Day 9 - New Orleans, LA (Day 2)

What a great day!  The sun is out, there's a light breeze and we have a better view of our campsite by the canal.

Pontchartrain Landing

Site #19

We took the campground shuttle to the French Quarter.  The streets were pretty quiet when we arrived at 10:30.  

Corner of Burgundy St. & Toulouse St.
(the shuttle dropped us here)

Dauphine St. & Toulouse St.

That changed quickly ... this turned out to be French Quarter Festival weekend!  More than 800 free musical performances will be presented over 4 days.

Looking down Toulouse St.
toward the Mississippi River

Waiting for the parade on Bourbon St,

And here it comes!

Cafe Du Monde was on our "must go there" list.  We skipped breakfast, so beignets sounded very good by 11:15.  The place was packed.  There were long lines at the carry-out and table seating entrances.  This was a novelty stop.  Beignets are tasty, the powdered sugar makes a mess, and the coffee was good.

It's not fancy

But, it's fun

River's Edge Restaurant
is across from Cafe Du Monde

Next, we headed off on a 2 hour narrated bus tour of the city.  It's impossible to share everything we learned here.  A few highlights ...

The Super Dome is impressive

New Orleans has many modern buildings

Many older structures, too

Mardi Gras floats are constructed at
Mardi Gras World next to the Convention Center

Dick studies where to get
off the sightseeing bus

St. Louis Cemetery

We stopped at Mother's Restaurant ... another "must go there" stop.  Carol had a red beans, rice and ham plate.  Dick had the famous FERDI special (original Po' Boy sandwich).  The meals were unusual and delicious!

One of the few times there
was no line out the door

We met some very helpful strangers and saw some strange sights.  One thing is certain ... these folks love their city and really like to party.

This man saw us studying the city map and
offered directions and recommendations.

The festival brought a huge crowd, a parade, costumes, street performers, an art show, and lots of music from 19 different stages.

The Silver Mime

The Gold Mime

A huge art display circled
Jackson Square

We listened to hours of music.  Some even sounded like the jazz we expected.

Borderland Dixie Jazz Band (from Austria)
was our hands-down favorite

We left for home at 8pm and will return tomorrow.