marty576

*Suzieabroad* Thanks for your messgae and with regards to a budget I had'nt actually thought about a proper one......until now. For fuel, like PaulRabe kindly posted, I figured out a budget of $150/200 should be loads and I'll try and explain why....(please excuse my infant-like knowledge of maths if I've completely mucked this up)
If your car does 25mpg to do 100miles would require 4gallons. If you do 1000miles you would require 40gallons. If petrol is $3.61 a gallon, this times 40 comes in at $144. Does this make sense?? The more I read it the more it confuses me
As for spends on food/drink I have no idea. We're planning to eat in small diners and drink in local bars, soak up the southern atmosphere, but we like a drink as much as the next couple and love a good meal so I am scared to figure that one out.....
For 12nts would $1500 cover food & drink? Any help with this guys would be appreciated by us both I think.

travelgirl2

New Orleans is a fabulous city, with wonderful food and music. I have been to Memphis and Nashville and my opinion is that there is no comparison to New Orleans. Maybe an extra night there?

marty576

Thanks travelgirl2, trust me I'd love to spend the whole 12nts there but I'm a massive elvis fan and to come this far and not go to Graceland would haunt me forever as for Nashville again I'm a fan of country music so it just seemed the obvious thing to do......really hope I haven't made a mistake. But our plans are flexible so who knows???
Thanks again for your thoughts

jent103

I definitely don't think you've made a mistake coming to Nashville, but I live here (and love it) so I'm biased. If you're a country fan you can't beat the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Ryman. And the Opry, of course (Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays). And there's plenty else to do as well.

marty576

Thanks for your replies again guys, they really are appreciated. After doing a bit of reading I'm getting a tad apprehensive about our NOLA - Memphis leg of the journey. We leave NOLA on a Sunday and head to Lafayette then are planning (at the moment) to arrive in to Memphis on Friday but we're wondering now if we'll be visiting dead, empty towns along the way as it's during the week?? After our weekend in NOLA we're not after screamiing night life or 24hr bars but hoping that at least somewhere will be open for some food and a drink?? Like I said it looks like Lafayette on the Sunday then:

Monday - Natchez (would like to see a few Antebellum houses)
Tuesday - Vicksburg (military park)
Wednesday - Greenville (because it's en route ha)
Thursday - Clarksdale (visit ground zero blues club)

So I was just wondering if any of you guys could help with any local knowledge or maybe knew if there was a few places open on those week days??

Thanks for reading this, hope to hear from you guys soon....

Toucan2

marty, I don't live in that area so can't comment specifically, but am wondering why you think nothing will be open for food or drink?

Certainly every place has closing hours, but sites don't close down completely during the week, nor do restaurants. In some small towns around where I live, you are more likely to find small business and family owned restaurants closed on Sundays and Mondays, but there is always something open.

marty576

Sorry Toucan2, after reading it again myself it may have come across in the wrong way but we were looking to eat and drink in local, family run places, experiencing proper southern food. I've also read that in some southern towns they don't sell alcohol on a Sunday but I'm hoping if we're in Lafayette we should find something

Toucan2

Ah, I see what you mean now. Yes, you will have to wait for some folks more local to those places to chime in. Liquor laws vary widely, and can change not just by town but by county as well. And it's not just in southern states although you may run into it a bit more.

I'm sorry I can't be of more help, hopefully some others will chime in.

bkluvsNola

The liquor laws in Louisiana are the most liberal in the country. Beer, wine, and hard alcohol can be found in any grocery store 24x7x365. Restaurants are the same in Louisiana. You will be able to imbide in Lafayette on Sunday.

Some small towns in Mississippi will only serve iced tea or soda for drinks. That's the way it is there. Get your alcohol fix in Louisiana.

bkluvsNola

I would suggest and extra day in Lafayette so you can do Cajun country proper and maybe take in a swamp tour or do some plantations.

dwdvagamundo

Don't miss Clarksdale, MS. The Blues Museum is very important and interesting, and you can visit other places around there associated with the Blues. Ask at the Museum. That won't take two days, but will take much of day 7 or 8.

If it were me, I'd stay another day in Vicksburg, checking out some of the places associated with the Siege. There's also a pretty neat Courthouse there that has interesting exhibits about the War and other stuff.

Use TripAdvisor to find restaurants and places to stay, if you haven't got them already.

If you're looking for a place to stay in New Orleans, I recommend Le Richelieu, which is an older comfortable place on the quiet side of the French Quarter. You can walk from there to a streetcar stop in the French Market, and can also walk to Frenchman Street which has lots of music.

jvb1982

Your trip sounds really similar to the one my wife and I are doing in May. We are going in to Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, Vicksburg, New Orleans, but then to Pensacola (Florida), Montgomery and then back to Atlanta.

For the past two summers we have done 15+ days fly drives, but in Utah, California, Nevada etc. Every town we have ever visited, even out of season, has had restaurants open, and in fact its always been the small places which give the best memories.

Just buy your $$$ now if you can, we are getting a bad time on the exchange rate now! And it looks like its going to get worse!