I loved New Orleans! It was kitschy, scrappy, full of amazing architecture, food galore, and people. It reminded me of a small beach town that had tons of little trinket shops, with tee shirt slogans you’d never find anywhere else, only on steroids.
Oh, and it had art music and history
We took a walking tour of the garden district one sunny afternoon. Gorgeous mansions that were spared from the worst of Katrina. Ones that are 100+ yrs old and in constant need of repair. Others that are in process of restoration. Celebrity homes, Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, Ann Rice, The Manning family (yes Payton and brothers) and a few others I can’t remember.
The public cemetery is the stuff of every vampire story
Our tour guide told us it’s the waspy-ish spot in the city. Built by the wealthy hot shots of the 19th and 20th centuries. Some before the war and others after (that would be the war of northern aggression in case you wondered). New Orleans was the wealthiest city in the south before that war, and many a shipping magnate set up house in this district. And lest anyone be outdone, they spent lots of money trying to outdo their neighbors. The architecture is reflective of every style in the known world at that time.
And the wrought iron work, so amazing, the more you had the wealthier you were.
Chicago friends joined us over the weekend, largely to sample the food. Saturday we had a big southern breakfast complete with biscuits, seafood, chickory coffee and beignets. Sunday we found a crawfish boil, they had 20lbs and once it was gone it was gone. The guys devoured 3lbs of those little buggers. Head sucking happened…
I am beyond grateful for the shrink wrapped meat I buy in grocery stores
The French district was wonderful. Filled with people from all over, lines for those Cafe Dumond beignets + coffee, and musicians wearing SF 49’ers hats! Street artists and restaurants everywhere. Fresh pralines, every kind of shellfish, Cajun spices and hot sauces littered the shops and eateries.
We toured the cathedral, walked down Royal street, looked at Bourbon (just to say we did), walked by Armand’s (the oysters Rockefeller creator), wandered through the open market, smelled the street food vendors, watched a guy shuck oysters for a group, tried on goofy hats and wandered in and out of stores. It was a feast for all the senses.
I loved it!
Our next interesting spot to park was San Antonio TX. The Alamo, River walk, Tex Mex food and the Mexican market were on the list. I was on a hunt for more Mexican vanilla.
It’s a place I’d love to visit again, but in spring when everything is in bloom and the weather is warmer. It was 35 degrees and we were not dressed warmly enough. Most of our deep cold weather things are back in storage. Rookie mistake for sure.
Currently we’ve made our way across Texas and are in Las Cruces New Mexico for a couple of nights. We’re on the drive one day, rest one day program, it’s working well. Keeps the fridge stocked and gives us a chance to catch up on life.
Tomorrow we land in Tucson AZ, then Mesa AZ
A couple of months of sunshine and warmer temps. Looking forward to seeing our CA friends who migrated to Tucson, and catching up with our Phoenix friends from the 90’s. Maybe a visit or two from Chicago people and a spring training cubs game. I plan to haunt a sewing school that one of our entrepreneurial friends established. Learning for future endeavors.
But the bottom line is, I gotta find a hair salon!
Did you check out the basement at the Alamo?
Nope, we didn’t know about it.