Just another Tuesday in N'awlins

I think we took it a bit easy on Tuesday, as I don't have too much written down.  I am quite positive that all of the walking and fresh air since we arrived on Friday finally started to catch up with us.  We may have left later than usual on this day.  I do know that we had our most delicious cajun meal of the trip on this day! 

Some of the places we visited or dined at were found in a magazine called Where (which we got from the concierge desk at a Hilton).  I would peruse the pages and see if anything jumped out at me.  When it came to eating lunch or dinner, I looked for ones that referenced the cajun or creole cooking that New Orleans and Louisiana are known for and when it came to breakfast one morning, I looked for something close, that served what we like to eat and would be a reasonable price.  We learned of a free music concert in Where that we attended on Wednesday nite and about City Park.  It was extremely valuable!  BIG thanx to the visitor's bureau lady in Riverwalk Shopping Center who told us about it and where to score one (she was all out)!!

On this day, we set out to find the Gumbo Shop on St. Peter.

We were able to sit outside in the courtyard (LOVE!) and this was, by far, our best meal!!!!  We both got the combination platter:  Shrimp Creole, Jambalaya and Red Beans & Rice; however, Chris substituted Crawfish Etouffee for the RB&R.  I highly recommend eating here ~~ OFTEN!  If we weren't ones who really like to try out different places, we would have dined here several more times.  We even shared this "find" with a woman we chatted with at our resort one morning while getting coffee.  She was on a girls' trip and was thrilled to get a glowing recommendation!

Later in the evening, we walked over to the Harrah's casino.  We aren't gamblers, but wanted to hear the Vegas sounds of the slot machines!  We made a pretty quick walk-through and then headed back out toward the south side of the French Quarter.  We ended up at the Crescent City Brewhouse for a microbrew (they are the only microbrewery in all of New Orleans) and a bit of live jazz.  Unfortunately, the band finished within minutes of our arrival.  So we had to drink beers that we didn't like all that much without the benefit of relaxing jazz to help it go down a bit easier.  If we had been hungry and/or if it hadn't been so late, we may have ordered an appetizer or two and that would have made a world of difference in the taste, I really believe. 

Warehouse District & Garden District

Sunday
We started the day heading west from our resort into the Warehouse District.  Since it was Sunday, not much was open, save for some restaurants that were scattered here and there.  We did eat lunch at a place where the food was okay but the service was poor.  Here is how Chris passed the time...

Just the front of the building remains ~ saw a couple of these in the Warehouse District

Eventually, we ended up back in the French Quarter.  We listened to music at this quaint courtyard on Bourbon Street.  It is Musical Legends Park (why didn't we get a photo of the metal arch that leads into this great little spot??!!), where there are small tables and a stage where either actual performers or a radio plays music 24/7.  You can get food & drinks toward the back of the courtyard.  One of the shops is Cafe Beignet.  So, I wanted to do a little comparison eating ~~ we already tried the famous Cafe du Monde beignets, why not give the competitor a try, right?!  OK...I just really wanted something sweet and fried!!  But, hey ~ I decided I liked Cafe Beignets beignets much more than Cafe du Monde.  So ... when you find yourself in the Crescent City, give both a try and let me know what you decide!

After heading west in the morning, we went east in the afternoon along Esplanade Avenue, that runs north & south, dividing the French Quarter from the Marigny.  Here we found some wonderful homes (not like the Garden District, but still very charming & old).

While strolling back thru the French Quarter, we arrived in front of an old theatre, One Eyed Jacks. 

We had a quick glimpse of the inside late one of the other nites and thought it would be very cool to get inside!!  (But we had no idea if we would ever find it again b/c we didn't know where we were when we first walked past and the streets look so much alike that it is hard to know where you have or have not yet been.)  A small vintage-looking advertisement displayed on one of the doors mentioned a revue by Fleur de Tease, with a Halloween twist, playing that nite at 8. 

We knew this was something we did NOT want to miss!!!  We arrived about half an hour before the show was to begin, really hoping we could get a seat.  The show was terrific!  The theatre is small and intimate.  The MC was funny and quirky!  Not only did we see very good burlesque performances (by women of many shapes and sizes!), but also some amazing aerialists!  We think they stole the show, for us.  Chris didn't take his camera, thinking that photography would not be allowed.  However, he could have ... but I think we both were able to just enjoy the show without Chris feeling the need to capture much of it to film.  Wish we had some pics to share, but this was something we just wanted to experience and be 100% a part of while it was happening.

Monday
Another busy day for sure!!  We decided to hop the St. Charles street car to the Garden District (Audobon Park, Tulane University, Lafayette Cemetery, beautiful homes, more shops).  We rode it all the way to the end, got off and onto another and rode it back to the Audobon Park stop and got off. 

