Go Greek or Get Your Wine On in the Big Easy!

What better way to spending your Memorial Day holiday than a visit to New Orleans! During this unofficial first weekend of summer, there is not one, but two major events going on in the city for you to enjoy: The Greek Festival and the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience! For the most reliable limo service to take you to any event going on in the Crescent City, give Limo Livery a call!

The 39th Annual Greek Festival, which runs through Memorial Day, offers visitors plenty of delicious authentic cuisine, events and of course live Greek music with of course, a New Orleans flair! In fact there will be so much to do that you’ll be certain to say opa! several times as you enjoy a weekend of Greek culture at the Holy Trinity Church near St. John’s Park. This church was the first Greek Orthodox Church in the United States and will be open to the public the entire holiday weekend. For more information, please visit the official festival website at www.greekfestnola.com.

The New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (NOWFE), is considered to be of the of the most prestigious festivals of its kind with 75 world class chefs, more than 175 wineries providing over 1,000 types of fine wines and several internationally acclaimed wine and food experts conducting seminars at locations all over the city. The festival begins Tuesday May 22nd and runs through Saturday May 26th. For more information, please visit the official NOWFE website at http://www.nowfe.com

Yet even if you aren’t going to either of the two major events in New Orleans, you’re practically guaranteed to have a great time in the City of New Orleans because there still is the opportunity to experience some of the best food and music in the world. If this is your first visit to the city, there are several great jazz clubs to consider, like Snug Harbor and Sweet Lorraine’s Jazz Club and great museums like the National World War II Museum, that is paying a special tribute to American troops who perished while defending our country. Wherever you go, give Limo Livery a call at 1-877-546-8788 for limo service in New Orleans or even a grand tour of the city!

 

 

 

Boogie at the Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo!

Ken Durden / Shutterstock.com

While many of the locals are recovering from the New Orleans Heritage and Jazz Fest, yet another popular event begins this week in the Crescent City. The 7th annual Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo is bound to entertain you with all you have come to expect in a New Orleans festival, namely great food, great art and great food!

While crowds will not be nearly as huge as the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the event is still a popular draw for both locals and tourists alike, with over 25,000 people attending last year and organizers expect even larger crowds, especially since the event is FREE. To get to the festival located on the banks of the Bayou Saint John, why not call upon a great New Orleans limo service to provide you with ground transportation to relax and enjoy the ride! The recommended service that savvy business professionals and other visitors use is Limo Livery, who’s based right here in The Big Easy!

The popular three-day festival that many locals proudly say is one of their favorites, was founded after Hurricane Katrina in a community effort to help revitalize the Mid-City area that was partly flooded, while bringing tourism back and signaling a rebirth for the City of New Orleans.

Aside from the jazz, blues, zydeco, and the classic New Orleans food , other events include a Rubber Duck Derby, a 5K race, a Disc golf tournament and the Bayou Boogaloo Bicycle Pub Crawl! So even if you had the misfortune of missing out on one of New Orleans’ biggest events of the year in the Jazz Fest, you can still enjoy great music and try out some of the best food in the city!

Not only can Limo Livery provide you with limo service in New Orleans, it also offers tours of the city to offer you the best experience and best value during your stay. Give Limo Livery a call today to arrange festival transportation no matter how large your party!

 

New Film “Hours” starts filming in New Orleans…

A new movie about the Hurricane Katrina disaster starring Paul Walker recently began filming in New Orleans. The American actor, best known for his “Fast and Furious” movie series, is cast in the lead role of the new suspense drama, “Hours,” as his character struggles to keep his premature baby daughter alive during the chaos of one of the worst disasters in American history.

The actors and film crew are expected to be in the New Orleans and other parts of southern Louisiana through May and will likely require limo service to be on location or to savor some of the best restaurants in the city. For the best limo service in New Orleans, business travelers, vacationers and of course, filmmakers can rely on a service the locals will recommend, Limo Livery.

If Paul Walker’s latest movie effort is anything like most of his other films it’s certain to be action-packed and destined to draw fans of his “Fast and Furious” franchise when it’s released next year. The movie will make its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in January before hitting nationwide theaters.

