Our first full day in the city and I started the morning off right with these...
Cheddar Chex Mix!
I love these and as we can't get them in Canada (at least not in Alberta), I always make sure I get some when I am in the states.
I had to stop at the CVS last night to pick up shampoo & conditioner which I forgot to bring with me so I picked up some snacks too!
We slept in nice and late this morning and just took our time getting ready so by the time we left our hotel room it was 11 am.
We enjoyed our desserts so much last night that we decided to stop by the Red Fish Grill again this morning for brunch.
It's also attached to our hotel so that's a big plus.
I kind of made a deal with myself that I would order at least one healthy meal a day while here so today I opted for the Grande Isle Salad to fulfill that goal.
I just love the decor in here, it's funky.
These "palm trees" were creative.
My Honey had the gulf shrimp and pimento cheese panini with a side of soup (I can't remember what kind), he liked it though.
Here's my salad.
I like how it was presented on the plate - it tasted pretty good too.
It had a remoulade on the shrimp and I didn't know what the was but turns out it's really just a sauce (a tasty sauce).
This is my "angelic" pose because I am being so good and eating a salad!
After we ate we went back to speak to the concierge about where we could find the hop on hop off bus.
She recommended a different bus tour (which we skipped) but we did end up buying two different cematary walking tours and a plantation tour from her.
She also suggested we walk down Magazine Street, she said it is full of little shops and restaurants so I am sure we will take her up on that.
We left there and found the hop on hop off tour that we originally were looking for.
We always try to do the hop on hop off tour if they have one in whatever city we are visiting.
We find they are a great way to get to know a little about the town.
The tour guides are usually full of information and recommendations.
The tour guide we had today ended up being not that great but we did learn some interesting information.
We also got to see a few things that we want to go back and investigate further later on like Mardi Gras World.
There is an aquarium right down town. We usually take them in but we skipped it this time.
The mural was pretty awesome.
I thought these were just some random balloons at first but it is actually a cool statue.
I'm not sure why but I was surprised to see palm trees here, I guess I wasn't expecting it to be so tropical.
Looks to be lot of folks living under the over pass.
Always makes me wonder what their stories are and how they ended up there.
This is probably the most recognizable building in New Orleans to me.
It was all over the news when Hurricane Katrina hit and it reminded me of what a terrible thing everyone here had to go through.
Something else we will have to get back to and check out more thoroughly, a WWII museum.
Don't let these grey skies fool you, it was super hot and humid and the breeze on that bus felt wonderful today.
Just some neat artwork on a building - as usual there was lots of really wonderful graffiti/artwork all around which we really enjoy.
The tour took us through "The Garden District" a funky little part of town.
Right away we started seeing colorful houses.
Check out the bright colors on this one.
The tour guide did teach us that there are balconies and then there are galleries.
Galleries are supported by posts or columns and balconies are not.
I just thought they were all balconies so that was interesting.
The flowers are still in full bloom.
Love this flowering shrub.
The fleur du lis on the garbage can caught my eye.
Love the artwork.
We got to see a bit of Magazine St.
Love the pink building.
Punch buggy blue!
A porch, a balcony and beautiful trim, love it.
We saw this place on one of the You Tube videos we watched before coming (we never did end up getting there while it was open to try it out.)
All the houses here seem to have porches which is so great - I love big front porches, they just make a home seem so inviting.
Next we went up Charles St which is loaded with enormous homes.
Hard to believe this is a one family home - gorgeous!
There are beads everywhere!
Great message!
The trolley - we will most definitely have to take a ride on it while we are here.
Saw this off in the distance and it was most definitely intriguing.
I had no idea such a place existed.
The bus drove by an open garage door into the building so we got a sneak peek of some of the floats in there.
It was right on the water and the Mississippi was in behind.
Love the colorful apartment buildings.
This was the best shot I could get. I couldn't really hear the tour guide but I think he said this was some kind of memorial for Hurricane Katrina.
Just something cool we passed, don't really know the point of it but neat none the less.
Punch Buggy White!
Starting to pass by the French Quarter now
My sister would love these dresses.
Horse drawn carriage.
Not hard to tell that this is the touristy part of town.
Cute sign.
