I'm Back!

Tax season is finally over and Paul and I are back from The Big Easy. I am ready to get my blog up and running.

What a great way to get over the stresses of tax season. A trip to New Orleans with the man in my life. We had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect. Paul and I arrived in NOLA Monday morning, we had a delightful Cajun whisk us away in his taxi to our hotel, The Quarter House on Rue Chartres in the French Quarter. This hotel is a group of old buildings where rooms were made so as not to disturb the original building. There is a beautiful courtyard in the middle of the building. The rooms vary in size. Our room was under an eve and was very cozy with high and sloping ceilings. There is a little cubby for the window with a window seat. A perfect place to curl up and read. We met another couple and their room had 14 foot ceilings. As I said, each room was different. The bed was an elegant four poster. The bathroom had a beautiful stained glass in the window.

Once we got settle we left the hotel and started walking. We had no idea where to begin but hey we were on vacation. I think the last time we went on a true vacation was four years ago when we went to Hilton Head with Jeff and Nancy. We had a map of the French Quarter and a book "Very New Orleans" we had picked up at the new $3.99 bookstore in WC and headed out the door. Our hotel was on Chartes between Canal and Iberville, we headed toward the river. When we got to the river there was a big parking lot,a big road and trolley tracks. The map indicated that the main part of the FQ was to our left. Off we went. We were then on Tujaque's Street. I never heard anyone say that name out loud so I have no idea how it is pronounced. We started seeing more stores and souvenirs shops. We were getting closer. Then it opened up to Jackson Square. What a beautiful park in the heart of the French Quarter. Kitty Corner to the park is Cafe du Monde, the oldest coffee house in New Orleans known for their coffee and beignets. We took a seat and were served two helpings of beignets a wonderful fried dough drenched in powdered sugar. Yumm and messy. From du mond we continued walking to the French Market. It was Monday and we find that a lot of stores and restaurants are closed on Monday and Tuesday, I guess to recover from the weekend. The French Market is a flea market with lots of chatchke NOLA souvenirs. We then walked up to Decatur street and to an open air restaurant with Jazz musicians and the Muffuletta a signature sandwich made on a large round loaf of bread with warmed cold cuts and olive spread. I tried a New Orleans Lemonade. Yumm. We then walked into a tourist bureau. AKA tour guide hawker. We signed up for a 3 hour tour of the French Quarter, Garden District and the 9th Ward. Our guide was very talkative. He told us lots of trivia and gossip. Who knows how much is true but we got to see a lot of streets and houses. We also went to a grave yard aka "Cities of the Dead." They are raised tombs and act as a natural crematorium. A body placed in one of these tombs is ashes at the end of the year. The bus tour continued to the 9th Ward of New Orleans. This area is 8 feet below sea level and is kept dry by levee's built during the mid 20th century. The levee's were breached by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Much of the area has not recovered from the storm. In the midst of the Ninth Ward is City Park. A beautiful park with gigantic Oak trees and the Louisiana State Museum. During the flood, the Museum was surrounded by National Guardsmen and protected from looters. The museum is raised and there was little damage from the flood. While we were there they had an exhibit by George Rodrigue who is famous for prints of his dog. His dog reminds me of Toohey. The Oak trees branches grow out to the side and eventually go back to the ground. These Oaks are all over New Orleans. The bus driver made many stops to drop people off so just just hopped off and continued to explore. We got off at Harrah's Casino and walked to the Mississippi. Here there was a park along the river. In the river were Coast Guard boats with automatic guns. Did I mention that President Bush along with the president of Mexico were in town? Every time we stopped to look at the scenery the boat stopped and a gun was pointed at us. We were encouraged to move on. Along the river was an Aquarium and more bars. Most bars had frozen drinks. These drinks were pre-made in what I can only describe as slushy machines. In every bar there were at least 10 of these machines where you could see what color your drink was, brown for mudslide, neon orange for a Hurricane, etc. I was able to sample a few and then decided on the mudslide. It tasted like an Arby's Jamocha Shake. We continued walking along the river until we got to Canal Street then we went back to our room. We relaxed a bit and then went out to dinner at Bacco, one of the many Brennan Family restaurants. Their specialty was Italian Creole, highly recommended by the bus driver. It was good. I ordered a very spicy dish with Crawfish. A New Orleans Specialty. After dinner we walked up to Bourbon Street. At night this street is closed to traffic. It is filled with strip clubs and fine dining. We walked in search of coffee. Surprising, coffee was not easy to find. Not a Starbucks on any corner. We finally found a sandwich shop that was able to brew us a cup. We then walked back to the hotel. That was the end of day one.