According to the Associated Press, Walker plays the role of a grief stricken man coping with his wife’s death while trying to keep his newborn daughter alive through power outages and rising floods in a New Orleans hospital abandoned by staff after Katrina struck the city. But filmmaker Eric Hesserer, who wrote the script and is directing his first full-length feature movie, says that the movie is not just about Hurricane Katrina, but also about parenthood. Hesserer, who has worked with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, is best known for writing the screenplays for the 2010 version of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and the 2011 version of “The Thing.”

“Hours” also stars Genesis Rodriguez, who recently appeared in the 2012 film, “Man on a Ledge” with Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks and Judd Lormand, who appeared in this year’s top grossing movie thus far, “The Hunger Games,” which also featured Elizabeth Banks.

If you are part of the film crew, or you happen to be in New Orleans on business, you can trust on Limo Livery. From airport transfers to crew transport, Limo Livery has been in business for over 25 years so you know that you’re getting a service with a long standing reputation with the city.

New Orleans Jazz Never Quits!

With the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival winding down on May 6th, many of the attendees can reflect on the outstanding event that celebrates jazz music and its culture. But despite the festival ending, jazz music never ends in New Orleans. In fact, it all began in New Orleans, so if jazz ever does end, it will end in New Orleans. If you missed out on the New Orleans Jazz Fest, you needn’t worry, because there is plenty of live jazz nightly to entertain you whenever you’re in the city. The best limo service in New Orleans, Limo Livery can transport you to any of the best jazz establishments.

The predecessor to jazz was ragtime music, which developed over a 25-year period beginning around 1890. The most influential ragtime composer was Scott Joplin who penned ragtime favorites such as “Maple Leaf Rag” and “The Entertainer,” the latter which gained greater prominence as the theme song for the Oscar winning movie, The Sting.

By the time the 20th century began, jazz emerged with derivations of other types of music during the day, including folk, popular and classical. The music in New Orleans evolved out of a combination of African and European music and the first significant performer to combine ragtime with a New Orleans style was Buddy Bolden. Another early jazz pioneer was Jelly Roll Morton, who is considered by many historians as jazz music’s first arranger and published the first jazz recording, “Jelly Roll Blues” and the first recorded jazz song, “Livery Stable Blues” was performed by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1917.

By the 1920s during the Prohibition era, jazz became a widely recognized art form and many well known jazz greats from New Orleans became very popular, including Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Kid Ory, and Joe Oliver. Over the following years, jazz evolved into many different styles that today’s jazz enthusiasts are likely to be familiar with: BeBop, Cool Jazz, Swing, Free Form and Jazz-Rock fusion.

There is so much more history and many fine New Orleans jazz establishments to be listed in a short blog but here is a just a sampling of some of the best in the city: Preservation Hall, Snug Harbor, French Quarter Bar, Fritzel’s and the Spotted Cat.

Fortunately for visitors, Limo Livery can give you chauffeured service to any of the listed clubs, in addition to an assortment of other places favored by residents and jazz enthusiasts. For the best limo service in New Orleans, you can trust in us to get you there to hear the best jazz music in the world.

It’s Time for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival!

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-78868p1.html?cr=00&pl=edit-00">Adam McCullough</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/?cr=00&pl=edit-00">Shutterstock.com</a>

Adam McCullough / Shutterstock.com

The City of New Orleans is well known for its many music, food and arts festivals and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is definitely one of the best. Some of the biggest names in today’s music world are scheduled to appear at the Fairgrounds Race Course beginning April 27th and overall attendance is expected to be in the range of 400,000 visitors.

Because traffic is expected to be very heavy in New Orleans and shuttle buses will be crammed, it is recommended that you arrange your transportation in advance. If you are looking for a limo service in New Orleans, Limo Livery is well equipped to handle chauffeured service to the event despite the traffic nightmare. Even if you’re bringing along 10 of your friends, Limo Livery have the vans and buses to carry even the largest group of revelers coming to party. After serving New Orleans with quality limo transportaton for more than 25 years, you can also expect that Limo Livery will transport some of the featured artists for the festival that encompasses seven days of music, food and drink.

The festival, perhaps better known as simply the New Orleans Jazz Festival, is arguably the 2nd most important event in New Orleans, next to Mardi Gras, unless of course, the New Orleans Saints find a way to make it back to the Super Bowl. While the free French Quarter Festival that just ended April 15th grew a larger crowd, the New Orleans Jazz Fest offers a superior group of musical artists that will perform jazz, zydeco, gospel, blues and other popular forms of music.

