A Couple Of Nights Is Enough

Aloha New Orleans

It's 6:40 and once again, I am sitting in the lobby of the Best Western, drinking coffee, waiting for the breakfast bar to open, We are in no hurry this morning as we have a fairly short, for us, drive of five hours to Shreveport.  So we may go for a walk around the Louis Armstrong Park before we leave this morning.

Drumming On Plastic Buckets

Saturday we continued our hedonistic ways, eating and drinking our way through the French Quarter, walking almost eights miles and people watching as well.  Our day began as usual with early coffee and a relaxing breakfast in the lobby of the Best Western.  We began our walk around 10:00 and did not return to the Best Western until 1:00.  We would walk for 30 minutes, then sit for 10, and continue with that most of the day. We listened to music at the French Market, an outdoor market of food stands as well as t-shirts, jewelry, and all kinds of momentos of New Orleans.  It reminded us both of markets in Istanbul.  

Entertaining The Crowd

A Hard Way To Make A Living

We then walked towards the Cafe Du Monde but the lines were so long we decided to walk to Jackson Park.  We watched a couple of kids entertain a crowd of a hundred with music and dance.  We then walked along Bourbon Street almost to the end. Even in the morning, it was crowded with revelers, with people in bizarre outfits, mostly drinking in open containers. We walked back down to Decatur for lunch at Coops, another dive bar.  We checked to see we were vaccinated and found a seat at the bar. We shared a bloody mary, a Coop burger, and fries and both were excellent, especially the fries.  The waitress was great, accommodating us and we really liked the ambiance.

Bourbon Street

As I mentioned, we walked back to the hotel, arriving at 1:00 and relaxed, recharged our batteries until 3:30 when we went out for another walk, basically to get a coffee and beignets at the Cafe Du Monde. We stopped at Jackson Park and watched a wedding in the park.  The weather was perfect and it's an amazing place to get married.  

Wedding At Jackson Square

We then waited in line for coffee and beignet for about 20 minutes before finding a table. We sat and ate and people watched, then brushed the powdered sugar off our clothes and walked back to the hotel. I googled how much sugar they use in a day and came up with 1200 pounds on a busy day. They are open 24 hours a day by the way.   

Bride, Band, And Family Marching

By 6:30, we were ready to get back out there and walked this time at dusk. We heard music on the next block, walked over and a wedding procession was winding its way down the street, the bride and groom in front, followed by a brass band of black musicians, then the wedding party and attendees.  It was really festive and cool.  

For dinner, we had enough walking and stayed at our end of the French Quarter and decided to eat at a new restaurant called St. John. It was a good choice as we found the last two seats at the bar and the bartenders were exceptional.  

Bartenders At St. John's

One of the bartenders went through his favorite so we followed his advice and I ordered the short ribs and Evie had a caesar salad and oyster appetizer, with oysters done three different ways.  We talked with a couple from Atlanta and the husband had heard of Chautauqua.  By the time we got our food, all tables were filled and people were surrounding us at the bar, ordering drinks and waiting to get a table.  It was a busy, crazy place.  We ended the night by ordering Evie a sidecar as a nightcap. Interestingly, our bartender gave us our bill and charged us for the sidecar, thinking we had already closed out.  Honest John that I am, I told him about his mistake and they went back and checked and realized their mistake. We paid the correct amount and left happy with another fun evening. 

Bubbles On The Streets As We Walk Home

We didn't get home until 9:45, exhausted from our day and watched some TV but soon turned off the light and went to sleep,  

More Beignets, Beer, And Oysters, Please

As we leave New Orleans, a few observations. First, I forgot to mention on Saturday's blog that on our way into New Orleans,  numerous homes and condo roofs were covered with blue tarps, a result most likely of Hurricane Ida on August 30th. I also remember some of the hotels in the French Quarter were closed for repairs until mid-October. We were also pleased to see a very diverse crowd enjoying the restaurants and walking the streets, many with family. Still, the restaurants, hotels, and shops all seem to depend on African Americans to either check you in a hotel, serve you at a restaurant, or sell you something in a shop. It shows how important jobs like these are and the need for people to fill them.  Without them, there would be no place to eat or shop. Finally, one of the new businesses seems to be giving foot massages; the parlors are run by Asians and we passed many on our walks. The French Quarter is a place to eat, drink, shop, and people watch. Once you have had a couple of days of that, it's time to move on and see other parts of Louisana.