New Orleans: A City Surrounded by Water

With Florida now behind us, we spent an overnight in the parking lot at a Bass Pro Shop in Spanish Forte, Alabama .  . .

and arrived in New Orleans.  As we were driving over the bridge on I10 the skyline view of the city looked pretty far away . . .but that was soon to change for us. 

Our reservation was for three nights at the KOA located just outside of the city, where our daughter and son-in-law, Jill and Doug, were going to fly into and spend a couple of days with us.  That was about all the time that we felt we needed in the city when we had planned to do this in the fall.  Jeff had visited the city quite a few years ago, and Jill and Doug had been to the city before, but for Kay it was going to be a new experience.  Well, it didn’t quite turn out what we had planned as Kay came down with a horrible cold that seemed to come from nowhere.   Non-the less, the “three Amigos” had a very good time and Jeff was able to share stories and pictures for her “first time” in New Orleans from the confines of the motorhome.  For a city surrounded by the waters of the New Orleans and Mississippi Rivers, Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico, this population of well over 400,000 is quite a busy city. 

Daughter Jill, is always good at planning a travel itinerary and this was no exception.  She booked a 3-hour walking tour which included the French Quarter to St. Louis Cemetery #1 and then a walk to St. Louis Cemetery #2.  With over 40+ cemeteries in New Orleans is can be a pretty “ghostly” city.  The St. Louis Cemetery #1 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the final resting place of some of NOLA’s more unique characters, including Marie Lareau, the Big Easy’s very own “Voodoo Queen”.  The embellished headstones of ornate designs are definitely inspired by French and Spanish architecture.  

  

The lights of Bourbon Street, the French Quarter’s diverse foods and the start of King Cake Season, in this month of January, brought out many tourists into this bustling city.  They say this is a population tied together by a deep, unshakable appreciation for the good things in life:  food and music.

 FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!!!

The visit to The Presbytére (also known as the Mardi Gras Museum) is a must see.  An amazing exhibit there called “The Living with Hurricanes” is quite memorable.  Click on the link below to read about the Louisiana State Museum that houses several exhibits, including this one.  It is really interesting to read about what this area is all about.

The Presbytere

Time to say good bye to family and head to Texas!