restaurant
• Afternoon: We’ll board a motorcoach and continue our delightful introduction to New Orleans as our instructor points out significant sites and reveals more about the city’s people, traditions, and unique culture. We’ll have some stops along the way (depending on timing and weather).
• Dinner: At a local restaurant we will enjoy a 3-course plated meal.
• Evening: At leisure. Experience nightlife in the French Quarter. If you’re a music aficionado, there are lots of options. We have provided voucher (drink included) for Fritzel’s European Jazz Club.The Quarter has something to offer for almost every interest and taste.

• New Orleans Architecture, Garden District, Musical Surprise
• New Orleans, LA B
• Hotel Monteleone
• Activity note: Walking 8 blocks in the Garden District.
• Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
• Morning: Following a background presentation by a local expert, we’ll board the motorcoach and become immersed in New Orleans architecture. We’ll learn about various types of iron works, architecture, and historic homes with some stops along the way. We’ll then set out on a walking field trip with a local architect in the aptly named Garden District, one of the loveliest neighborhoods in the country. It was laid out in 1832 for incoming, well-to-do Americans who were not interested in mingling with native New Orleanians. The feeling was mutual! Grand houses were built on large lots in this lush setting.
• Lunch: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
• Afternoon: Free Time. We have provided vouchers to explore the Cabildo and Presbytère flanking St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square. All were constructed during the Spanish period (1795-1799). The Cabildo was the center of government. The Presbytère, built on the site of what had been the residence of Capuchin monks, was used for commercial purposes. Both are now key components of the Louisiana State Museum. The Cabildo displays artifacts of American history as well as rarities such as Napoleon’s death mask. The Presbytère’s interactive exhibit on Mardi Gras traces our annual celebration from its origins to the present day with an exquisite collection of artifacts and memorabilia. Another exhibit expresses Louisiana’s saga of resilience in the face of disasters. You might also like to stroll along Royal Street with its antique shops, visit the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, or go for a ride on the paddlewheeler “Natchez” — last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi. There are many opportunities to experience our people, cultures, and celebrations.
• Dinner: On your own to enjoy what you like.
• Evening: At leisure. Go out to experience more New Orleans night life, music, and culture. If you haven’t used them yet, your voucher for Fritzel’s is good any night. Or have a relaxed evening at the hotel. The choice is yours.

• World War II Museum, Free Time
• New Orleans, LA B,L,D
• Hotel Monteleone
• Activity note: Walking at your own pace through World War II Museum; benches available. Walking during free time according to personal preference.
• Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
• Morning: Formerly known as the D-Day Museum, the National World War II Museum was founded by eminent historian Dr. Stephen Ambrose, author “Band of Brothers” and other best-sellers. A self directed exploration will takes us through three buildings that house exhibits highlighting the role of participants from world leaders to the everyday men and women whose contributions helped to win the war, as well as those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Many items in the vast collection — such as uniforms, weaponry, vehicles, medals, diaries, letters, artwork, photographs, and other mementos — are on display while thousands of records and archives are available to scholars for ongoing research. We’ll also see the film “Beyond All Boundaries” narrated by Tom Hanks. Through first person accounts and amazing special effects, we’ll take a journey through the war that changed the world.
• Lunch: Lunch buffet back at the hotel.
• Afternoon: At the hotel, we will take part in a private performance with a well known jazz musician. Following the performance we will have free time.
• Dinner: At a local restaurant
• Evening: At leisure. Take this time to experience more of our very special city and what it has to offer.

• New Orleans Authors, Cooking School, Free Time, Jazz
• New Orleans, LA B,L,D
• Hotel Monteleone
• Activity note: Walking 5 blocks from hotel to Cooking School.
• Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
• Morning: We’ll be joined by an expert from the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival whose love of writing and New Orleans is evident in her enthusiastic lectures. We’ll learn about some of the famous writers who lived in and wrote about the French Quarter including William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, John Kennedy Toole, and more.
• Lunch: At the world renowned New Orleans School of Cooking, an expert local chef will teach us how to cook Creole and Cajun, and explain the difference. We’ll see the preparation of a traditional dish, then have it for lunch. For dessert, we’ll sample the best pralines in town and other surprises!
• Afternoon: Free Time. Another opportunity to see and do what interests you most.
• Dinner: We’ll dine around at special New Orleans eateries and share favorite experiences with new friends.
• Evening: One more opportunity to enjoy New Orleans Jazz with your voucher if you haven’t used it yet, or on your own wherever you like. Then prepare for check out and departure following our final event in the morning.

• Jazz Brunch, Program Concludes
• New Orleans, LA BR
• Activity note: Walking 4 blocks to/from restaurant. Hotel check-out 12:00 Noon.
• Brunch: At the celebrated Court of Two Sisters, we’ll settle in for a true New Orleans delight, the Jazz brunch. The elaborate buffet offers tasty hot and cold New Orleans favorites from eggs any style to Creole jambalaya, grits and grillades, gumbo, classic desserts, and much more; coffee, tea, water included, other beverages available for purchase. Tap your toes to the music of the restaurant’s resident Jazz trio. Enjoy this final dining and musical experience with a broader and deeper understanding and appreciation of our city, the one and only New Orleans. This concludes our program. 

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