Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Back in Chicago
On Friday morning,we got up at 3am,after having slept for about 2hours,as on Thursday night,right before we went to bed,we go a phone call from a guest,who was supposed to arrive the following day at 3pm,decided she was coming in at 1030pm...THAT EVENING!
Vincent being the wonderful man that he is,said "of course you can" and stayed up waiting for the guest....
We did get first class flying back to Chicago,and I was passed out in seat 1D.....
When we got back home,Geronimo had left our little apartment spotless...and the boys were very happy to see us....I think we slept for 24hours!
Today,Saturday,I am taking it easy,and Vincent is running around,doing 3 loads of laundry,cooking,doing groceries...I am just flabbergasted!
He says it is because he so happy,knowing he is moving to New Orleans in a month,and doing his dream job.I must say,I have never seen my husband happier.He is has found the job of his dreams,and he excels at it,born to be an innkeeper...who would of thought,Mr.Corporate was never the true Vincent,and running a B&B...well like I said...he was born to do that....Love my husband.
Tomorrow I am off to Tokyo for work and when I come back,I will be off for two weeks,so I can start packing up the apartment.....
Thursday, August 25, 2011
We have a contract!
YES!....We did it!...Yesterday we knew that the partners were coming over to the B&B at 630pm,to discuss our stay here...so all day,Vincent and I were trying to figure out what we would accept as our salary,what we could financially accept etc etc....even though we had had a wonderful time here,we just did not know what to expect....
So at 630pm,Lisa,Rick and Amy arrive,we all sit around the breakfast table....and they ask us how we liked our stay,what we did not like etc etc....so we talked,and after a few minutes,they did admit that they would love to offer us a contract,and it was exactly what we wanted!...Hooray!...Out came the champagne (that they had brought,just in case we would accept their offer!) and the drinking began!....
We then all went over to a shady bar called Port of Call,with the best burgers in the world,drank some very very potent drink and at about 10pm,we rolled into bed,happy and content!
Today is our last day here,before returning to Chicago tomorrow.We then are going to work the month of September in Chicago,to save up some more money,on September 30th,we will be driving to New Orleans with the boys and start on October 1st....
We did it!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Gardens
The Garden Cozy cottage
The Garden cozy cottage
The gazebo,where weddings will be held
The fountain
The Laurent Roux cottage,our largest,which can hold 8 guests
some more photos
Our "porch",or the entrance to the breakfast room,and our quarters
The lovely garden area
Vincent entering the breakfast room
The courtyard
The back of the B&B,facing the Treme
The court of Two Sisters...and the rat
Last night,Vincent and I decided to have dinner at a lovely restaurant in the French Quarter,called The Court of Two Sisters.It is a rather posh restaurant,but we needed to do research for our future guests....(well, that has been our excuse for the past dinners!)
We first have a couple of lovely cocktails at the bar,and then we proceeded to the dining room for dinner.As we are eating our appetizers,I see a rather large rat scurrying along the floor.I tell Vincent,and then the other diners see the poor animal,and mayhem begins.All the ladies jump on top of their chairs,screaming "rat...rat!..." and right at this moment,the elegant hostess walks in with another group of diners to be seated,and the waiters are running after the poor rat,trying to make it go outside....A sight to be seen!
After the rat decided that he had had enough of the screaming ladies,he left the dining room,and dinner could resume.
What I love about this city,is that the only diners who left the restaurant,were 2 tourists.The rest of the guests (including us) were locals,and the entire episode (well,except for us ladies not wanting to be touched by the rat,hence the jumping on the chairs) regained our composure,and dinner resumed as if nothing happened.
Love this city!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
FIRE!
On Sunday,we were busy all day,cleaning rooms,breaking the washing machine,and staging all the cottages for the photo shoot...In the evening,we managed to get our very tired bodies over to Desire Oyster Bar,had a couple of cocktails and wonderful oysters,and then we collapsed in bed,for a well deserved night of sleep...
In the morning,I get up,open up the gate,so I could bring our 3 trash bins inside the complex....and all I saw was a smoldering mess of what used to be our trash bins....since I had just woken up,I thought I might be still asleep,so I called out for Vincent (poor man thought I had been attacked by the locals!) and asked for his opinion.....He agreed that someone had indeed set fire to our trash bins,so we called our boss,who told us to go file a police report....
