Friday, December 11, 2015

It's a Small, Small, NOLA World

Jim and I took a little trip to New Orleans last week. It was our 7th trip to the Crescent City, and we go for football, food, and fun. And did I mention food? So. Much. Food.

The approach to New Orleans is a pretty one, over Lake Pontchartrain and into Louis Armstrong International Airport. Jim and I wondered about the airport abbreviation, MSY, so I looked it up and learned that it stands for Moisant Stock Yards, named for aviator John Moisant. (He actually crashed his plane and died on the site of the airport.)
Air travel is just one way our world has gotten smaller, and I am thankful that in just a few hours, we were all checked in to our room at the hotel - the same one we stayed in last year! Feels like home.
New Orleans is a friendly city, and we enjoy meeting folks and fellow tourists while we are there. I don't know if this happens to everyone, but it seems like, wherever we go, we always run in to people from our Indiana home.

We had a hurricane beside the fire at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (it was chilly for New Orleans!), and shared a table with a nice young couple.
Turns out, the young man is doing his pediatric residency at Riley hospital, and they just bought a house in Broad Ripple. Jim's Purdue pullover is a great conversation starter.

We watched this balloon maker entertain the children while we waited in line at Cafe Du Monde. For a place that serves basically one thing, they sure keep busy! We had about a twenty minute wait for a table.
When we were seated, the couple next to us noticed Jim's Purdue logo. They live in Mooresville. They moved there from their lake home in northern Indiana to be near their grandchildren. I have been wanting to get to Mooresville to try out Zydeco's, a Cajun restaurant that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. They knew about the restaurant, but have not eaten there yet. They suggested we meet for dinner! Lol.

We stopped at the Carousel Bar, at Hotel Monteleone, to have a drink and catch up on the Purdue game on Saturday afternoon. We were lucky enough to score a seat at the bar, which, as the name implies, rotates like a carousel. We had been there a little while, checking the game on our phone (I guess New Orleans doesn't have much interest in the Big Ten Network) when a young couple grabbed the seat next to us (seats at the carousel are in high demand). They were Purdue pharmacy grads, living and working in Fort Wayne.

My favorite store in NOLA is Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights. I stop in multiple times each trip to moon over the gorgeous copper lanterns.
We walked to the back, where the lanterns are being made. The man behind the workbench? A Butler grad. His major was something like historical preservation, and he assured me he could make me any kind of a lantern I would like. I'm sure he could. They are so cool.

We went to Tujague's on Sunday evening, for our last dinner in NOLA. As we were leaving, a group at the next table called Jim over after seeing his pullover, and told him they were from Elkhart. They had a nice chat before we went on our way, noting again that it is, indeed, a small world after all.
Stay tuned for the rest of the NOLA recap!

2 comments:

Terri D said...

Great photos and it sounds like you had a wonderful time! It is indeed a small world. I wonder if Joe's Villanova pull-over would cause some interest from other travelors?

Cathy said...

It sounds like you had a wonderful time.