Louisiana

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Sorry for the long delay. The good news is I now have finished my master's and can focus my energy on posting pictures of our trip. Here we go:

From Pensacola we drove to New Orleans, the French Quarter, where we had lunch. We then drove north through Louisiana and stopped in Natchitoches, where we had a delicious dinner of meat pies before continuing on to Dallas, Texas, to stay with Nickey's brother, Leo.

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Photos

Lake Pontchartrain
This is the bridge over Lake Pontchartrain leading to New Orleans. The lake is so large it feels as though you are actually driving over ocean. The speed limit on the bridge was a ridiculously slow 45 mph, that we quickly learned no one follows (as cars flew by and gave dirty looks).

French Quarter
The French Market on the southeast side of town is open everyday and carries everything from Mardi Gras beads to knock-off sunglasses. It is on the Mississippi River and has been a public market since 1791.

French Quarter
This is just an example of the French Quarter architecture. Nickey liked the wrought iron balconies. Much to our surprise, the French Quarter did not show many signs of Katrina. (The drive into town was a bit more sobering with many houses still abandoned and destroyed).

French Quarter
Some church with museums on either side in the French Quarter. Like how detailed we are on this picture :).

Lunch
We ate lunch at Cafe Pontalba. Nickey had jambalaya and Cody had the sampler with red beans and rice, sausage, jambalaya and gumbo, washed down with an Abita beer (from Abita Springs, La). The restaurant was open-air style and we could hear the Louisiana street music playing "When the Saints Go Marching In." It was a very "New Orleans" moment.

Cafe du Monde
Although still stuffed from lunch, we had to go to the world famous Cafe du Monde for the beignets loaded with powdered sugar. The best part was breathing on the beignet and spraying the sugar everywhere.

Cafe du Monde
As you can see the beignets (french donuts) are very messy. The floor is covered in sugar. The outdoor cafe only serves the donuts (plus drinks to wash them down).

Garden District Cemetery
On the other side of New Orleans is the Garden District with beautiful Greek revival style homes. This is their above ground cemetery. The huge stone structures are placed anywhere they can fit and hold multiple generations of deceased family members.

Garden District Cemetery
For those families unable to afford the huge tombs, the outside perimeter wall is filled with individual stone caskets (most unmarked).

Garden District Cemetery
If you look close enough you can see Hugh Grant's grave on the right. We thought it was funny!

Natchitoches
In the northern part of Louisiana was the river town of Natchitoches (Nak-i-tish). It is where "Steel Magnolias" was based on and where the film was made. It is also home of Magee's meat pies (quite tasty).

Natchitoches
The old town area is located right on the Cane River. Everything was closed by the time we made it into town, but the walk along the river was beautiful.

Natchitoches
This was one of the buildings along the old town river walk. In addition to may adorable shops, Natchitoches has a ton of bed and breakfasts. We both really enjoyed this quaint little town.