Tours and Tales - Your Guide to Israel, New Orleans and Beyond

Name: Tours and Tales - Your Guide to Israel, New Orleans and Beyond
Address: New Orleans, LA, 70117, US
Telephone: +972546341187

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Tours and Tales - Your Guide to Israel, New Orleans and Beyond

Licensed tour guide to Israel, New Orleans and beyond. Offers unique customized private tours.

10/06/2025

Did you know that New Orleans has more festivals than weekends? 🎉
I chose the National Fried Chicken Festival for this one — and it did not disappoint. 🍗✨

Billie and I spent the day tasting our way through the festival, and our strategy was simple: share everything so we could try more (spoiler: three dishes in, we were already full).

🥞 Biscuits & Buns on Banks – chicken & purple waffle with honey sriracha syrup. My first-ever chicken and waffle experience — and wow.
🍿 Bao Mi – basil popcorn chicken from this past winner. Crispy, flavorful, addicting.
🥥 – coconut curry chicken sando (my personal favorite — layers of flavor, cilantro heaven) and this year's winner!
🍦 Jesse’s Huckabucks – “ice-cream nachos” for dessert — quirky name, but absolute perfection.

Between the food, the music, and the lakefront breeze, it was classic New Orleans: vibrant, communal, and full of flavor.

If you’re visiting New Orleans, don’t miss out — there’s a festival for every weekend and every taste.
👉 DM me for my personal list of the best ones to plan your trip around.

09/25/2025

🎷 NOLAxNOLA: Music All Over the Map 🎷

From Sept 25 to Oct 5, New Orleans celebrates the one thing that truly unites us: music everywhere.

Not just one big stage—hundreds. Clubs, courtyards, hidden corners. And if you’re lucky, a second line might roll past while you’re sipping your coffee.

That’s the spirit of this city: music isn’t a show, it’s a heartbeat.

💡 Want tips for catching the best hidden sets during the festival? Drop a comment or DM — I’ve got some favorites.

👉 Full lineup here: https://www.neworleans.com/nolaxnola

👉 Follow NOLA x NOLA for highlights.

09/18/2025

The Fire Carriage Plaques of the Quarter

Some stories in New Orleans are right under your nose… others are just above your head.

Tucked high on a few French Quarter buildings are these small, cast-iron plaques — a horse-drawn fire carriage and the letters UF, short for United Firemen’s Insurance. Most people walk by without ever noticing them.

Back in the 1800s, New Orleans had volunteer fire brigades. You didn’t pay a fee for service — you gave a donation, and in return, your home was “covered.” These plaques let the fire companies know you were insured — and in some cases, the first brigade to arrive and help would be rewarded by the insurer.

Some say if there was no plaque, your home might have been left to burn. That part’s probably more legend than fact — but in New Orleans, we never let a good story go to waste.

Just recently, I pointed one out to three ladies on my tour — all of them worked in insurance. You can imagine the laughter that followed. 😄

Look up next time you’re in the Quarter. You might just see a 19th-century version of a fire policy… bolted to a wall.

#

09/14/2025

🧳 Taking It Easy in the Big Easy 🪷

New Orleans isn’t just for party people.

It’s also for the jazz lovers, the long-walkers, the ASAP (“as slow as possible”) travelers.

I wrote a new blog post for folks who want to take in the city’s magic without rushing — whether you’re here for a few days or just a night.

✅ Easy walking tours
✅ Private rides when you need ‘em
✅ Great food without the lines
✅ Culture without the chaos

🪑 Slow travel > fast burnout.

https://www.toursntales.com/post/taking-it-easy-in-the-big-easy-new-orleans-at-your-own-pace

09/12/2025

The French Market isn’t just a place to shop — it’s a piece of living history. 🌿✨

From Native American trade routes to Spanish rule, from French Creole stalls to today’s cafés and artists, it’s the oldest public market in the United States still running.

Next time you stroll through, look past the souvenirs — and imagine the centuries of voices that have passed through this spot.

09/04/2025

Antoine’s Wine “Cellar” — or is it an alley?

Hidden in plain sight, tucked behind a barred gate on Royal Street, lies a narrow corridor that surprises almost every guest I show it to. It’s not underground — New Orleans is too swampy for that — but it stretches 165 feet long and 7 feet wide, housing nearly 25,000 bottles of wine when fully stocked.

They call it a “cellar,” but it’s really a temperature-controlled wine alley — one of the largest private collections in the country. Peek close enough through the bars and you might spot a sommelier working inside. But blink — or stroll by too casually — and you’ll miss it entirely.

After Hurricane Katrina, someone once told me the staff gave away bottles of expensive wine when the power went out and climate control failed. “It would be a shame to let good wine go to waste,” they said. That blend of elegance, improvisation, and generosity? That’s New Orleans in a glass.

My grandparents ate at Antoine’s on their honeymoon in 1948. Some things — like pralines, streetcars, and wine walls — carry stories for generations.

08/27/2025

Some friendships are built to last.

Meet Carey, Cindy, and Mike — three lifelong friends from San Angelo, Texas, who’ve known each other for over 30 years since working together in healthcare. I had the pleasure of taking them on a private tour of New Orleans, and their curiosity, warmth, and nonstop enthusiasm made the day unforgettable.

From discovering stories they'd never heard and places they’d never been to (like Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, Musicians’ Village, and the “These Are Times” mural / Civil Rights wall) to spotting gator-free moss-draped trees in City Park and the old Cold War-era command bunker… we saw it all.

Mike even treated me to what he called one of the best pralines he’s ever had (shoutout to Dernee outside St. Louis Cemetery No. 3).

