New Orleans, La

The rain subsided ahead of the scheduled forecast and across the 24 mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrain we drove. It is the longest overwater highway bridge and for 8 miles you can't see the land. We found our way through the Garden District of large old homes and down to the French Quarter. The Garden District gets its name from the lush garden estates in what was primarily the American section of town in the days of sugar and cotton empires and antebellum plantations. The French founded the 90 block area known as Vieux Carre or the French Quarter which is the heart of the city. The architecture in the area is however Spanish as in 1762 France ceded the city to Spain. We had time for a nice lunch at Chartres House Cafe while sitting on the balcony overlooking the busy streets below. The gumbo was good but the crawfish cakes were exceptional.


The Krewe of Carrollton was organized in 1933 and is the fourth oldest parading krewe. They entertained us royally on Canal Street.

We then hurried down Royal Street among the throngs of people to catch most of the Barkus parade. The Mystic Krewe of Barkus was very well attended. The theme for this year's parade was Bat Mutt and The Bark Knight! There were some clever batmobiles in keeping with the theme. Anyone can pay to walk in this parade and the money is donated to charity.

The Slumdog Millionaire was mighty cute and ranked as one of our favorites.

We strolled past the artists that surround Jackson Square and over to Cafe du Monde where we visited with a couple from England while having our beignets and coffee.

We decided it was difficult to see the city with the crowds of people and that we would return another day, so we meandered along the river back to the parking lot. It was a good thing we left at 4 as it took over 45 minutes to get back to I10.