Headed Home

Yes, it's a couple of days since I've been home and I'm just getting around to telling you about my last day.  It's only because I'm home sick in bed that I have time to do this. I thought I got away with having an illness free trip when I made it through two weeks in Scotland without as much as a headache...but the short trip to New Orleans kicked my ass two days after getting home.  Anyway, on to telling you about the end of the New Orleans trip.

We got up an hour earlier than we had Saturday and Sunday in order to hit the road as early as possible.  We had packed the night before, so it was showering and dressing before packing up the car.  As we were about to take off down the street, we noticed that the parking pass was still in the windshield, so I got to take another trip up the 3 flights to return it.

After a bit of getting turned around in the French Quarter, we found parking right next to Cafe Du Monde and got in the very short line.  We actually got seated *inside* and ordered our beignets and (iced) cafe au lait.  I discovered two things...beinget are the exact same thing as the fried dough we used to get at the county fair when I was a kid and I like coffee with chickory.

When we were finished, and gathered our bag of beignets to go for Christi's mom we headed next door to Aunt Sally's Prailines.  We poked around the shop for a bit and bought some last minute goofy souvenirs, including a Mardi Gras mask and a Voodoo doll. Then we headed out of town and home.

Unlike the trip to NOLA, the roads were clear through Baton Rouge and we made good time.  We stopped at Boudreaux's Cajun Trio in Iowa, LA for lunch.  Although my serving of grilled crawfish was a bit small, it was enough to fill me up with my baked potato and side salad.

I took over driving for a bit, and we took a brief break at the Texas border to get some tourist info so that we can do some fun Texas stuff on weekends this summer.  We had been forewarned about some severe thunderstorms heading our way and we hit them right around Houston.  It was coming down in buckets.  Luckily, we had already decided to stop at Buc-ee's in Waller, TX.

I love Buc-ee's.  It's a convenience store chain here in Texas that *always* has clean bathroom and an endless supply of  beaver nuggets.

Christi took over driving after that.  The rain eventually ended and we made it home.  Ta-Da!

And now I'm sick.

The Garden District Plus

This morning we headed out with an actual agenda.  We knew it was going to be hot, we were sure we were going to be miserable, and it was a given that our feet were going to hurt.  The plan was to make as much use of the trolley system as possible.  The problem was that we were not the only ones with that plan.

We headed out for the St. Charles Street line, which ran a couple of blocks from where we were staying. We hopped on the crowded trolley and got ourselves a day long Jazzy Pass for $3.  That let us ride the trolleys and buses all day long. However, there was construction along the line, so we had to get off the trolley and transfer to a bus pretty quickly.  We got off near the Hotel Indigo where we had breakfast.  It was fine, nothing extremely special, but the service and coffee were good.

After polishing off my New Orleans French Crepes, we headed out to our first destination, one of New Orleans famous cemeteries.  Since we were in the Garden district, there were lots of lovely old houses.

It's awesome how many different architectural styles there are in the Garden District.  Everything from Victorian, Classical, Craftsman Bungalows, to Mid-Century Modern.

I spotted this nifty stained glass window in the last house above.  We turned a corner and headed toward Magazine St. Soon we found our destination.

Lafayette Cemetery #1.  It would have been a bit more fun and creepy at night or on a very overcast day, but it was a bright, hot day that chased all ghosts away.

The cemetery was a lot smaller than I had imagined it, about a city block in all.  Some of the above ground vaults were in very good condition, while others were in ruins.  There is an ongoing effort to restore many of the vaults.  Of course, I did find a few treasures.

After leaving the Cemetery, we headed to Magazine St. where we quickly found an air conditioned coffee shop.  Not even noon, it was already uncomfortably hot and humid.  When we felt refreshed enough, we headed out to the area we ate dinner at Friday night...or so we thought.  After turning around, we found what we were looking for a did a bit of shopping.  

Found this cool mural that was a tribute to Joan Miro.

Again, hot and nasty...so we finally found an open bar (before 11am on a Sunday morning), sat down in the air conditioned darkness and had a beer with a few locals.

We decided it was back to the trolley for us.  The trolley was packed, but the driver shouted to us that ALL trolleys were packed so we just better get on.  We got off at Canal and went off to find lunch.  We ended up at Daisy Duke's where they serve mimosas with free refills.  Really.  So we had mimosas.

And I had a fried green tomato po-boy.  Five gigantic slices of fried green tomato on a French roll.  I couldn't figure out how to close the sandwich so I could eat it.  I finally ended up just eating the tomatoes, which were awesome.

We had two mimosas and the waitress tried to give us another refill...but we told her that we'd better not.  So, she offered to make us one in a to go cup for when we left, which sounded just nifty to us.  She told us that she'd doctored them up for us, which we found out meant adding peach schnapps.  So we walked down Canal St. drinking our sex on the beach, and poking around in a few shops.  I could not finish mine.

We snuck into a swanky hotel to use the bathroom and snuck out the other side into the busy part of the French Quarter.  Visited some more shops, but couldn't handle the hot and stinky for long.  Ended up in Cafe Beignet for hydration and air conditioning...but no beignet.

We got out of the stinky, over touristy part of the Quarter.  This made us feel a bit better.

It was also very pretty.  Headed back to Hex, where I picked up a few things.

Then, it was back on the Trolley.  We decided to head back to the apartment and wanted to go to a seafood place right behind the building where we were staying.  The plan was to shower, change, and walk across the street.  Alas, it was closed.  Emeril's was also nearby, but we checked online and not only is that place a bit too pricey for my budget...but they were booked solid.

