Upon arriving in New Orleans, her beauty appeared. The native flowers and palm trees lined the streets along the taxi ride to our hotel. Full azalea shrubs were in full bloom and striking to view. The driver advised the proper annunciation of New Orleans is in two syllables not three. We grabbed dinner at Bourbon House, which was attached to our hotel. My pasta dish could be described as warm spring pasta because it consisted of early spring vegetables tossed with pasta and creole seasoning.
Our first evening was spent getting a general lay of the land with a trek through the French Quarter along Bourbon Street to Esplanade. In this exploration, we passed many bars that announced "world's coldest beer" and "big ass beer" with patrons spilling into the street. A variety of music was heard along the walk. On the cusp of the Quarter, we past Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar and were intrigued by the antiquity and interest of the building's architecture and appearance. It stood out from the adjacent buildings because of its open doors and dark interior. The patrons appeared to be different than the ones imbibing in the congested area of Bourbon street lit by neon signs. We stopped into a dixie jazz band club on our way back to the hotel; we were surrounded by many German-speaking spectators, which I was fond of.
The homes and buildings in the area were nothing like what we live amongst in the north. They were predominantly stucco painted in tropical colors with long window shutters. The shutters were closed to keep the street noise out of their homes. Most of these structures were built soon after the Great New Orleans Fire (1788).
There wasn't an agenda beyond our reservations for Friday night dinner, historical river cruise on Saturday, Easter parades on Sunday and a tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 on Monday. We successfully filled the open slots with sight seeing and meeting people along the way.
Food is next on our agenda since there's an abundance of delicious options available in this city. I wanted to visit Cafe du Monde for the obligatory french beignets and chicory coffee but the line was ridiculously long. We opted for Monty's cafe that is situated across the street from it and delighted we made this choice because the food was delicious. The plain grits were the best I ever ate; perhaps, it was the ambiance of the open-air cafe and view of Jackson Square that added to the flavor. Dinner was great at GW Fins; we were seated in a quiet dining room with 20 others. My husband was quite pleased with the Scalibut dish that is comprised of halibut and scallops on a bed of lobster risotto. After dinner we wandered to the side streets in the French Quarter and discovered Patrick's Vin Bar. It is a comfortable bar furnished with ample soft seating and a small bar with many locals; seating extended into a quiet and dimly lit courtyard, equipped with a water fountain and mossy ficus trees. We met Patrick as we exited his establishment. Finding this quaint bar was like an oasis in a desert away from the raucous of Bourbon Street.
The historical river cruise was along the Mississippi on a paddle boat. The destination was on the site of the War of 1812 that was won by Andrew Jackson with a troop of locals, free African Americans and Lafitte's imprisoned pirates. The history of New Orleans was delivered via a loud speaker along the cruise.
We had a choice of three Easter parades to attend but missed most of the first one because we were eating breakfast at Monty's. All the participants were decked out in their Sunday-best. The streets along the route were crowded with spectators of all ages and descents. We returned to the streets to watch Chris Owens's Easter parade and got close to the street near the beginning of the route. A good bit of the spectators donned their Easter hats and church attire as they grabbed for a chance at several of the thousands of beads tossed from the parade floats. It was a warm and sunny day already and decided to go to The Beach Bar for a cold beverage. We shared our high-top table with two Swiss middle-aged couples while we savored our beer and wine. We enjoyed their company and laughed quite a bit with them. They encouraged us to join them at Fritzel's Jazz Club to listen to their friends perform that evening.
After we ate our dinner, we walked to Fritzel's to watch the jazz band perform with our new Swiss friends. The music was great and satisfied our desire to hear dixieland jazz. The Swiss group introduced us to their Bavarian friend (he refuses to be considered "German"). We discussed politics and our careers long after our friends left us. Eventually, we made our way back to our hotel past the noisy bars and clubs.
The tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 began at Voodoo Lounge near the cemetery and Treme District. The day was getting warm; luckily, there was somewhat of a breeze to keep us slightly cool. We were led into the cemetery (AKA City of the Dead). Most of the tombs appeared old and showed wear. There were many that didn't have family tablets displayed on their fronts. We were told of Marie Laveau's history and practice of Voodoo as we passed her final resting place. The best kept and newest tomb belongs to Nicholas Cage, which was the only property the IRS couldn't acquire. We returned to Patrick's this evening and met Queen Kelly. She is a local member of the Creole Osceola Indian tribe and insisted we learn more about the tribe's history; then, share it with our friends. She showed pictures of her headdress and attire that she constructed over the course of a year; which was quite exquisite.
Because this trip wasn't over-planned with a tight schedule, it was more enjoyable and allowed opportunities to make acquaintances and impromptu adventures. It may have been my favorite trip thus far.