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I had a walking tour planned for today that was disrupted a bit due to our having to move our car out and back into the Harrah's parking structure (validation is only good for 24 hours at a time). It's a good thing we have one more full day here so we can catch all the sights we missed today!
We started the day off at Cafe du Monde, a coffee shop on Decatur Street that was established in 1862 and has remained relatively unchanged over the years. I had some beignets (pronounced ben-yays, and yes, I looked that up before I order them!) and a cafe au lait and we sat and people watched a bit before heading out to the French Market to walk around the various stands set up. If you're looking for souvenirs, the French Market is the best place in New Orleans to shop. Everything is priced much better than at any of the other stores in the French Quarter.
After wandering around a bit we had to walk the full length of Decatur back to Canal to move the car, and by this point I had given up on the rest of my
walking tour for the day. Instead we walked the shorter distance over to the Riverwalk and decided to ride the free Canal Ferry over to Algiers. Once you get to the other side, there is a shuttle that takes you to Marti Gras World where you can see how Marti Gras is organized and put together. This sounded interesting until we learned that it was $17 a person for the tour. Instead we decided to wander around Algiers a bit and then ride the ferry back to Canal Street.
By this time we were pretty hungry and decided to walk the length of Decatur back to a Mexican restaurant we had noticed on the edge of the French Market (El Gato Negro). I had a vegetable quesadilla with rice and beans and enough iced tea to fill a bath tub. Doing all that walking can sure make you thirsty! We spent the rest of the day wandering the streets of the French Quarter, stopping once more at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop to get some photos of it in the daylight (the place is almost pitch black inside at night) and seeing the rest of Bourbon Street as it looks before
Jean Baptiste Le Moyne
Founder of New Orleansall the madness starts each night.
We then went back to Harrah's for our 30 minutes of play time to get our parking validated for the day. It was another bad day for gambling (as they usually are!), so we got out as soon as possible and headed back out to enjoy one of our last nights in the city. We ended up at the Maison Bourbon Jazz Club on Bourbon Street, where I had my first Mint Julep and we listened to probably the best live music I've heard, well, ever. The main musician, Jamil Sharif, was incredible, and it literally felt like we had stepped back in time listening to him sing and blow his trumpet while accompanied by the band. He has a website
here ...you should check it out!
Tomorrow we are set to finish my walking tour of the French Quarter and then maybe walk over to St. Lous Cemetary #1, the oldest cemetary in New Orleans and the site of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau's crypt. I'm also tempted to try some alligator meat before we leave but I'm not sure I'll be brave enough. I can't believe our trip is almost over!
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Michael
non-member comment
Is that powdered sugar on the beignets? That must certainly have got you awake and full of energy for the day! Is is just me, or did you think the French Quarter looked less French than the Spanish areas you've visited looked Spanish (Does that make sense?) The Quesadilla looked tasty and I liked the brick fireplace in Laffite's Blacksmith Shop.