New Orleans – March 25, 2014

The Place that is The Adventure

New Orleans lives in our national conscience.  It has co-starred in countless Hollywood movies.  It has been the center of natural catastrophe.  Everyone has their own mental vision of “Nawlins” – party city, historical architecture, jazz central, city in crisis with refugees in the Superdome…  So today, we went to make our own memories in NOLA.

We are staying in the KOA New Orleans West.  Not only do they provide you with a free shuttle into the French Quarter (and back at the end of the day), they also provided a pet walking service so Tiki had respites while we were gone all day.  On the shuttle on the way into town, they gave us a tour of the beautiful “Garden District”, and dropped us at Jackson Square in the French Quarter (Vieux Carre).

We did a ton of things, the full list is below.  What were our highlights?

St. Louis Cathedral with the beautiful frescoes inside and the tarot card readers outside.  There was a funeral in progress and we were fortunate to see a brass band play a dirge for the mourners and then lead them in a procession with jazz tunes.

The beautiful brick and wrought iron buildings, narrow streets, hidden alleys and courtyards.

The street musicians and performers, especially the Calypso Tumblers (yes, you saw them on America’s Got Talent) who assembled an audience of hundreds for their show.

Other things we did/saw:

·         We had beignets and coffee at Café du Monde.

·         We walked through Jackson Square, saw the Cabildo and Presbytere.

·         We stopped at the Preservation Hall.

·         We walked down/up Bourbon, Royal, Chartres and Decatur Streets.

·         We walked through the old creole house called the Madame John Legacy.

·         We had lunch at Felix’s Oyster Bar – Russ had oysters, Dana had jambalaya.

·         Dana bought a hat at the French Market.

·         We heard Dixieland Calliope music played on the roof of the paddle wheeler The Natchez before it left for its evening cruise.