Just Captain Jack Sparrow walking down the street.
Jackson Square - this statue of Andrew Jackson is one of the ones that is being considered for removal because of his shady past.
Cafe du Monde - we absolutely have to hit this place up while we are here - it's a New Orleans must do!
Lots of construction going on here - in preperation for the city's 300th birthday celebrations next year.
Lots of folks are in the Halloween spirit here.
A statue of Joan of Arc.
They call it Joanie on a Pony - isn't that great?
The French Market - another place I'd like to check out while we are in town.
More color.
A memorial to those that lost their lives on the Deep Water Horizon Drilling Rig.
As we were driving by this place, a lady in a car passing the bus yelled up to us that this is the best place to eat.
It was called Eugene's and we were planning on checking it out but never made it back there.
More great colors.
Apparently this is the street where all the locals hang out.
The LGBQT section of town?
Love the old building.
Another great building with another great balcony (or gallery).
Park named after Louis Armstrong
We passed by this fantastic cemetery with the above ground tombs - can't wait until we go on our tour so we can have a closer look.
New Orleans was once the richest city in America and it's not hard to tell.
So many grand, ornate buildings - all those rich folks showing off their money.
I think these buildings are stunning.
We stayed on the hop on hop off bus for the entire route - it rained a little, just a sprinkle, but it was so hot that it felt refreshing.
We stayed on until we got back to the Magazine St. stop then we got off to check things out a bit.
We found a little place to eat right away called Juan's Flying Burrito.
They don't do Caesar's in the states so I opted for an extra spicy virgin mary instead and this was so delicious.
It had horse radish and pickle juice and was loaded with goodies like beans, olives and even had a pickled okra on there.
More beads
The decor was funky mexican
We tried the trio of dips for an appetizer.
I thought these coffee can light covers were a great idea.
My Honey had beans and rice of course.
The food was really great and the place had a great vibe.
We were happy we found it.
This shop was right next door - it had some funky umbrellas.
We thought we could do a little shopping but the stores on the street had all closed up at 5 pm.
We decided we would come back and in the meantime, we just started strolling back towards where we thought the French Quarter was as that is where we are staying.
Apparently iron was expensive so it was a way for the wealthy residents to show off.
I love it.
Saw some great houses along the walk.
The color on this one was so beautiful - such a pretty blue.
So many beautiful details on the homes too.
Just a random fence full of beads.
Punch Buggy White!
These trees were just stunning, I have a thing for trees anyway and these ones were even more spectacular with all the greenery growing on the branches.
Another great little place.
Love this shade of blue too.
We saw some really fabulous light fixtures there too (I also seem to have a thing for them) and I thought this one was great.
I think if we come to New Orleans again, we will stay in this part of town.
The painted on window boxes - neat touch.
Up close.
I was so interested in looking at them that I almost stepped on this.......
YUCK!
I only had my flip flops on so that would have been so gross.
I thought it was a rat but My Honey figures it was a squirrel.
Don't think it much matters at this point.
Heading up St Charles Street now, these homes are just incredible.
Each one seemed to be better than the last.
I was just in awe with these places - total infatuation.
Looks like some bamboo just growing along the side of the road.
Wow.
Just a random pole full of stickers.
I adore cobble stone streets too.
Police on horseback always seem to draw a crowd of admirers.
I like it - makes them seem more accessible somehow and who doesn't love horses?
I think they are such proud looking animals and they instill a sense of peace & calm - at least to me.
This was a display in the door way of a store that made us want to go inside but unfortunately it was closed.
We basically just headed back to the room and spent the evening watching some of the news coverage of the horrendous shooting that happened in Las Vegas today.
It must have been so frightening.
I just can't fathom what would drive a person to commit such a horrible act - it is unthinkable and my heart just goes out to all the families that have lost loved ones.
Because of the actions of one person, so many lives have been changed forever and it's truly a sad, sad thing.
However, some of the emerging stories of how people were helping each other and risking their own safety is a wonderful reminder that there is good in the world - more good than bad I believe - and it makes me feel a bit better.
We do A LOT of walking when we go on vacation!
It's been some time since everything showed green on my Fitbit Stats so that made me feel good.
Until next time, be happy!
No comments:
Post a Comment