Friday Freestyle 11/5: New Orleans, meat, and Army of Thieves

And just like that somehow we’re in November. These past two years have been so strange and have moved so quickly. Hope you had a great week and are excited for the weekend!

What’s on my mind? New Orleans! 

Less than two weeks from now I will be in New Orleans with nine of my friends. Nine friends. 

While I am extremely excited (1. To go to New Orleans; 2. To see nine of my friends!), I am slowly becoming stressed out. 

I’m not entirely sure why I put stress on myself, but I feel like if people are going to agree to go on a trip with me, then it’s on me to make sure everyone has a good time. While this is probably ridiculous, it’s how I feel nonetheless.

I love group trips and am always jealous to see other large groups when I’m traveling/on vacation. Ensuring nine people have a good time though is a tall order.

Getting beyond my neuroses, I’m excited to plan a few days around visiting different neighborhoods. There are so many good places to eat and drink that I’m not entirely sure how I’ll prioritize what we do. 

I’m extremely excited for excellent cocktails and fried, cajun food. Ok, I talked myself into it: it’s gonna be great! 

What’s on my tastebuds? Many things

We ate quite well since I last wrote. We had pastries + coffee followed by brunch the next day at Chez Celine. Not only do they have terrific food, but the vibe is incredible–very airy and European. 

I got a raisin roll (subpar), Yunji got an almond croissant, and we both had great coffee. The next day we went back for a proper meal. I ordered their Croque Madame while Yunji got an everything bagel with egg, cheese, and avocado. It may have been the best Croque Madame I’ve ever had. 

Later that day, we went to El Doctorcito. The food wasn’t as good as I remembered, but I love the vibe and the 1L draft beers. I also love that they provide (free) salty, thin chips with three yummy sauces. 

Finally had a bit of a miss later that night. We had dinner at a place called Nordic, and while the food was quite good, I ordered an appetizer that was a “special”. It turned out to be more than any of the mains. Live and learn. 

Lastly, we returned–yet again–to El Fogon. I finally got their famous plate: El Fogoncito. There was SO much going on, but it was so good. The plate consisted of three meats, lots of veggies, a baked potato, queso fundido, chips, guac, charred beans, and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things.

What I’m watching: a lot still

I’m still definitely watching a lot more Netflix than I am reading at the moment. 

Dune

While I’d love to say I recently watched this, it isn’t available in Mexico/Latin America. I have heard mixed reviews but fully plan on watching this the day I get back or the night after.

Love and Monsters

This is a movie I had never heard of but came across while scrolling through Netflix. The “preview” (not trailer) looked super interesting and fun, so we gave it a go last night. 

Love and Monsters is a post-apocalyptic movie (but a lot less dark, gritty than you’d expect). An asteroid was going to hit Earth, so the nations banded together to shoot rockets/nukes at said asteroid. As a result of the contamination, bugs/insects/animals mutated, became massive, and took over the Earth. 

This led surviving people to retreat to bunkers and live underground. That is, until a lovestruck boy decides to go on an impossible mission to find his girlfriend.

Verdict: probably watch; wasn’t bad but wasn’t great

Army of Thieves

This is actually a prequel to the below Army of the Dead. While I had originally planned to watch AotD in Mexico City, I totally forgot about it. As Army of Thieves came out–and looked even better–we decided to watch it first. 

AoT is basically a movie about a team of international bank robbers who recruits a master safecracker to unlock ridiculously difficult safes…during a zombie apocalypse.

Verdict: absolutely watch

Army of the Dead

After watching the prequel, we obviously had to watch the original movie. Army of the Dead is directed by Zac Snyder and is a so-called “spiritual sequel” to Dawn of the Dead.

While it was action-packed and fun, it didn’t really make sense and fell flat for me. 

Verdict: if you’re in need of some mindless fun, then watch 

What I’m reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Slowly getting back on the reading train having finished Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. I’m now reading (read: listening to) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. 

I originally only planned to read the first three books, but then I got wrapped into book 4. Well, then you know what happened.

Once I’m done with this book I’m not totally sure what I’ll read. Last week I mentioned Project Hail Mary. Last night while searching I came across The Maidens (a book by the author of The Silent Patient).

Yunji has also highly recommended Daisy Jones & the Six, so I’m not totally sure what I’ll read next. Any reading recc’s? 

What’s up this weekend?

This is our last weekend here, so I think we will party hard. Kidding. This will be pretty much our last chance to get some beach time as well as eat (or re-eat) at our favorite restaurants. 

While we might go out for drinks Friday, I think the bulk of the weekend will be hanging out at the beach and relaxing before readying ourselves to head home. 

Thank you for visiting and reading. See you back here on Wednesday with another sabbatical post. Please head to youtube.com/intristang if you want new content in the meantime (new videos Saturdays and Wednesday)!