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Published: July 28th 2010
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We arrived in New Orleans on Tuesday at lunchtime. We were looking forward to 3 days in the one place. The day before had been a long sticky day of driving and it would be nice to be in the one place, especially when we saw that the room was so nice-and with AC. The hotel was a boutique style one within walking distance of downtown and the main attractions. So we got right to it that afternoon and wet for a nosey around the French Quarter. The style of the buildings is really something and we spent ages just wandering the streets. There was so much diversity here that we didn't see in Texas, but it seemed to be a place where this was accepted-also not like Texas! And there was a really good vibe. The people were really friendly and we could have listened to the locals talk about 'them po-boys' and say 'hi baby doll' to us all day long! We found a bar to cool off in but couldn't stay long as the cheesey guy with the mic just kept talking to us-and we were the only ones there!
Coming into New Orleans was really interesting-the
highways are built like bridges for miles above the water. It was good to see that the city really seems to have rebuilt itself after Katrina, but the signs of the hurricane are still evident in some places.
On the second day we really focused in on working our way through the menu of southern cuisine. For lunch we sampled some gumbo and for tea we shared jambalaya! Both were pretty good-plenty of cajun flavour and spice and the usual good size of portions. We even managed to get to Pat O'Brien's Irish bar for a famous 'Hurricane cocktail'-well, someone else had bought it and didn't like it! Bourbon street was well worth a look at nighttime. It had a real seedy feel to it during the day but at night it was just lively and there was plenty of live music and dancing in the bars. We really had a laugh and ended up chatting to some guys from Atlanta in a bar who promised to show us some 'Southern hospitality' and invited us to come and stay. They said they would show us their elk (the dead ones on the wall that they had hunted!) and cook
us a big meal. Unfortunately, they seem to have changed their minds when the hangover set in! So much for southern hospitality, eh?!!
The next day, after having spent the past couple sweating up a storm in the heat everyday, we decided to check out an old style one screen cinema in the garden district. We rode the St Charles st cable car (which is just great itself with old wooden seats and open windows) and we got there for the matinee which was 'Inception'. The old 'theatre' (they spelt it right) was full of charm and we think, the oldest in Louisiana and there was even the owner, a little old man of about 80 there when we came out to ask us how we enjoyed the movie! It was great fun and the film was really good, if a bit weird, though that seems to be Leo's thing these days. After that, we decided we had to try out one of the top 100 chinese restaurants in the US-well, it was right across from our hotel! We had an amazing General Tsao's Chicken-we don't seem to get that at home and even managed to take home enough
lunch for the next day!
Before we left, we had to try the famous swamp tours and see if we could spot a few alligators-and we did! Unfortunately we weren't on a 'Gentle Ben' style boat but it was pretty open and scary enough when the alligator was swimming towards us with its teeth showing. We also saw baby alligators and learnt that a mother alligator may stay with her babies for up to 2 years but afer that it may just eat them!! Really! There were turtles too, and loads of other birds, but the alligators were the main event for us! We travelled a good distance through the swamp and saw gum trees and loads of tupelo trees. There was even evidence of Katrina right the way along the swamp, with missing houses and just foundations left behind and one house that we actually saw the foundations of, and the house itself was about 2 miles further down the river! Must have been awful. The guide said that the eye of Katrina came straight up that river.
After a fun packed three days, it was time to hit the road for Mississippi (why do we all learn
how to spell it as a child?) and Tennessee! We really enjoyed New Orleans and would love to go again-great city, though sooo hot that we were hoping for some relief further north...
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maxine
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hows it hanging
hi deb and daz love the pics about the aligators u both r soooo brave miss u so much was that message from someone at the timeshare caught u both out ha ha im not used to this its took me three days already sitting with one finger love u both very much luv mum max xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx