Here is my New Orleans slideshow on Flickr (click on Show Info in the upper right hand corner once you're there if you want the captions) with more photos if you're interested. There's over 200 photos, just so you know...
Our last day in New Orleans, and Ted finally walks around the neighborhood with a bottle of beer in his hand (and cold leftover pizza in the other). I guess my plan of strolling through town while sipping on a plastic tumbler cocktail at all times didn't quite pan out. Next time, I'll be a little more deliberate and plan my walking routes accordingly.
Before we left for the Amtrak station, we walked back to the part of Frenchman street that was our very first introduction to New Orleans the afternoon we got into town. While Cadence played in Washington Square, I walked around collecting my souvenirs, which were these last minute images:
And then we were back on the train for the long trek home. We spent a good amount of time in the sight seeing lounge while it was still light out.
Even when we were in our seats, Cadence was pretty good about staying busy.
We passed many a water tower...
...many a small town...
...and even many a garbage dump...The train was an interesting way to see parts of the country we had never seen before. This particular route is not as scenic as some others that run through mountain ranges and other beautiful areas of the U.S., but it was interesting to see just how much of the country is still rural or made up of small towns.
I think next time we go to New Orleans, we'll probably fly, but I would still love to see other parts of the country by train. I also think I'd like to travel with other families for vacation. That way, you can take turns watching the kids so you can get some grown-up time. Also, since Cadence is an only child, she would probably appreciate being with other kids.
And that ends our very first spring break family vacation. Who knows where we'll go next year!
Wednesday morning, we decided to visit a local coffeehouse. The owner of the B&B told us about a funky one called The Orange Couch, so we took a little stroll several blocks away.
You can see where the place gets it name. Here's Cadence enjoying a delicious chocolate mochi w/ coconut ice cream filling. It was the least I could do after ordering an espresso shake for myself. I think if I had found that couch, I pretty much would have to start a cafe too.
Next, we took the St. Charles street car to Audobon Park, which is pretty big. Our real destination was the zoo which was at the other end, but the park was just beautiful and made for a nice stroll.
What looks like a tree riddled with wads of wet toilet paper is really a rookery with dozens of egrets nesting in it. Living in Chicago, I don't get to see these kinds of birds in the wild very often, and it was quite the sight to see so many of them in one tree.
We finally made it to the zoo, which is very nice as zoos go. I thought the way they had decorated each area was impressive. Ted and Cadence had fun tickling Buddha's feet.
And you could really tell we weren't in Chicago any more because of all those HUGE palm trees everywhere.
After an exhausting day at the zoo, an exhausting walk down Magazine Street to a Po-boy shop that ended up being closed, an exhausting wait for the bus that just wouldn't come, we somehow made it Mother's Restaurant, which Ted's dad had told us not to miss. The food was good, authentic New Orleans cuisine (not that I'm an expert or anything--I'll need a lot more practice to reach THAT status) and just what we needed after a tiring day of walking, walking and more walking.
We couldn't stay out TOO late with Cadence in tow, but we did hang out in the French Quarter on Tuesday night just a wee bit. It would've broken my heart not to, since my favorite time of day for photography is at night. That's when shops like this old fashioned drug store/soda fountain are closed, and you can peer in through the window and snap away to your heart's content.
We saw quite a few cyclists in New Orleans, and most of them were old cruisers. These were a daring twosome, cycling around the FQ at night. I think I would've been happy to get on the handlebars at this point; anything to get off my feet!
I would totally wear a wig like this one. I just don't know how I'd fit all my hair underneath it.
And here is the family on Bourbon Street. Yes, we took Cadence to that infamous block after dark, and we survived. It was actually pretty tame at 9pm. There was one drunk lady saying Rated R things a little too loudly to male passersby, but I don't think Cadence heard.
I loved how all the venues opened wide their doors and windows so that the music just spilled out into the streets. We didn't need to go inside any of them (and we couldn't w/ Cadence) to hear the music.
We walked back to Jackson Square after the brief peek into nightlife on Bourbon St. and were surprised to find that it was still bustling.
We got to see a local fixture named Peter Bennett play the "glass harmonica." He was quite entertaining and totally worth the couple bucks we threw into his tip glass. If you visit New Orleans, go check him out in Jackson Square.
By this point, we were beyond tired, and Ted looked for a cab while I took one last photo of the St. Louis Cathedral.
And that FINALLY ends Tuesday.