Day Two

We headed out of the French Quarter to the Central Business District and Warehouse District. Our guide book indicated that the WWII Museum was the place to go. We had trouble getting across Poydras Street. As I said before, the President was in town and many streets were blocked off. We finally got to Magazine Street and were able to head out across the Business District. We saw one glass store which we walked into, it had some interesting glass sculptures. We then continued to walk and finally stopped for coffee near were we thought the WWII Museum was. It turned out the coffee house was inside the museum. The museum began as a D-Day Museum but then they added a whole section of the war in the Pacific and are expanding the museum to include the entire war. It was recommended that we sit for the filmstrips before we tour the museum. The filmstrip of the war in the Pacific was very good. The other movie was centered around D-Day. The museum itself was well laid out and had lots to look at, read and watch. However, as with it seems all places in New Orleans, the thermostat was set at 50 degrees. I froze. I had a sweater but that wasn't enough, I also brought the wrong shoes. After the museum we looked at our handy guide book and it appeared that we wee right next to the Garden District. So we walked. I believe it was 15 blocks later we finally came upon a street listed in the guide book as on the edge of the Garden District. If we kept going the guide book indicated there were many book stores, art galleries and restaurants. Well we discovered that the map was not to scale and many places were no longer around. Between each street listed in the guide book there were 10 blocks with not much on them. Did I mention I had sandals on? And the area is known for it's bad sidewalks. I was not a happy camper. We finally found a Greek restaurant that served beer. The food, drink and atmosphere was enough to put me in better spirits. I was saved. I could learn a lesson from Paul who was in a good mood the entire trip. We ate and continued our trek for an ice cream shop listed in the book. We found it, 20 blocks later in a run down section of town and it looked like it had been closed for 10 years. We then walked up Jefferson Street to get to St Charles Street and the trolley. I loved that trolley. We passed the New Orleans Sacred Heart School as well as all those beautiful homes and gardens the bus driver had taken us by the day before. Did I mention that loved that trolley, it had a lot of history in that trolley car. After we got back to Canal Street we went back to our room and crashed. Paul had work to do and I was tired and my feet/legs etc were sore.

Day Three

We worked up an appetite the day before and decided to use that calorie deficit at Brennans. Known for their brunch, Banana's Foster and Crepes Fitzgerald. It was a very classy joint and the food was delish.
My stomach hurt at the end. To begin with I had a baked apple with cream next I had poached eggs over spinach and artichoke bottoms all covered with hollandaise sauce to finish I had Banana's Foster complete with the flames. Paul began with Strawberries and Creame, Poached eggs over breaded trout cutlets and spinach covered of course with hollandaise and to finish he had the Crepes Fitzgerald. I forgot to mention the Mimosa and bottomless coffee. We thanked our wonderful wait staff and waddled out. I wanted to go back to the room and explode but we continued on. From there we walked to the US Mint and learned about Napoleon. It was an interesting exhibit. While Napoleon never visited Louisiana he was instrumental in the purchase of Louisiana by the United States. We then walked down Bourbon Street and stopped at the Acme Market for some oysters. Yumm. They only serve Louisiana oysters and we had them charbroiled (to die for) and plain and then went back to the hotel. As we were walking through the court yard employees were setting up a bar. It turns out the hotel has a cocktail party on Wednesday's. We decided to hang around for free food and wine/beer. Here we met Peter and Molly from Florida. They are a nice retired couple who visit New Orleans frequently. They had time shares which they gave to their children and had recently met up with their son and his wife in New Orleans. We enjoyed talking with them and when it started to rain they invited us back to their room. They then invited us out to dinner at Beebe's. On the drive there we got to see the tent city. This is where people who are still displaced by the storm live. Beebe's was named for the singer. She and her son started the restaurant/jazz club on the shore of Lake Ponchartrain. The food was delicious and they offered smaller plates at reduced prices. So a salad and a small plate were a perfect sized meal. We enjoyed our time with Molly and Peter. On the way home they showed us some places that they thought we would enjoy. We drove by Preservation Hall that had jazz musicians every Thursday night but suggested we get there early because seating was limited.

Day Four

To begin our day we bought an all day trolley pass that gave us unlimited rides on the Trolley and buses. We then took the Trolley to the end of the line for breakfast at Camellia Grill it has a plantation facade hiding a 1950's diner inside. Only counters and stools, no tables. Another decadent meal. Peter said to try the burger which I did plus a mocha ice, a chocolate ice cream drink with crushed ice. Paul had a ham and cheese omelet which covered the plate. It was fascinating to watch the people work. They moved quickly which made me eat quickly. I'm sure that was with their plan. We then walked down St. Charles Street until we could get to a street that would take us back to Magazine Street. Along Magazine Street is the Audubon Park which houses the Audubon Zoo, beautiful walking trails, trees and grass meadows. I finally stopped and bought a pair of sneakers. Relief. I was ready to throw out those sandals. We continued along Magazine to Nashville Ave back to St Charles Street. Except for one section we walked the entire 11 miles of Magazine street. No wonder by hips are sore. We then hopped on the trolley and saw Sacred Heart again. What a pretty school. We took the Trolley back to Canal Street and this is where my memory gets fuzzy. I believe we walked back into the French Quarter and checked out the Central Grocery which is known for their Muffulata's We got a drink to go and walked along Decatur Street. We went to Jackson Square and watch the street performers. We walked up and down streets all around the French Quarter. We jumped on a trolley and took it along the river front and saw a movie being filmed. We then took the trolley up Canal street to the art museum which was closed by the time we got there. We walked around City Park and took the trolley back to the French Quarter. For dinner we ate at another Brennan's restaurant, The Red Fish. Probably our most disappointing. It was my choice. I had not tried the red fish and it was another New Orleans favorite. Kind of bland and the oysters we had for an appetizer were deep fried and almost tasteless. I was ready to go home. We had had four days of exercise and food and saw a wonderful city with wonderful people. But we still had one more morning. On Friday we packed and got ready to leave. After we stored our luggage we walked to Mother's. Another restaurant known for it's Debris (DAY-bree)roast beef pieces that fall into the gravy while baking and "dark ham" with a crisp carmelized crust. We waited in line and placed our order. It was very good but I was tired of eating by that point. We then took one last walk down Bourbon street and said our good-byes to a city that gave us a perfect vacation. Thank you New Orleans!