So Vincent and I took a quick shower,got dressed and off we went to police station (there is one just a couple of blocks away) we introduced ourselves to a very nice police woman (we figured it would be best to get to know the local police...always a good thing!) and she said she would send over a squad car,to take photos and file a report...Of course the N.O.P.D is very busy with the crime in the city,so we are a low priority..no problem!...
The rest of the day,we were busy with the photo shoot ( I think our new website is going to be fantastic!) and Vincent was helping Amy with the security cameras....
That evening,we decided to treat ourselves,and had dinner at Drago's ,the best restaurant for charbroiled oysters...
Today,it is our first day with no guest,so we catching up with our "to do" list.....
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Nights out
On Friday,Vincent and I kept busy,doing inventory in the cottages (making sure that each cottage has all of the same amenities,and seeing what is needed to keep them all consistent) Our boss Lisa came over on her lunch break,to give us a list with "to do " things (we call it the Lisa List...)
We checked out 3 guests (even managed to charge their credit cards correctly!) and at 7pm,we met up with Lisa,her husband Rick and the 3rd partner John,a wonderful wonderful gay man,who actually has been living with Rick and Lisa for over 20years!
We had dinner at Tujagues,one of the oldest Creole restaurants,and because everybody in the hotel/restaurant business knows Lisa,we got an amazing dinner....
We had great conversation,food, wine,and all in all,a very fun evening.
On Saturday,I got up early,and continued with Lisa's List,and Vincent took reservations on the phone,we organized the kitchen,did the odd job,and at 630pm,we had a couple from Texas check in,and as I take them to their cottage,I told them I was a flight attendant...I look at the husband,and he looks at me.....and we realized that we knew each other....He is a pilot for us,and we have flown many a trip to Amsterdam together!....
What a small world!
At 7pm,Rick picked us up in his Jaguar,and took us to the Bywater,as we had been invited to a New Orleans dinner party at their friends Arlene and Bruce,an older couple.
I wish I could of taken photos of their house...and their neighbors....I can not even describe the beauty of these houses ( called a side carriage cottage?)...Bruce and Arlene where amazing...Arlene reminded us of Blanche from the book A Street Car Named Desire....and their neighbor was just a fascinating lady,who travels the world,raising money for under privileged students.The drinks were fantastic,the appetizers to die for and dinner...oh my do the New Orleanians know how to cook!...at around 11pm,Irving,a wonderful man who works at the most expensive luxury hotel in the French Quarter came by,and gave us some pointers for the B&B..and at exactly midnight,Bruce got up and told us all to leave,as we all needed to go to sleep!
Only in New Orleans!...By the way,we got invited to the dinner party,because Arlene had been married to a Dutch painter/sculptor for 13 years,and she wanted to practice her Dutch...
I told Vincent that in the 5 days we have been in New Orleans,we have met a lot more interesting and fascinating people,then we ever have in Chicago....
Now it is Sunday morning...Vincent just got up,and another busy day at the B&B is ahead of us.
We have to check out 2 cottages,make breakfast,I need to run to the grocery store,and later in the day,we have an amazing photographer coming to stay with us,to take photos for our new website....
Life is good....
Friday, August 19, 2011
Cooking lessons
Last night,Amy came by and picked us up,and took us to her house,so she could give us a cooking lesson...
A little background on Amy and her husband George.Their house was completely destroyed during hurricane Katrina,and when we saw her yard,we understood why...at the back of her yard,where the levees that broke during Katrina....I can not even imagine what they went through,but she describes it amazingly in her cookbook she published called " Ruby Slippers"...
Anyway,when we got to her lovely house,George was on the couch,surrounded by three wonderful puddies,and they have two chickens in their yard (and no...they are not going to eat the chickens!...they are pets) we opened a bottle of wonderful red wine and the lessons began!
Amy's kitchen is amazing...she taught us how to make Haitian pan patate French toast souffle...
You can see the creation that Vincent made...absolutely wonderful!
This morning we had five guests for our breakfast,and they were blown away!...Well done Vincent! (he is the cook in this relationship!)
We had our first two guests check out today....and they said they would definitely be back,and we were wonderful!...Hooray!
Tonight we are having dinner at Tujagues in the French Quarter with two of the partners,Lisa and Rick.....
Thursday, August 18, 2011
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