A day in New Orleans (NOLA)

We planned ahead. We discussed how to deal with Remy -- possibilities included having him ride in the (covered) back of Rick's truck, having me drive and have Rick ride in the far back seat, leaving him at home, carrying him around NOLA in a backpack ... I drove. Rick rode in the back. I'm still not sure why, but I wasn't going to argue about it. Remy mostly just sat on my lap. We didn't take a backpack, so Remy walked. He did really well, but he started running out of steam about the same time I did. Fortunately, whether he'd admit it or not, I think Rick did, too; so that was when we headed back.

We parked at a recommended public parking site along the waterfront. The website had said that if you were in by 10, you could park the whole day for $10. After we had parked and were walking away, we saw the sign that said you had to be in by 9 in order to pay only $12. Oh, well.

We started into the French Quarter along the west side of Jackson Park:

The first thing I noticed that was photo-worthy was a sign for a public museum in the works. The name of this museum is Cabildo, which is also the name of a wonderful band in West Michigan. So, of course I looked it up. It is a town council, a local government council, or a town hall.

We walked past the construction to the Basilica of St Louis.

This one and the next photo were ensconced in the back of the sanctuary, keeping guard. Sorry to say, I'm not sure who they are, although the next one may be Joan of Arc. There's a golden statue of her (that I couldn't get a shot of because I ran out of memory in my camera) near the French Market.

Joan of Arc, I think.

A view from the back. This place was very pretty, but I don't think it's as big as St Andrew's or St Adalbert's in GR.

Long view of the ceiling.

Slightly closer view of the ceiling.

This statue of Andrew Jackson is the centerpiece to Jackson Park.

By the way, before we walked through the park we stopped at a Tourist Information place. The man who "helped" us in there was unable to provide a map (or directions) to Preservation Hall, and his recommendation as to where to find a public restroom was to frequent a restaurant or coffee house. Later on, we found several public restrooms and were stymied as to why this information was not readily available.

Rick headed over to the Jackson Brewery (or some such) to use the facilities and suggested that I listen to some street musicians while waiting, which I did. This combo was stationed outside the Cafe du Mond, and I'm guessing they make quite a pretty penny in such a prominent spot all day long. And they were quite good, very charming and interactive as well as consummate musicians.

A little taste of the music outside of Cafe du Mond.

I also observed a couple of bicyclists whose clothing advertised the fact that they are riding cross country to raise money for someone. I didn't get a chance to ask them where they had started or how far they were riding each day. I do know that riding along the Gulf Coast has to be one of the easier parts of the journey because of the flatness.

The trombonist left his chair and was interacting with some tourists. The dog directly across from our bench shared his water with Remy.

As we walked, we peered down an alley, and here was this lovely art piece.

This peaceful fountain was being observed only by a couple of men sleeping on park benches.

There were many, MANY wrought iron balustrades, and many, MANY leftover Halloween decorations. This was only one.

I found an Aveda salon, and I wanted to get the phone number, so I took a picture of the sign. I'll call up to see how much they charge for a haircut in NOLA.

Louis Armstrong Park. Rick taking a picture of the statue of a marching band.

A little more of the band. A little less of Rick.

This trio of musicians was playing Amazing Grace. I said to Rick, "They sound classically trained." They were good, but not very jazzy in style. They were also young, probably college students.

This officer was parked right outside of the spot where we had our lunch at Cafe Portalba. I wanted you to see the symbol of NOLA, the crescent with the star in the center. 

Outside the restaurant some sort of film or TV shoot was going on. I think it was a newscast about the work going on at the Cabildo, because there was a man in a suit interviewing people.

After lunch (Rick had a combination that included gumbo, beans and rice, and I think some sort of sausage. I had shrimp Creole, which was excellent! I also had two very large glasses of water.), we strolled along the river to the spot where a ferry takes people across to the Algiers neighborhood. By this time, we were getting pretty pooped, so when we got to Algiers we just turned around and took the ferry back. It might be an adventure for another time ... or not. This is a view from the deck of the ferry just before we started back.

A couple of barges fairly racing each other across the foreground, with the modern city of NOLA in the background.

More city.

See that wake coming. The ferry was so much like a tugboat and flat in the water that we didn't even notice the waves.

I beautiful church along the skyline on the eastern edge of the French Quarter.

I ran out of memory, so I couldn't get the actual statue, but I thought it was important that NOLA has a beautiful statue honoring the immigrants to this country. We also enjoyed a dynamic piece which you had to walk around to take in the changes in design. That one was dedicated to all (especially the Jews) who died in WWII. 

Seems like a thoughtful city.

The streets that run to and away from the river are alive with a cool breeze. The streets that cross them are heavy and hot. I'm glad we were there in November, not July. The last time I visited NOLA was in about 1985 with Chuck. The French Quarter doesn't look too different from what I remember, but the "city" part is a lot bigger. Also, I remember going across the river to a little restaurant where we had a dozen oysters in the half shell for some ridiculously low price. I didn't see any eating places near where we were along the river. I wonder if they got washed away, or if some zoning changed, or both.

Because we chose to go so early in the day, there wasn't a lot of music happening. That was Rick's main reason for going. Without the music, there's mostly eating, drinking, and shopping. Except for lunch, neither of us wanted to just eat, and since we're the nomadic type these days, we didn't really want to buy stuff, although I may go back before Christmas or before returning to the north in April, just to pick up a few fun things for friends and family. The French Market was intriguing. The food smells titillated, and the "flea market" part invited us in with its colors and textures, but we abstained.

I'm glad to be back "home," and so is Remy. We're both pretty pooped from a long, hot day of walking; but it was fun, and I'm glad I took him along.