...no, we are not the Saint's that is more of a reference to the New Orleans Saints from the NFL this year... Now sitting in the departure lounge at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport awaiting our flight to Los Angeles... today has been something of a Louis Armstrong day. After breakfast walked up Canal Street and along North Rampart and into the Louis Armstrong Cemetery No.1#...believed to be the oldest cemetery in New Orleans dating back to something like 1780 something. All in fairly rough order and we wonder if this was an area affected by the flooding from Katrina as much of the paving tiles are uneven and lifted and the crypts were all displaying damage apart from some recently restored. Interesting slab of history as the French and Spanish influence was very apparent ... read more

Weather was magnificent and plan had been to head off to the Audobon Zoo but things conspired against a little and that could not occur but not a major. Had breakfast in the hotel just so as to get at some fresh fruit and slightly more orthodox food...the food here is fantastic but takes a little to get used to it and is very rich. Its consistency is generally softer as in Gumbo, jambalya, red beans etc which are all more consistent with a thick minestrone or slightly heavier. Miss something to chew on sometimes and can sit a little heavy sometimes...the mainstays of the diet stem from poorer aspects of the regions history and people. Very original and generally tasty, save for grits. Then headed to the Audobon Insectarium, part of the Audobon Institute. Interesting ... read more

Real early start to the day and it was not pretty... up at 5.30 ish and on the way to the airport a little after 6.30 am. Reubs reinforcing the fact that he is not a morning person and best left to his own devices until around 9 or after he has been fed and watered.. Pouring with rain and a little chilly so a good day to be moving on...all going swimmingly until check in for our first leg flight into Atlanta when found out flight now delayed by an hour ... or may be more. Our 8.30 flight left at 9.50 getting in a little after 11 and around 40 minutes after our connecting flight from Atlanta through to New Orleans had gone...I said 'blast it'. That was fine and we caught a flight ... read more

Started the day at an Outlet Mall..the first one we went to on our arrival in Orlando and the one we have not been able to get near since due to the most amazing queues of traffic. Incredible backlogs and traffic jams as people sought to get that extra special pair of Nike running shoes... Regardless of all that, today it was oh so quiet, no queues of traffic and fine for a leisurely stroll the standard husbands 3 paces behind the good wife, carrying the purchases. Gentlemen, the shopping husbands club is universal..you take a seat next to the other 6 guys, bags from previous adventures piled around their feet and with the odd child concealed amongst them. The standard 'I feel your pain brother' eye contact and nod as you sit quietly and wait. ... read more

As stated in the title it was a quiet day at Disney Studios today...no it wasn't it..it was just quieter - but that ain't hard. All in all it was still a lot better and only some parts of the park were manic as opposed to every square inch.. Weather was superb today but quite humid and a little muggy..especially when in close proximity to others in queues. We were in the park at 11 am this morning and frankly it did not make a skerrit of difference..this is the busy time of the year. Having said that it was still a good day and we stayed until around 4 pm but made a conscious decision to leave so as to better ensure the kids got an earlier night. It took the longest to get in ... read more