I'm currently flopped on my bed after a very full morning and afternoon in New Orleans! We got to sleep in this morning, which was a nice change. We left the hotel around 9:30 and walked down Tchoupitoulas to Cafe du Monde for a delicious breakfast of beignets and cafe au lait! We were already sweating by the time we sat down, so we took a seat in the air conditioned section of the restaurant. Our breakfast was great, and a perfect start to our day in NOLA.
Beignets et Cafe Au Lait
After we finished our beignets, we wandered down to the Louisiana State Museum's Presbytere and visited the Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond exhibit. I went there in January with NOLA 12, and I was really happy to be able to take my dad there. It's a great overview of the systems failures in New Orleans after Katrina, and it's fascinating but simultaneously heartbreaking and overwhelming.
King and Queen of Mardi Gras paraphernalia
Mardi Gras is more than just NOLA- it takes place all over the state of Louisiana!
184 days to Mardi Gras!
A Mardi Gras costume and perch to watch the parade
St. Louis Cathedral is right next to the Presbytere, and we took some time to visit the oldest Cathedral in the US! It's beautiful inside and out-- I think it resembles a castle. We left the Cathedral, walked around the quarter, and then we took a horse and buggy tour to see the city in a more comfortable fashion because it's so hot!
Marie Laveau, known as the Queen of Voodoo, had a shop here
I learned a lot about the city's history, especially about the French Quarter, and our tour guide Brendan was so kind and knowledgeable. We enjoyed the short rest, and before heading to lunch, we wandered back into the museum. We saw an exhibit of old photos of plantations in Louisiana and a great one about Mardi Gras, its costumes and history.
From the Presbytere, we walked a few blocks to the ACME Oyster House for lunch, yet another meal that did not disappoint. We started by splitting a dozen oysters on the half shell, then ordered another half and a half of chargrilled oysters... amazing. Then we split a "10-Napkin" Roast Beef Debris Po'Boy. We had such a lovely time and the food was of course incredible! As we finished up lunch, a second line parade went down the street! It was the perfect musical accompaniment to our bread pudding :).
In my happy place in my happy place
char-grilled
Bread Pudding
We started the walk home to the hotel, but made a slight pit-stop at Harrah's on our way! It's about 3 blocks from the hotel, and while we didn't walk out millionaires, we left with more money than we walked in with!
Part of the second-line!
We took a little siesta before a dinner at GW Fin's for the evening- more amazing food, but we were still kinda full from lunch. We had planned to do Preservation Hall tonight, but were exhausted after dinner, so we just walked back to the hotel to crash with more Olympics.
HOUSTON TOMORROW! I can't believe it, honestly. Here's to Texas!
No comments:
Post a Comment