NOLA: Cafe Du Monde, the French Quarter, and Bourbon Street

In Baton Rouge, all the cool kids go to New Orleans on the weekends. So last Saturday night, Kelly and I went with our co-worker Jana to see the sights and experience this beautiful city we’d heard so much about.  We drove about an hour over swampland, the overpasses providing us some solid ground through the bayous.  Below, small shacks stood along the water’s edge.  We talked about possibilities of alligators and snakes and the bridge collapsing.

But soon we came upon New Orleans and zoomed onto our exit past the scattered buildings and high rises.  A few turns later, we were deep in the streets downtown passing by the city’s unique and beautiful architecture.

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Parking was a challenge, but with ruthless Kelly at the wheel, we finally found a spot by the Mississippi River.

And there it was: the mighty Mississippi!  In history classes as a kid, I’d been fascinated with the role the Mississippi River played in American history, especially for explorers, who used it to access brand-new parts of the continent.  Until I went to College Station, Texas recently, I’d never seen it… or been west of it.  But there it was, this beautiful evening, with the Natchez boat rolling downstream with the currents.

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We were starving by this point in the evening and made our way to Cafe Du Monde, where we stood in line with locals and tourists alike for beignets, the puffy French pastries topped with powdered sugar.  I handed one of mine to Kelly for the picture, and she took a huge bite of it!

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We explored the French Quarter and found all kinds of interesting shops… like in the picture below.

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As night fell, we made our way to Bourbon Street and found a wild surge of humanity roaming the streets.  Beads were flying, clothing was minimal, and everyone seemed to be shouting at the top of their lungs.

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New Orleans is like Savannah and Charleston, but jazzier.  Less uptight.  If the city was a painting, all its colors would be running together: wildly disorganized, but a strong statement about how easy it is to have fun and let loose while retaining a unique identity.

This sunset over NOLA won’t be my last.

~ The Dauntless Princess ~

 

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