New Orleans Road Trip - Day 9 - New Orleans

Up early and caught the complimentary shuttle, provided by the campground, down to the French Quarter. We had purchased a 3 day pass for the Hop on Hop off bus so we "hopped on".

I tend to do these whenever I am in a city. I can get my bearings, decide what I want to explore, get some basic commentary and its relatively cheap transportation.

We stayed on the bus while it went around the French Quarter. It couldn't go in there because the streets are just too narrow. It is the original New Orleans built by the French, occupied by the Spanish and then taken over by the French again. We got off the bus to eat lunch on the outskirts of the Garden District. I had to have one of these doughnuts - the Tiramisu one! - along with my garden salad.

Greg caught a city bus and went back to spend the afternoon at the WW2 museum. We had passed it earlier, 4 huge buildings.

Aimee and I walked around the Garden District admiring the colours,

wrought iron work,

porches and

and galleries (that's what balconies are called here).

It was a lovely, quiet, tree lined neighborhood. But those beautiful old trees are tough on the sidewalks.

We happened on the house that

Jefferson Davis had died in.

We caught the HOHO bus a few blocks away and headed back to the French Quarter.

We got off at the French Market which extends for a few city blocks

with produce, restaurants, leather, jewelry, T-shirts, art works etc etc.

At one end is a statue of Joan of Arc (known locally as "Joanie on a pony"). Our tour guide told us that Louisiana was supposed to buy it from France but they never paid for it and eventually France gave up on collecting the debt and gifted it to New Orleans.  That' what is says on the base of the statue "a gift from the people of France".

Every time we went past the Cafe du Monde there was a huge line up. Everyone goes there for Cafe au Lait and Beignets. We did not.

We headed across the street to Jackson Square

popping in and out of shops and art galleries, admiring the art work displayed around the park and listening to the street musicians.

Jackson Square used to be a parade ground but is now a wrought iron fenced, green space dominated by a statue of Andrew Jackson. One side has the road and river levee, the opposite side has the Cathedral and 2 government buildings housing museums and the other 2 sides are old, brick, 3 story buildings with shops below and apartments above.

The area is a constant parade of stimulation - music from all the street musicians and other buskers, colour and conversation swirling from all the people set up on the sidewalk to read fortunes, do henna tatoos or caricatures, a great variety of art works displayed along the outside of the park fence and that isn't to mention the tourists and tour groups milling around.

It was cooling off as the sun was going down

I sat and watched the river traffic

while Aimee sat and watched some very talented acrobats and dancers in an amphitheatre overlooking Jackson Square.

Then we met up with Greg, who had thoroughly enjoyed the WW2 museum and planned on continuing it tomorrow. We listened to the Steamboat Nachez calliope before catching the shuttle home.