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We had some time to kill today, in between checking out of our Motel 6 in East New Orleans and checking into our new hotel at the Best Western St. Christopher on Magazine Street (located right off Canal Street, in the heart of the French Quarter). We ate a late breakfast at IHOP and then went exploring around the city, driving past more than our fair share of FEMA trailers and then seeing a completely different side of life in the Garden District (huge homes, and gorgeous!). We parked near the corner of Washington and Prytania and walked aroud the Lafayette Cemetary. The cemetaries here have always fascinated me, and this one was no exception.
After wandering around for awhile, we headed back toward Harrah's and parked our car in the casino parking lot so we could validate our parking ticket and avoid the $28 a day valet fee for our hotel. New Orleans is definitely not a good place to have a car.... it is far easier to just walk or rely on public transportation everywhere.
We checked into our hotel at 3pm, dropped off our luggage and headed back out again. Magazine Street turns into Decatur Street
Rebuilt home in East New Orleans
One of the wealthier rebuilt homes we saw during our exploration of East New Orleansas soon as you cross Canal Street heading into the French Quarter. We walked the length of Decatur Street, past the shops and Jackson Square, taking pictures and people watching along the way. We stopped at Margaritaville for dinner. I always love the one in Las Vegas, and this one was just as good. I had a veggie "cheeseburger in paradise", fries and a mojito, and after dinner we walked down to Gov. Nicholls Street to find Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's house (thanks to our internet search to find their address). We snapped some pictures and then walked back down Decatur Street to Harrah's to gamble for the 30 minutes required to validate our parking ticket. Today was not a lucky gamblng day, but at least it was more fun than handing the money over to a valet!
We spent the rest of the night wandering the streets among the tourists, taking in the sights and dodging our way through the crowds of people crowding the streets of the French Quarter. We also walked to the end of Bourbon Street (to St. Philip Street, located past all the crazy touristy bars) and went to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, the
Lafayette Cemetary #1
Located at Washington and Prytania oldest bar in the USA since 1772 and one of the places on my list of "things to see". Jean Lafitte was a famous pirate during the early 19th century, known for commanding a set of troops during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. I think we're going to go back there tomorrow to get some better pictures of the place. It's pretty dark inside, but definitely a cool place to visit, especially since it's away from the main section of Bourbon Street and not filled with crazy drunks like some of the other places in the area.
On the way back to our hotel we decided to bypass Bourbon Street and walk back down Decatur Street instead. I got some cool night shots of St. Louis Cathedral (in Jackson Square) on the way back. Earlier today there was a wedding that had just ended when we walked passed. It really is one of the prettiest buildings here and certainly a great place for picture taking.
Tomorrow we are starting the day off with breakfast at the famous Cafe Du Monde, followed by my self-guided walking tour of the French Quarter. Hopefully the weather will cool down
a little!
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Michael
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ohhh, those photos of Lafayette #1 are beautiful, that's one of the places on my list. Hahahaha, like the reasoning on losing the money gambling :D The hotel room looks cool with the brick wall, and more tasty food. mmm. And I love that picture of the church with the shadow cast upon it, that's amazing. Oooh, did you go in Marie Laveau's, that looks an exceedingly exciting store.