New Orleans

 My husband had work to do in Mobile, AL back to back weeks, so on the weekend, we drove over to the Big Easy and met a friend who lives in the area. I had not been there since before Katrina.

The French Quarter was as lovely as ever. I am not a party animal, so I don't care for all the drinking and partying that goes on there, but it is fine during the day. I do find the city to generally be dirty and smell bad, but I enjoy visiting once in a while.

 I do enjoy the architecture and wrought iron. Of course, a lot of the things you see are typical tourist stuff. There are a lot of street musicians and entertainers and art for sale.

 Jackson Square is one of the main landmarks in the French Quarter as is Cafe Du Monde!

 The fellow below even had powdered sugar on his eyelashes....his job was to dredge the beignets in powdered sugar.  Yum, I can just imagine that fried smell from the area around the cafe!

 Above, you can see beads on the lamp post. I will say that I would not care to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras! Other towns such as Mobile, have celebrations that are much more family friendly.

 The street car that goes down St. Charles goes through the garden district which is lovely. I have gone out there to see the Park and Zoo, though I would not go again in hot weather. Even in May, it was already beginning to get very hot.

We had dinner at Delmonico, one of Emeril's restaurants. I was not impressed at all. I grew up shrimping and pulling heads off live shrimp out next to the water, but when I pay that much for a meal, I don't expect to have to pull the heads and tails off the shrimp in my shrimp stew. Guess you are paying for the name.

 On Saturday morning, I walked down to the Mississippi. It was getting hot already. You can see why NO is called the Crescent City, with the curve of the river here. There is a ferry you can take across the river to Algiers for a better view of the skyline.

I visited the D Day Museum several years ago, but Jim and our friend had not been so we toured it. They have added a 4 D Movie. It is now called the National WWII Museum. The boats used at the landings on D Day were designed and built in New Orleans by Andrew Higgins. They are called LCVP boats (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personal). They are the reasons the museum is located here. I love history and museums like this one.

 One of my favorite things to do in cities is to walk around and photograph the architecture.

The doorman at our hotel told me that many of the people affected by Katrina actually ended up better off than before after getting money from FEMA. He said he thought it was actually a good thing for the city (other than obviously, the ones that lost their lives). Anyway, it was good to make a visit back to New Orleans. It was a quick trip but we got to see a lot. Love those beignets and pralines!