Random New Orleans Snaps

Today's my last day of pics from NOLA, and they're just a random collection, no real theme.

First up is Jonathan, our Vampire Tour guide - he really got into the part, doing accents and such while narrating the various "vampire" tales throughout the tour:
On the walk home from the tour, I saw this sign and had to take a picture of it. It spoke to me. lol
Here I am on Bourbon St. with two miniature horses, Autumn and Rowdy. Autumn's the one in front. She's going to have a little baby horse in 7 months! Anyway, this just goes to prove that you really never know what you'll see on Bourbon St.Here I am at the end of the night and my bead haul. I know you can't see them that well in the picture, but I even ended up with a flashing LED fleur-de-lis. Big shout out to the Thoth Krewe! Thanks for the beads! (That's about 20+ pounds of beads, btw. I was happy to take them off.)
Speaking of beads, a lot of the trees on St. Charles look like this one year round. St. Charles is the start of many of the Mardi Gras parade routes and also one of the prettiest streets around. Some of the homes there would just knock your socks off.Okay, that's it for the NOLA pics. Time to get back to the business of writing to make up for all the fun that was had! Seriously. I need to get some writing done. I feel slackerish.

More NOLA Pics

We're home now, but I've got more pics to share.

Here's one of our favorite breakfast spots, Petunia's. They serve lunch and dinner too, but we always go there for breakfast. It's the pink 3 story Creole townhouse in the middle, which was built in 1830. One of the fun facts about Petunia's is that it's ceiling fans, made by Hunter, were the first ones installed in the city and have been in continuous use for about 85 years.Hotrod got one of the massive crepes they're know for(he'd already started nibbling on one end before I snapped this shot):I wasn't that hungry, so I went for a hot ham and cheese po-boy. Both were delish and ended up being our breakfast and our dinner, since we took the leftovers home.Across the street from Petunia's is another old home that's been turned into a museum. We didn't go into the museum, but we did wander into the courtyard where I snapped the pic of this hidden stairway:On the other side of the courtyard was an iron gate which led into this typical New Orleans courtyard. I stuck the camera through the bars to get this pic since it was locked. I don't know how much you can tell in this picture, but there are oranges on those trees. Really lovely. I'll have one more post of pics and then that's it. Hope you're enjoying them!

Mother Knows Best

Yesterday, Hotrod and I finally got around to eating at Mother's. I say finally because every time we've been here before we shied away from waiting in line. We are not patient people, what can I say? Well, we know now the wait would have been worth it. Mother's is pretty much an institution in New Orleans and for good reason: they feed you and they feed you well.

Here's our breakfast:That's a crawfish etouffe omelet (Hotrod's), a ham, cheese & mushroom omelet (mine) and a plate of the best freakin' biscuits to ever rise this side of the Mason-Dixon line. (Also notice the excessive helping of grits on each plate.) I love how Mother's doesn't bother with the little dish of individual butters and jams, no, at Mother's they just slap a healthy (hah!) portion of each right on the biscuit plate. Genius! Speaking of biscuits, those were so light and fluffy, I'm pretty sure ground up angel parts must be the secret ingredient.

I am both ashamed and proud to say I cleaned my plate and finished one biscuit. (I come from healthy Italian stock, so sue me.) Hotrod and I then proceeded to order a bread pudding to go. We had a few bites while in the restaurant to test the dessert for freshness (it was plenty fresh and plenty laden with a dark rum/butter/brown sugar sauce) then packed up our remaining biscuits and headed out into the day, as full as a person can be without internal injury.

Mother's is kind of cafeteria style: You go to the counter, order and pay. Then they call you when your order is up. You serve yourself and tipping is not allowed. I can see why the locals dig this joint.
If you get to New Orleans, don't miss Mother's. It's now on our list of Must Visits. This place is the bomb, old school style.

The Life and Times of a Beignet

A beignet (say ben-yay) is fried square of dough covered in powdered sugar. It's also the French word for donut and the official state donut of Lousiana. They're also addictive. Hotrod will probably marry a beignet when I pass.

Cafe Du Monde is the place to get your beignets in New Orleans - and has been since 1862. Fortunately for Hotrod, they're open 24/7, which means his unnatural craving can be assuaged at any hour. How fabulous. Here are some shots from our most recent trip. Those cups are full of hot chocolate, not cafe au lait, although the coffee is equally good. And at a $1.82 for 3 beignets, you can't beat the price.

Here's where the beignets and hot chocolate get whipped up: the infamous Cafe Du Monde server line (we were there during a slow period, normally it's like a battle station in full attack):
Our order. Each person gets water without asking for it. Personally, I think it's to help with any clean-up that might be necessary. I always end up using mine to wipe off some article of Hotrod's clothing. The powdered sugar gets EVERYWHERE.The inside of a beignet - deliciously airy with just the right amout of chewiness.The aftermath. Amazingly enough, we kept ourselves pretty clean this time.The inside of Cafe Du Monde. Usually the place is packed and usually those green "walls" you see are rolled up to open the place to the air, but it was on the chilly side, so the tarps have been down. I can only imagine what an errant gust of wind would do with all that powdered sugar.
We never made it to the aquarium yesterday, so we might do that today or some shopping. I vote for both, but there's a store having a great purse sale here so...

Snaps From N'Awlins

In no particular order, here are a few French Quarter pics from the other day:A great building - one you've probably seen before in other New Orleans shots.

A fun and funky street band - literally. They were in the middle of the street. A little further down was another band, but this was our favorite. They were a mix of dixie and jazz, with a dash of bluegrass and rockabilly thrown in for good measure.
More architecture. This is a few blocks down from our hotel.

This is an interior shot of Pierre Maspero's where we had a fabulous breakfast. This building was originally used as a slave auction house. Kind of sobering in the light of all the New Orleans frivolity.

Today we're headed to the aquarium. It's chilly here, so an indoor activity seems like the right choice.

The Big Easy

Hotrod and I are in New Orleans for a week. We love this town - Hotrod is a Tulane alumni. It's a little tough on the diet, but I'm going to do my best to maintain.

We're going to do two things we've never done in here before - visit the aquarium and take one of the nighttime vampire tours. (Okay, those are both my idea but Hotrod said he would go.)

Hopefully we'll have internet so I can give you some updates through the week. Have a good one!