Excuse me miss! Pardon me, sir!

Hope everyone is well. I am LaRia and I just wanted to stop by to let you know about my recent adventure to Belize. Being a first time international traveler, I knew just the place to visit: Belize! Belize is one of the last untouched paradises and the name itself is simply awesome to say! So, for this trip, I wanted to experience life as a Belizean and leave all cares & worries on US soil.

First stop: San Ignacio. While in San Ignacio, I went to an Iguana project to learn about why saving green Iguanas is so important for their culture. The Green Iguanas are becoming endangered and people hunt for Green Iguanas to kill and eat. YUCK! Anywho, while there I saw  Iguanas (eggs) and had the opportunity to hold the ‘man’ of the house, Gomez.

One of the other focuses of the trip was to spend time with children. I had the awesome opportunity to work at DorothyMenzies Child Care Center in Belize City, Belize. Let me sum up this experience: humbling! Oftentimes, life gets so busy, bills continue to roll in, and the stress levels are so high that I forget to appreciate the ‘small’ things: clothing, shelter, food, family, friends, and education. Working with the children at DMCCC allowed me to reflect and appreciate the life I live. While I don’t have everything and am far from rich, seeing children with no family and a desire to learn (all schools have fees in Belize) really humbled me. I look forward to going back to visit and minister to the kids.  

(***Due to human trafficking, I was unable to take pictures of the beautiful babies). 

Now, after visiting DMCCC and the Museum of Belize it was time to head over to San Pedro, party town! Man o man, the men, beautiful men! Everything about Belize was great from food, sights, animals, and even their horrid mosquito! There’s nothing about this adventure that I’d change and I’m so glad I lost my international traveler’s virginity in Belize!

Russian producer, Murad Osmann, said "the photo series began somewhat by accident back in October 2011 when he was visiting Barcelona. His tendency to take pictures of anything and everything began to irritate his journalist girlfriend who grabbed his arm in frustration and tried to drag him along."  Osmann  continued to take photos despite this, and the "follow me to..." series of pictures was born.  ( courtesy of www.galding.com) 

Check out the Follow Me To Series

 on Instagram:

http://instagram.com/muradosmann

Now you can’t go to the NO and not eat some great Cajun food. New Orleans is one of the best places to get some awesome seafood. We ate nothing but seafood every day except the last day I did need a greasy burger to soak up some of the juices from the Hurricanes (will talk about Hurricanes later). I must tell you that I’m not a fan of oysters; in fact I absolutely do not like them. But when I got a look at the charbroiled oysters from Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, and I listened to the oohs and ahhs my friends were making eating those things, I had to try one and they were AMAZING!!!!! They are the best thing that you could ever possibly eat, they’re almost orgasmic. We couldn’t get enough of them; in fact we went back the next day to get them as a “snack”. So if you’re ever in the dirty dirty, you must stop by Drago’s and grab yourself a half or whole dozen of charbroiled oysters.  Oh yea and I also had this fantastic lobster.

    

 Drago’s is just one of many many many restaurants. So if you’re ever looking for more good eats in the NO, you may want to also check out the Trolley Stop Café on St. Charles Avenue, Deanies Seafood (they have amazing fresh shrimp and crawfish) and The Gumbo Shop on St. Peter Street. Of course don’t forget to eat some gumbo, jambalaya, barbecue shrimp and gator at some point while you’re there and  don’t forget to stop by Café Du Monde for some beignets and coffee for an after dinner treat.

Those hurricanes that I previously mentioned, we’ll they ain’t for the faint of heart that’s for sure. If you like to indulge in a cocktail beverage then you must try a hurricane. They are a fruity drink that packs a powerful punch. But if you want something a little stronger then head over to the infamous Bourbon Street and grab yourself a grenade.  One or maybe two of these and you’ll be dancing in the street or on top of a bar.

Speaking of Bourbon Street, there are plenty of bars and you can be like a kid in a candy store but pace yourself and remember it’s a marathon not a sprint and watch out for those Jello shot girls along the way, they can really trip you up.  If you’re over the drama of Bourbon Street and you want something that’s a little more chill and “mature”, then hop in a cab and travel to the far end of the French Quarter to a tucked away spot that the locals love called Frenchmen Street. There are plenty of bars that offer live jazz bands and of course the best nights to go are Friday and Saturday. But don’t forget your cash because it’s a must that you tip the bands and help out Phillip (as in “fill up” my tip jar).

Besides parading through the drunken masses on Bourbon Street, there’s plenty to do in New Orleans. If you’re into history or if you’re feeling lazy like we were, you can take a horse and buggy tour of the upper and lower French Quarter.

The mighty Mississippi runs right through Nawleans, so you can always hop on a ferry or take a river boat tour. For all of you who want to try your luck, there’s a Harrah’s Casino and if it’s your birthday, you get a free birthday spin. If you’re looking for something a little more atypical, in the French Quarter is a nice little local rum distillery called Old New Orleans Distillery and for $10 you can take a tour, have a rum cocktail and sample the rums that they make. The distillery is a great way to kick off your day, we sure did enjoy it! Don’t forget to stop by the French Market and try to test your bartering skills-may the force be with you! Of course there’s always plenty of shopping to do and a few museums and art galleries to check out and if you’re really brave you can take an evening ghost tour of the old cemeteries.

That’s it for now. I hope I have given you some unbiased insight into one of the best places on Earth. Going to New Orleans for whatever reason is a guaranteed good time! I hope that you continue to follow Around the World With Meredith and thanks for letting me be a guest blogger! Until next time friends.

Kia