We could not have ordered better weather: sunny, low 80's and clear. Shorts, capris, tees, tanks and flipflops were worn daily. The weather allowed us to traverse on foot, strolling thru the French Quarter, the Garden District, the Warehouse District, parks, along the Mississippi River ... covering miles every day.
Music is all around ... either in pre-arranged settings/venues or just somewhere in the middle of the street in the Vieux Carre (that's the French Quarter, for the English-speakers!!).
The architecture is like nothing I have ever seen before. So much detail, too. And they still use the old gas lanterns, which add an eery, romantic quality to the streets at nite ... combined with the balconies overflowing with foliage.
It really has to be seen in person to feel the magical quality of it all. At times, it was very easy to think I was in Europe in the mid-late 1800's!
FRIDAY
We arrived around noon. We couldn't get into our resort suite until 4, so we had to head out into the city almost straight from the day's travels (we have been up since 4AM at this point ~ UGH). Being quite hungry by this time, we were pleasantly surprised to find a restaurant directly across from our resort, Le Belle Maison, a Wyndham property for timeshare owners.
Into the Ruby Slipper we stepped and ordered Blue Moon beers & our meals. I had a Grilled Ham & Swiss with sweet potato fries and Chris got a Portobello sandwich with regular fries. Both meals were delicious and exactly what we needed to refuel and refresh.
We decided to head straight for the French Quarter to kill a couple of hours. WOW! So much to see here! There are stores and restaurants all jam-packed among several blocks, on both the north-south and east-west streets. If you blink, you will for sure miss something cool!
{I cannot begin to share all of the photos Chris took during this vacation, hundreds (he got a new camera before we left and put it to good use)! I will share a sampling of them during this post.}
Here are a few shots of the inside of our timeshare "home-away-from-home" for the week. It is a 1-bedroom suite with partial kitchen (translation: no stove). If I had been working the camera, I would have had a shot of our living room, too, but I let Chris do his own thing.
After freshening up a bit at our resort, we had to get back out in the city. It is a Friday nite, after all, and this is a party city. Where did we go, you ask? Bourbon Street, of course!! Which we found to be alot like Las Vegas: teeming with people, most of whom are inebriated; debauchery encouraged; lights & sounds to stimulate the senses! We enjoyed some "nectar of the gods", as well, but we didn't drink to excess. Far too much to experience to be drunk ... and who the hell wants a hangover, anyway!
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| My favorite street performer! |
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| Street band that often performed at the corner of Bourbon and Canal Streets! |
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| Our first stop for a drink on Bourbon Street~did you notice the beads on the Bourbon sign?? |
We got a couple beers at Jean Lafitte's Old Absinthe House and then strolled down Bourbon taking in all of the sights & sounds. (The next nite, we went back to Old Absinthe House b/c I wanted to try absinthe ... completely forgetting it would have the taste of black licorice. Thank the Goddess the bartender informed me, otherwise I would have wasted $20!! Ah, well!) We stuck to beer the first 2 nites, switching from Blue Moon to Abita Amber. Abita is made in Louisiana. Good beer (they also have Purple Haze and Turbo Dog) and we like to support the "locals"!
So much for Day One ... the rest is yet to come!
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