This year’s impressive lineup of artists scheduled to appear include Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, The Beach Boys, The Eagles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Buffett, Florence and the Machine and the Zac Brown Band. Those musicians and groups only represent just a brief sampling at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and all told, there are over 115 world-class musical acts that will appear at the event that has previously hosted music legends such as Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and even the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin.

Not only will be there be an eclectic array of musical acts, there will be contemporary crafts at the Louisiana Marketplace, cultural villages and oh, the incredibly delicious New Orleans food! From Cajun Jambalaya and Creole Stuffed Crab to Crawfish Étouffée and Okra Gumbo, you will have the luxury to choose from a huge assortment of food booths with the best types of food you can find in the State of Louisiana. But it’s not just Louisiana food you’ll find at the booths – there are also gyros, falafels, Cuban and BBQ chicken sandwiches, in addition to seafood tacos and spicy sushi. Just thinking of all the foods available will enjoy will likely make you salivate at the notion of trying a little of everything!

If you are staying in the French Quarter, the convention center or the central business district, please know that you will be miles away from the fairgrounds so efficient ground transportation is an absolute must.

So if you need ground transportation to one of the most important music and cultural events in New Orleans or if you require airport service to your hotel, you should make your reservations with a New Orleans limo service you can rely on to get to your destination in a timely manner and to avoid the hassles of driving through the expected congestion in and around the city. Call Limo Livery today for reservations!

 

The Best of New Orleans!

If you are visiting New Orleans for the very first time, you may discover that some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the city aren’t within walking distance. While there is an abundance of fine restaurants in the popular French Quarter area, if you want to visit Emeril’s New Orleans Restaurant, Clancy’s or La Petite Grocery, it’s advisable that you use ground transportation. Limousine Livery can not only handle your airport service in New Orleans, they can also help you with special events such as throwing a party at the restaurant of your choice.

For more than 25 years, Limousine Livery has been serving corporate executives, professionals, families and others throughout the world. While in New Orleans many visitors can trust in the Limo Livery name for not only transportation, but also information about one of the best places in the world for fine dining.

Limo Livery also features an entertaining tour of the French Quarter, the Garden District and other important attractions that the city offers. Of course, no visit is complete without visiting the popular and world famous Bourbon Street, which isn’t just known for the scene of the fabulous Mardi Gras season that occurs each year. Many popular establishments are in the Bourbon Street neighborhood, in particular the historically important but impressively small Preservation Hall jazz venue, Pat O’Brien’s bar, the Gumbo Shop, the Bayona restaurant and an assortment of other interesting restaurants, nightclubs, and hotels.

Other attractions that will require ground transportation are Harrah’s New Orleans Casino, the Louisiana Superdome which you’ll likely pass by from the airport, and the New Orleans arena, home of the city’s NBA team, the Hornets and the site for many live music concerts featuring the top names in the business. The top universities in the city include Tulane University, University of New Orleans and Loyola University and are all far from the French Quarter, which means ground transportation is definitely a must.

So if you require ground transportation for airport transfers, limousine service and even tours of the Big Easy, trust in Limousine Livery and they’ll take all the hassle of traversing through an unfamiliar, yet exciting city along the Mississippi.

 

 

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Picnicking in New Orleans

shutterstock_80402041It’s not only festival season in New Orleans, but the perfect time to head out for an unforgettable picnic. New Orleans is one of those places that affords a number of locations to make your next family gathering or afternoon for two special. Depending where you decide to picnic you will a different number of amenities immediately available to you.

City Park

Not only is it one of the largest urban parks in the United States but it is also home to “ancient oaks” that provide wonderful cover for a traditional blanket and basket picnic. The Besthoff Sculpture Garden is another wonderful spot to waste the day away in style as well. Available to park goers is the one of a kind Peristyle, which is a large Neo-Classical structure with majestic Ionic columns and is one of City Park’s oldest structures. There are also two  rain or shine, shelters that are ideal locations for family reunions, group and corporate picnics. If you don’t want to worry about the food there is also City Park Catering available for all of your party needs. Staff can coordinate rentals of additional party items including tents, tables, chairs, children’s play equipment, dunking booths and snowball stands. Visit http://neworleanscitypark.com/picnics.html for more information.

