Louisiana, Part 2

Continuing from where I left off last time...

Thursday, Jan 31st

We left the museum, dashing through the rain, which was still heavy. On the way back, we stopped by a little local mart to get boiled crayfish... Mary's favorite. This was a first for me. Mary and Judy showed me how to shuck and "de-vein" (a euphamism) the little suckers. I gotta say, I didn't really see what the attraction was; they were okay but nothing to write home about. Perhaps with more seasoning.

Randall had baked brownies which were perfect. I got pretty wired on the sugar (plus coffee) and stayed up late.

Friday, Feb 1st

The late night made for a very slow start. It actually felt like a chemical dependency on coffee and beignets. It felt like my brain had partially shut down, and I couldn't shake the feeling of lethargy on our drive into downtown New Orleans. Luckily, it went by quickly (amazing mix of red maples and cypress trees along I-10). You seem some signs of hurricane damage approaching the city (the highway passes through Jefferson Parish), but mostly the views are blocked by tall concrete acoustical barriers as you get close. We passed by the SuperDome and parked by the river, heading a few blocks down to the famous square and the Café Du Monde... for coffee and beignets!

It was a dry, breezy, very cold morning. The Café was shuttered up except for a couple of entrances, to keep the cold out. And it was packed inside. The jolt of caffeine and sugar soon had me going again. We spend the morning wandering around the French Quarter; bought some tourist-y stuff, but also some prints by a Gulf Coast painter at a local/area artists co-op.

A jazz band, the New Wave Brass Band, was playing around the corner, I sat and watched for a few songs, they sounded great. A few people were dancing. I tried to get a good photo of the tuba player, who keep peeking around the corner of the bandstand, trumpeting out great blasts above the sound of the other guys, as if trying to get the attention of folks out on the street (the bandstand was hidden away between a shop and the levee).

The three of us (Judy, Mary and myself) met up and headed over to Bourbon Street. I'm sure it's pretty busy all of the year (hurricanes not withstanding), but on Mardi Gras week, if you're not in a parade, then one has just finished and another is about to start. We started flowing with the crowd down the street. Lots of people were in costume: old ladies dressed in flamingo outfits, middle-aged guys as Elvises (Elvii??), and a trio of girls wearing rainbow wigs and Twister pads for dresses. But there were plenty of other people milling around, lots of college students, lots of people chugging beers or other alcoholic drinks. The balconies were packed with people too, some of them throwing beads down, once to us. It was pretty fun, just a small taste of the full weeks-long madness.

On the way back, we had dinner at Dearman's in Baton Rouge, a classic diner that has been at the same location since the 50's. They had sweet potato french fries, though I didn't like them quite as much as the regular fries.

It was a great day. We had wandered around a good deal of the heart of New Orleans and were able to experience in very authentic ways. Of course, it was only the "marshmallow center" of the "Chocolate City" ....

In the French Quarter New Wave Brass Band Brass Band's Tuba Player Washington Park Marionette Gold Statue Man Katrina Doors Flamingo Dames Bourbon Street Bourbon Street Bourbon Street Bourbon Street Amid Elvises Balcony Revelers Steamboat |< << >> >|   > || []