Hello NOLA

We had a great weekend in New Orleans, and I am finally getting a chance to share some of the fun and the photos. My brother and his wife came along with us, and it was great to spend time with them.

We were greeted at our hotel by this beautiful lobby.

This is the first time Jim and I have stayed right on Bourbon Street, and I must say the music kept up a steady level of sound all afternoon and into the evening.

Of course, Jim spent a lot of time like this.

We took a little walk, and settled on this restaurant for lunch.

The gumbo was yummy. (The soup, not my dog.)

And we enjoyed eating on the balcony overlooking Bourbon Street. Yes, Ted was sporting his Colts jacket. Remember, this was before the game.

This was the view across the street. There were many Halloween decorations up around NOLA. I'm guessing Halloween is a pretty big party in the French Quarter. Of course, every night is a pretty big party in the French Quarter.

We continued our walk down Bourbon Street to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. We tried their famous hurricanes, and we're pretty sure they are the best in the French Quarter.

Ted and Cheryl posed in front of the bar, which is the oldest in the US.

We headed down for a walk along the river, and were immediately accosted greeted by a slick character telling the guys that he "can tell you where you got your shoes."

The answer, of course, is "on your feet", and in the time it took him to deliver the punchline, he had applied polish to each of their shoes and was quickly buffing them to a shine. For 20 bucks. Can you say suckers?

Jim and I standing in front of the river.

We stopped in at Tujague's, which is another old, well-known bar in the French Quarter. This is Paul, the bartender, who could be described as a wee bit grumpy. We learned that the stories we had been told on the cocktail tour may not, in fact, be true. It seems everyone in NOLA has a story. Fact or fiction is for us to decide.

St. Louis Cathedral is the centerpiece of Jackson Square, and was looking especially beautiful in the bright sunshine.

It is beautiful inside, as well.



Ted especially liked the Jackson Square area, with its artists, musicians, and street performers sharing their talents on a beautiful day.

I love looking at all the balconies in the French Quarter.

For dinner, we went to Arnaud's, and ate in the Jazz Bistro. Here, the waiter is preparing Cafe Brulot for the table next to ours.

It is made with coffee, lemon and orange rinds, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and Orange Curacao, and flamed with brandy. Very impressive.

We opted for the Bananas Foster, a local favorite.

It is made with bananas sautéed in butter, cinnamon and brown sugar, flamed tableside with banana liqueur and dark rum and served over Brocato’s French vanilla ice cream.

It is one of my favorites.

The jazz trio stopped at our table, and performed a combination of Happy Birthday (Ted was 50 on the 5th), Back Home Again in Indiana, and When the Saints Go Marching In.

The saxophone player was awesome, and it was a great ending to our delicious meal.

I hope to share more photos from our trip... so stay tuned. :)