Audubon Park

A favorite spot for college students, families and tourists this park offers oak trees, lagoons, and muliple green spaces. It is located near the French Quarter and was the site of the was the site of the World Cotton Centennial in 1884. After a nice picnic, check out the zoo and its 58 acres of animals in their natural habitats.

Woldenberg Park

This riverside located park features things such as sculpture as well as ample grassy spots and benches. The main stages of the French Quarter Festival are in the park. The April Festival features the best New Orleans musical performers and is a great pre-curser to Jazz Fest. There are also smaller, intimate concerts at the outdoor amphitheater throughout the year.

Jackson Square

Right in the middle of the French Quarter and located in front of St. Louis Cathedral you can picnic in one of the many grassy spots dotted around the area for a meal and people watching. You can also observe the numerous street artists and shop with local vendors.

Get out there and get picnicking today. Don’t miss anything that New Orleans has to offer! And give us a call to get you there!

The Season of the Snowball

shutterstock_56162710Since the 1930’s,  summer in New Orleans has a special and unique tradition. If you think of a Snowball as just being ice, color and flavoring you have been deprived. Those lucky enough to spend part or all of their summertime in this area will find the flavors go beyond the usual blue and red flavor. The southern version of this summertime treat is much more dynamic an experience. Today we are going to tell you why.

Firstly, the flavors! Southern sweets live up to their name with this delicious treat. Some flavors you can expect can include bananas foster, roasted marshmallow, wedding cake, Georgia peach, honeydew melon and orchid cream vanilla.  That is just a smathering of the multitude of flavors available. With the variety of flavors and combination of the summer heat you are sure to find a different flavored delight on a daily basis.

Secondly, don’t forget the toppings! The southern Snowball does not stand alone on only its finely shaved ice and flavor. In order to truly experience this one of a kind treat you will find a multitude of topping choices. Toppings of sweetened condensed milk, marshmallow fluff, whipped cream, sprinkles or caramel, as well as the option for a creamy center of ice cream or yogurt stuffed inside is the norm.

If you can’t make it to New Orleans to get this delicious treat you can also make it at home yourself. Visit the foodnetwork at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/southern-snowballs-recipe/index.html for a great Southern Snowball recipe. If you coming through town give us a call and we’ll take you to the finest Snowball spots around town!

French Quarter Festival Tips

shutterstock_5174587The 29th Annual French Quarter Festival is running from April 12th through the 15th and is something you don’t want to miss. It features 21 musical stages throughout the historic Vieux Carré and New Orleans cuisine from nearly 60 food and drink booths. Did you know it is the largest free music festival in the south? Originally the French Quarter Festival was first created in 1984 as a way to bring residents back to the area after the World’s Fair and extensive sidewalk repairs in the French Quarter. It has since then turned to an amazing and unforgettable yearly event that residents and vistors alike plan ahead to attend. Considering the crowd here are some travel tips to make your day more enjoyable.

  • Car Service. Limo Livery can pick you up and take you back safely so you can concentrate on having a great time!
  • Shuttles. The Second Line Shuttle will run Friday through Sunday from the Central Business District (park and ride from O’Keefe, between Poydras and Canal). Vehicle parking in the area of the shuttle  is $10 all-day parking in area garages and lots.
  • Buses. There will be a free round-trip shuttle on air-conditioned Hotard busses.  Prior to Festival weekend, stop by any Capital One Bank to pick up your free Q-Pass for priority shuttle boarding and discounts on official festival merchandise.
  • Look ahead at the schedule and plan out your festival visit so that you can give yourself enough travel time. Visit http://www.fqfi.org/frenchquarterfest/fqfi_music.html for a list of performers and more. On twenty of its music stages, only Louisiana artists are featured (the festival hosts one ‘International Stage’ where traditional jazz bands from all over the world perform.) Attendees will get a true and authentic New Orleans experience!
  • In partnership with Applitite, the French Quarter Festival iPhone App is back, along with a new DROID App. This free app sponsored by f Capital One Bank will allow fans to receive up to the minute announcements, downloadable music schedules, complete menus, special events, merchandise updates, shuttle information and unique offers to enhance their festival experience. The application will be available for download in March, prior to French Quarter Festival.