New Orleans For Thirty Six Hours

Goodbye Grayton Beach, Florida

Hello, New Orleans's French Quarter

Sunrise At 6:30 Over The Mississippi River

It's 7:30 and I am back in our room at the French Market Inn, with two large chicory coffees from the famous Cafe Du Monde.  I was up and out on the streets by 5:50, too early but I was awake.  I walked along the Mississippi River, watching a few boats go by, mostly waiting for the sun to rise.  Finally, about 6:30 it started to rise directly across from me.  Not quite the sunrise at Chautauqua Lake or on a beach but still good.  There were lots of joggers out, running on the riverwalk, as the NOLA was just waking up.  I got a cup of coffee from the Cafe, open 24 hours a day and walked the streets for a half hour, sitting down occasionally to read the local paper, waiting for Evie's text to tell me she was up and ready for a chicory coffee.  That's my morning up to now.

Cafe Du Monde At 6:40 AM

Street Life At 6:30

We left Grayton Beach, alas, around 8:30, after making sure two or three times that we had everything, left nothing behind.  Our first half hour was just the way we came in, on Rt 331, across the Choctawhatchee Bay to RT. 10, the highway which runs all the way to New Orleans, in fact, all the way to Houston and beyond.  It was an easy five-hour ride but boring.  For five hours we looked at pine trees on either side of the road, no vistas, no farms, no fields,  just 30 to 40 foot pines which blanketed both sides of the highway, with an occasional break for an overpass or when we drove through a city like Mobile.  It became interesting when we were on the outskirts of New Orleans, a land of many bridges and lots of water.  Fortunately, the NFL game, between the Saints and the Buffalo Bills was in Buffalo traffic was easy.  Once we got near our hotel, we hit a wild New Orleans style parade just the locals having fun marching and playing music.  At first, we thought it might have been a funeral but a local said it's just life in New Orleans.

Back Again To French Market Inn

We were hoping to get into our room at 2:00 when we arrived but we were greeted by a leak in the lobby, a guy wiping up the dripping water from a chandelier, not a good sign.  And our room was not ready, no big deal, so we walked down Decatur, the main street to our destination of choice, the Cafe Du Monde, a 24 hour must visit, for their beignets (you get three with lots of powdered sugar) and a coffee au lait with chicory, the best.

Beignets With Powered Sugar

There were long lines to get in but we were able to quickly find a table by inadvertently walking in the wrong entrance.  We had our beignets and coffee, what Evie was coveting the entire drive, and then we walked around Jackson Square, packed with people, all kinds of street vendors and musicians and performers, almost like a local circus.  Every street corner there was a band, a musician, something to watch, enjoy and tip.

French Market Inn

It was difficult to get back to our room but we wanted to rest up for the night. We were shocked by our room, how roomy it was, with a sitting area, so different from two years ago when we could hardly move around the bed.  So we relaxed, watched some TV and showered before heading back out just as it was getting dark.

St. Louis Cathedral At Jackson Square

Street Musician With West African Harp

Street Art Gallery

I had researched a few places I wanted to hit if we like the decor, the menu and it had the kinds of foods we wanted.  I hoped to try the Royal Oyster Company, highly recommended but I made a right instead of a left and ended up at Royal 801, thinking it was the Royal Oyster Company.  Wrong but right because we loved the place, sat at the bar, got to know the bartender, Stori, a retired Zydeco musician, the gal sitting next to us who works in a gallery. We ordered the highly recommended Seafood Nachos, with shrimp, crawfish, and cheese.  It was to die for and we had enough for the two of us, along with a couple of brews.  By the time we finished, the place had thinned out surprisingly, as people, mostly locals, were heading home.

Bar At Royal Oyster Bar

We then walked the streets, stopping occasionally at a shop or to listen to some street musicians before happening upon our original destination, the Royal Oyster Company.  It had a line but a few seats were empty at the bar so we jumped in, sat down. ordered a  couple of Blue Moons and a dozen oysters.  Yum.  It's has a great mahogany bar, with a huge mirror behind it and it has been serving oysters forever.  It was a good choice and we are thinking of going back tonight for a main course.

Night time

We walked home on still busy streets at 8:30, ready to relax and gear up for another day and night in NOLA.