After our mule-drawn carriage tour, we wandered somewhat aimlessly around the French Quarter. Mind you, this is my favorite thing to do when I'm exploring a new place because it gives me a feel for a location which is something I need in order to know how to capture the images that I want to remember the vacation by. However, it was sunny and hot, meaning it was inevitable that the whining would start. Cadence started nagging us for a popsicle because she had seen a vendor in Jackson Square, but we were not in that area any more, and we just couldn't find any place that had anything that resembled either ice cream or popsicles. So too much sun + the heat + endless walking = Cadence on the brink of a meltdown.
We had all but given up and were headed toward the streetcar stop at Dumaine and the riverfront. So imagine my surprise and relief when we stumbled upon this storefront: Meltdown Gourmet Popsicles. It was one of those serendipitous moments that you'll never forget because it averted disaster. Not only that, when they say it's gourmet popsicles? They mean there's a lady in that storefront concocting the most interesting flavor combinations in small batches. I had the pineapple cilantro, and I have thought of that popsicle every day since.
Cadence had the watermelon, and Ted had something like mango ginger. It was just what we needed to put smiles back on our faces. Plus, there was this awesome reddish organge wall next door that was the perfect backdrop for some photos. If you're ever in the French Quarter, please give them a visit. I really want them to be around for the next time we visit New Orleans. They're just a couple streets upriver from Jackson Square on Dumaine near Decatur.
Refreshed by our popsicles and good luck, we headed over to the Riverfront trolley to take a short ride downriver to the free ferry to Algiers Point. Here's Cadence making mommy nervous by doing what any kid would do, sticking her head out the window.
The ferry is free and a mere 5 minutes or so of a ride, if that, but it was a nice view of the city's riverfront from the boat. We were too lazy to actually get off the ferry at Algiers Point, so we just hitched a ride back to Jackson Square.
We decided to get some New Orleans pizza to take a break from all the seafood we'd been eating. We found a place called Angeli's on Decatur that happened to serve really excellent thin crust pizza, and it was pretty awesome.
This is getting to be a really long day, but it's not over yet. To be continued!
We started our first morning with some pastries and coffee in the lovely kitchen at the B&B we stayed at (Sweet Olive in Faubourg Marigny). Our goal, however, was to get beignets and cafe aulaits at Cafe Du Monde, so we headed over to Jackson Square.
The St. Louis Cathedral, which is the oldest working cathedral in the country, overlooks Jackson Square. It kind of looks like a Disney castle.
A school on a field trip had descended upon Cafe Du Monde, so we had to wait extra long for our powder sugar/deep fried dough fix. Cadence thought it was worth the wait, though.
After our sugar high, Cadence and I set off for Spa Aria in the Hotel Monteleone for our first mother-daughter spa experience. I'm not much of a spa person, but I needed a pedicure really bad, and Cadence wanted to have her nails polished, so off we went. I couldn't believe how sweet Cadence was to the woman doing her nails. And I couldn't believe how still she can sit when there's sparkly purple polish involved.
That afternoon, we got a carriage ride tour of the French Quarter with Micky and her mule Jill. In New Orleans, all the carriages are mule-drawn per city ordinance. Mules are stronger and can probably withstand the heat better. If you want a nice half hour off your feet while seeing some historic places in the FQ, find Micky in front of Jackson Square. She's a native of New Orleans and knows everybody.
We figured that everyone should take a long-distance train trip at least once in their lives, and since neither of us had done so, we chose Amtrak as our mode of transportation to take us to New Orleans for Cadence's spring break. I found the Superliner coach accomodations to be spacious and comfortable for the most part, except when you were trying to sleep. I think in the future, we will stick to train trips that don't require overnight rides. I'm glad we did it, though, and Cadence did great.
Once we got to New Orleans and checked into our B&B, it was late afternoon, and we started exploring right away. We were just outside the French Quarter in what I believe is called Farbourg Marigny. I liked that we were in a neighborhood that wasn't touristy, and I also appreciated the police station that was right across the street. By the way, that's pronounced BurGUNdy, not BURgundy.
We found our way to the Praline Connection to jump right into the local flavor. Honestly, that was a lot more fried food than we were used to, and we actually didn't eat too much more deep fried stuff after that (except for the beignets).
I have to say that while I'm not a fan of abundant sunshine (not the best light for photography), the gloaming each day we were in New Orleans was just beautiful. I love that golden light so much.
We called it a night pretty early, as Ted and I were both short on sleep from the uncomfortable night on the train. It felt great to sleep in a king-sized bed that night!
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