They nailed the streetcar trivia (“San Francisco cable car!”) and cracked up at the beads magically appearing on the St. Charles Ave. trees after Napoleon Ave.

And although they missed out on Commander’s Palace this time around (no pantalones, no problema 😄), they soaked in the Garden District charm, World War II Museum memories, and a perfect end at Miss Shirley’s.

Thanks for trusting me with your New Orleans adventure. Come back anytime — I’ll save a praline (and more puns) for you.

08/22/2025

What happens when you mix Jewish history, New Orleans legends, and a scavenger hunt in the French Quarter?

This family showed up ready. Even before I could explain the rules, the kids lit up when they realized it wasn’t just “a tour” — it was a hunt. Dad (a lawyer) was already deep in thought about old codes and laws, while the kids were plotting how to beat each other on points. They split into two teams, no mercy, no “everyone ties in the end” — and off we went.

The city gave us plenty to play with. Stars of David hidden high above the street, mysterious initials tucked into balconies, and clues that at first seemed obvious — until they weren’t. One in particular took a while to spot, but when they finally did, the excitement was worth the wait. The competition got fierce, but always with laughter.

What I loved most was how much they saw. They didn’t just check boxes — they noticed things I’d never even spotted before. At one point, they found a Star of David I didn’t even know existed. That’s the magic of this kind of experience: we were all discovering together.

We ducked into a praline shop just as the rain came down. Instead of being “stuck,” we ended up sharing stories, tasting every flavor they offered, and watching a video of how pralines are made — with the shop owner leaning in just as curious as the kids. By the time we stepped back outside, it didn’t feel like guide and guests anymore. It felt like friends exploring side by side.

We wrapped up at Louis Armstrong Park, where they spotted every last clue — hidden faces, Mardi Gras Indians, and finally Louis himself, whose story connects in unexpected ways to Jewish New Orleans. A perfect place for a photo and, as luck would have it, a perfect finale: they were crowned scavenger hunt champions and won tickets to the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, which they were already planning to visit.

Hot weather, tough riddles, big laughs, and a family who turned a tour into an adventure. This is why I love what I do.

08/12/2025

לפני כמה חודשים עמית פנה אליי עם בקשה לארגן סיור פרטי לו ולשני חברי ילדות – מתן ואושרי. אני די בטוח שהוא המארגן הישראלי הצעיר ביותר שיצא לי לעבוד איתו עד היום.

השבוע הגיע הרגע ונפגשתי עם אושרי, עמית, ומתן, שלושה חברים מרמת גן, בני 23, אחרי צבא ורגע לפני שמתחילים את הלימודים – אחד בדרך להנדסה, אחד לעולם ההייטק, ואחד שחי ונושם מוזיקה, במיוחד ג'אז ובלוז, והגיע מוכן במיוחד לפסקול של ניו אורלינס.

בארבע שעות של אוכל, מוזיקה וסיפורים הם גילו כמה קשרים מפתיעים יש בין ניו אורלינס לישראל – משלטים בעברית של קבוצת הפוטבול המקומית, למזוזות על דלתות חנויות, ועד חיבורים היסטוריים מרתקים מהמאה ה-19 וה-20. הצצנו למרתף היין "הסודי" של המסעדה הוותיקה בעיר, מצאנו מגני דוד חבויים, וטעמנו מאפי בינייה בקפה דו מונד (עם תעודת כשרות!) שהחזירו אותם ישר לסופגניות של חנוכה.

ואז… אז מה עושים כשחם ולח בניו אורלינס? עוצרים לדאקירי פירות אמיתי ב-Gumbo Shop, לגלידה מקומית עם שמות יצירתיים ב-Sweet Saint, ואוכלים שניצלונים מטוגנים ברחוב פרנצ’מן שהחבר'ה הכריזו שהם "הכי טעימים בארה"ב".

הסיור נפל בדיוק על מירוץ השמלות האדומות – מחזה שגרם להם להשוות את זה לתל אביב ביוני… רק הרבה פחות צנוע.

בין ביס לצליל, הם שמעו גם על "מלך הבננות המסתורי" מניו אורלינס שסייע ליהודים אחרי השואה ותמך רבות במדינת ישראל הצעירה, ועל הקשר היהודי ללואי ארמסטרונג ולשימור הג'אז בעיר.

הם כבר סימנו וי על לאס וגאס, עכשיו בניו אורלינס, ובקרוב יכבשו גם את ניו יורק, וושינגטון ופילדלפיה – מסלול קצת שונה מהטיול הקלאסי לדרום אמריקה או הודו, אבל מלא תרבות, היסטוריה, אוכל ואנשים. חכמים, סקרנים ואחלה חבר'ה – ואני? זכיתי באחר צהריים מושלם.

#ארצותהברית #טיולבארצותהברית #ישראליםמטיילים #סיורפרטי

12/22/2024

A Cajun Christmas like no other! 🎄🔥

Every year, bonfires light the levees along the Mississippi River, guiding Papa Noël to the bayou and spreading festive cheer. Add some sparkling fireworks, and you've got a magical NOLA holiday tradition! ✨

Have you experienced the levee bonfires yet? Let us know your favorite memories! 🕯️💫

Book your tour now to see this dazzling tradition! toursntales.com

12/08/2023

https://www.nola.com/multimedia/photos/photos-menorah-lit-at-spanish-plaza-on-the-first-day-of-chanukah/collection_306b8388-9573-11ee-adbb-7fbaf2c6ee89.html #1

הדלקת נרות ליד נהר המיסיסיפי - 34 שנים של מסורת

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