We first went to the campus of Tulane University.  We actually entered one of the buildings to find bathrooms!!!  Then we hit a coffee shop for some much needed caffeine. 

Audobon Park also includes the Audobon Zoo.   We strolled the park, only, before making our way to Lafayette Cemetery.  I am a HUGE fan of live oaks with Spanish moss, so here are some gorgeous tree shots!

They just evoke the South, don't they?!

And here is a fun sign that I just had to ask Chris to capture for me!!!

I married a smart man!!!  He is also the creative force of the duo!

Would you believe as we were making our way to and through the Garden District, we came upon the Lafayette Cemetery ... I had almost forgotten about it ... a lapse in memory and I hadn't remembered to seek it out. 

From here we walked by many gorgeous homes in the Garden District.  We went up and down street after street in awe over the size of the homes, the cool fences, the harvest and sometimes Halloween decor, the courtyards and secret gardens.  All lovely ... and expensive!!!  It is in the Garden District where Interview with the Vampire author Anne Rice once owned a home, as well as actor Nicholas Cage (until he lost it during his financial debacle). 

We then made our way to Magazine Street to find more interesting shops.  But we were STARVING by this time and knew we needed to find somewhere to eat, before either or both of us got real grouchy!!!  Enter:

Slim Goodies Diner ~ What a find!!!  We really loved this little hole-in-the-wall diner!!  Great food in a very laid-back atmosphere: both of which we craved right then!!!  The portion sizes were generous (the hashbrowns looked too good to be true ... so much so that we considered going back one morning for breakfast ... even tho they serve breakfast all day!!).  The only negative: cash only!!!  Whawha!  I like to use our credit card (for the points) whenever possible ... but this ended up being worth spending some of our cash supply.  We both had cheese burgers and fries and a drink ~~ I believe it was referred to as the post-Katrina combo b/c it was the only thing they served right after the storm.  :)

After filling up our bellies and recharging our systems, we were ready to tackle a few more shops and stroll past several more houses.  We eventually found a bus stop (our all-day pass we bought on the streetcar allows us to travel all public transportation the rest of the day) which would take us to the local Wal-mart.  We bought bagels, cream cheese, Boca chicken patties, bananas, apples, juice, Woodchuck Amber, baby carrots, cookies and a duffle bag (The zipper on our largest piece of luggage broke.  When we retrieved it from the conveyor belt at the airport, it was completely open and our items were spilling out!  Fortunately, nothing was lost!).  We then caught a second bus that dropped us about half a block from our resort!  Yeah, we rocked NOLA's public transit!!! 





NOLA Day 2

On Saturday, our first full day in New Orleans, we left our resort about 10 and didn't return until 7!  It was a long, full day of walking around the city.  We made our first of many visits to the French Market, where we enjoyed our first taste of cajun food and lunched on fried shrimp po' boys and red beans & rice...YUM! 

We enjoyed a cold beer at Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar, the oldest bar in the Crescent City. 

We visited the famed St. Louis Cemetery No. 1: resting place of the Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau.  We walked over to the Louis Armstrong Park, but it was closed for some renovations.  We only got to walk across Congo Square.

We believe this is the actor, Nicholas Cage's, future resting place (overheard a cemetery tour guide)



Alleged final resting place of Marie Laveau

 We walked along the Mississippi River and hopped onto the free ferry.  We thought we were just going across the river to Algiers Point, but ended up going down aways to Gretna, where a music festival was happening...we didn't get off the ferry, however, so we just rode it back. 

Heralding one & all to come see Mardi Gras World!

We walked thru the Riverwalk shopping center, where we found an off-site Cafe du Monde!!  Rather than having to wait in the long lines at the original, we stopped here for beignets and cafe au laits. 

We happened upon a Mardi Gras parade, being held by one of the hotels for their high rollers!  Scored some beads, we did!

And the nite found us back on Bourbon Street with the other revelers!  We drank Abita Ambers from The Dungeon, where Chris also tried a "Cherry Bomb"~ a maraschino cherry soaked in at least 100 proof liquor (I can't recall the proof of the kind of alcohol).  There were impromptu line dances breaking out in the middle of the street ~~ yep, the Electric Slide (Chris's favorite) played loudly from a bar to be heard on the street and someone got the dance started and others just joined right in!  There were more actual street performers to be seen, plus the "gentlemens" clubs had their almost naked chicks out to wrangle any willing customers.  One handwritten signed, taped to the outside of some establishment was scrawled with "Titties and Whiskey" ~~ really, folks, it's that simple! 

What a full, full day!  Can't wait to share more with you...