The French Quarter

Decatur St

Day 11 - Saturday:  We woke up to more hot and muggy weather, I can't imagine what it's like down in these parts in July & August.  When we checked in at the campground the attendant mentioned that we should plan to take the ferry over to the city instead of trying to find a parking spot downtown.  So when we left at 9 am we headed for the little town of Algiers on the banks of the Mississippi to take the ferry over to New Orleans.

To be honest going this route was probably not the smartest decision.  It took just as much time to get to

Canal St

the ferry terminal due to road closures and one-way streets.  There was plenty of parking, but it cost $10 to park and we are kind of thinking it was a scam by the locals.  But I do love a boat ride and the short little run across got us right in the heart of the city.  Unfortunately, we had no clue where to go, and stood in line for a trolley for about 15 minutes with none in sight.  So we gave up on that idea and started walking towards the French Quarter.  On our way we hit Bourbon Street (not exactly the fastest way to the french quarter) which smelled like skunked beer,  and then headed back up to Decatur street to Jackson Square.  There are tons of artist who display art work on the metal fencing surrounding the square and we walked around viewing the different styles as well as stopping to take a few pictures of the St Louis

St Louis Cathedral & Jackson Square

Cathedral.  There was a wedding going on inside so we could not go in and see the church.  We hit a few more back streets and wound our way back to Cafe Du Monde for their famous beignets.  If you are unfamiliar with them they are almost like a funnel cake you would get at a fair, but small and square and the cafe piles a ridiculous amount of powder sugar on them.  The two girls next to us had just got their order as we where getting seated and as the one took a bite she began to laugh uncontrollably sending powder sugar flying all over the other girl causing more laughter. I was glad I did not have one at that time or I would have done te same thing. It was really funny.

We had walked a lot of the streets and looked at the architecture but still had no clue as to the history of the city.  So we decided to catch a horse drawn carriage for a tour of the French Quarter.  We had a great driver and since there where no other takers at that time the 3 of us had our own personal tour.  Actually, I wish we could have just toured the whole city this way.  After getting our history lesson we walked up to the river walked and with it so hot and all the walking we did, we headed back toward the ferry.  The city is nothing like I had imagined or heard about, I thought we where going to see one street (Bourbon) and the rest of the place was going to be a war zone.  Definitely, a place I would revisit when it is cooler to see more of what it has to offer.

When we got back it was hot and looked like it might storm, so we decided to cook spaghetti which was a nice change from all of the catfish and other seafood we had been eating and eat in.

~Bill

Central Fire Station

Jackson Square