We decided on a new place that is a part of the new WWII museum complex down the street and headed out.  Before we hit the end of the block, we found Warehouse Grille.  Good beer selection and a decent menu.  Exactly what we needed.

We decided on our original destination for desert.  The American Sector was fun and our bartender, Bill, was very entertaining (we had coffee and desert at the bar).

On the way back, we found a couple of young women who needed some automotive help on the side of the road, so Christi and I went back to get the jeep and gave them a jump.  Christi has her Good Karma points for the next few months now.

All packed up and ready to roll tomorrow!

A Day in the French Quarter

Most of our day today was spent drinking, shopping, and eating (in close to that order) in the French Quarter.  I am worn out and my feet, ankles, and calves are officially filing a protest.

Christi and I headed out around 9 this morning in search of breakfast...in the general direction of the French Quarter.  We found The Red Gravy Cafe.  We got the last table available, narrowly beating a senior couple that we walked across the street with.  Immediately after we were seated, the wait was 15 min.  If you end up being the people who wait....I recommend you wait.  This place was freaking awesome.  Other than my fabulous praline pancakes, I loved the handmade pottery accents on the table

Photo Credit: Christi H.

The decor was pretty cool all around and I found it amusing that

A NJ license plate had made its way onto the wall.  We were offered adult libations with our breakfast (this being The Big Easy) but we passed in favor of coffee.

After we were done, we headed the rest of the way into the Quarter and found ourselves on Bourbon St.  First stop was a Jesters, for our first adult slushy of the day.  I had a hurricane (again....in New Orleans) and had my first buzz and brain freeze before 11am. 

We then headed to Jackson Square and tried to make note of the absinthe bars we passed on the way.  Jackson Square is surrounded by a bunch of lovely shops...and a fence where local artists hang their paintings to sell to the tourists.

It's busy, colorful, fun, and (today) hot as Hell.  Jackson Square is bordered only East and West by shops, in the North side is St. Louis Cathedral.

You know how I love the cathedrals.  St. Louis is one of the oldest in the US.  We got there just as Mass was ended, so we were able to take some photos. 

The interior is lovely with an arched ceiling and a recently restored pipe organ.

This is the spectacularly painted arched ceiling over the main Aisle.

And this is St. Louis (also Louis IX of France) the namesake of the cathedral.

Let's get everything put back where it belongs after Mass is over!

We then wandered around the square again...and decided to try to find our absinthe bar.  I think we went around in circles for quite some time...detouring in some interesting shops (including Reverend Zombie's House of Voodoo) before giving up.  We stopped in a gelato shop and I had pineapple mint sorbetto instead. 

We saw the Mighty Mississippi.

Lots of cool street musicians.

Lots of lovely local architecture.

And more of it...with some whimsical decor.

We covered a LOT of territory and ended up in the French Market.  The bit where the shops were was fun, and we bought some local crafts at the artist's coop, but the actual outdoor market was a hot mess.  It was packed and you couldn't move an inch.  But, we did find the Market Cafe and sat inside. I had a tasty Louisiana Lemonade, as my buzz was fading, and a turkey po-boy.  Nothing fastastic, it was a good sandwich and filled the void..

We got out of the outdoor market area and poked about some antique shops before finding Hex, a witchcraft shop on Decatur Street.  It was a really wonderful place and I wish I had bought something like Christi did.  I think we need to go back. 

Around this time, we were starting to fade and wanted some serious air conditioning, so we decided to take the trolley to the Riverwalk Marketplace.  When I was in NOLA back in the mid-80's this was a brand new upscale mall.  It had literally JUST been renovated, updated, and re-launched as an outlet mall (the grand opening was today).  Christi and I headed immediately to the spa and got pedicures as our feet were killing us. 

We then did a bit of shopping, got another adult slushy, and headed out to dinner. Mulate's was highly recommended and right across from the mall.  

Photo Credit: Christi H.

Look! More drinks!  Mine is on the left, the house special rum punch.  We split a platter of a combination of crab dishes, which was a wise decision.  It was yummy...but way too much for one person.

We headed back with tummies full, with full intentions of refreshing ourselves and heading back out.  As soon as we had both showered off the sweat and sunscreen, we knew we were done for the day.  

Tomorrow, at least one cemetery, shopping on Magazine St., the Garden District, and more drinking.  

New Orleans Memorial Day Weekend Mini-Break

So, I'm in New Orleans right now trying to digest the gigantic burger I inhaled a few hours ago.  My friend Christi and I are here for the long weekend with really no agenda in mind other than having a good time.

We're staying in a fabulous apartment at the edge of the Warehouse District, close to the western edge of the French Quarter.  Lovely place...high ceilings, old wood floors, balcony, fireplaces...just gorgeous.

We actually left home yesterday and drove through to the eastern edge of Texas.  After an overnight stay, we hit the road early, but not after checking our favorite website for estate sales.  We found a fantastic one locally and made a quick stop.  We both made out like bandits.  I got a few really awesome vintage postcards.

After that, we headed east and stopped at the Louisiana Visitors Center.  Got a recommendation for a place to stop to eat..stopped to eat...and then....

Sat in traffic for the entire rest of the day.  There was a hellish series of special events in Baton Rouge that made the traffic unbearable.  I cannot describe how bad it was.

Finally rolled into The Big Easy around 5pm, eventually got into our rental, got our stuff moved in (it's a THIRD floor without an elevator AGAIN), and headed out to pick up supplies/get food.

Did Wal-Mart, ate at The Charcoal, and walked around Magazine ST.  Gotta go back when the shops are open man...lol.  No photos today but will have the camera tomorrow, promise.

Now if my tummy would chill out, I could sleep.

placeholder for my trip home

You know you want the story...but I haven't felt like writing it yet